Sidney Shemanski

SRT 285 01

Christain Spirituality

October 5, 2021

Scripture and Spirituality Reflection Summary Essay

When I think of the Bible, I get very overwhelmed due to the vast majority of scripture

inside. There are so many stories that shape the christain I am today and how I view and love

God. It is very interesting to believe that all these stories told by different people are all together

in one book. I feel like I am not that familiar with scripture in the Bible which makes this paper a

little difficult to write. I have never actually read the Bible, but from some of the verses I have

read, it can be confusing to understand. I heard from a lot of people that it is challenging to read

the Bible page to page because the stories jump around in the Bible, however each one has

something to take away from it. Whether it is a lesson from God or a story to interpret your own

way of thinking, it brings you closer to God. Scripture has many stories about God, Jesus, the

disciples and so forth, which allow you to learn a little bit about the history of faith. I feel that the

Bible is composed of many stories which were told and spread during and even after God’s

presence on Earth. Once these stories grew and spread around the world, they were eventually

written down. I always wondered how someone came to write all of these stories down in one

singular book and if all the stories were true or not.

The Bible is very important in grounding Christain spirituality and shapes how the

Christains view God and practice the worship of God. If we did not have the Bible, we would

most likely not know of Moses, Abraham, or many others. We wouldn't have anything physical

to make our religion just and be able to learn more about our faith. Most likely we would just
hear stories that would have probably been altered throughout the long period of time. Scripture

allows us to come together and worship God together. We can interpret scripture however our

creative minds want and love God as a community. I love how at church we read two readings

and then the priest talks more in depth about those readings. As a church, we learn more about

God and become closer to him. Through this scripture in church I practice Ignatian

Contemplation which will be talked about next. Many people imagine the readings during church

which give us a better understanding of God. As a community it is important to come together

and interpret scripture because everyone interprets it differently. Different interpretations can

branch off of each other and we can learn more as a community through the love of God.

Ignatian Contemplation is a very creative way of praying through the use of your

imagination. You are supposed to place yourself in the scene of the scripture to compose the

place and imagine where the stories took place. First, you are to select a passage from one of the

Gospels in which Jesus is interacting with others. I will go into more depth down below, but I

chose the passage that we read in class Mark 10: 46-52. Next you are to recall what you are

doing in engaging with the Word of God and what you desire from this encounter. We make God

present so we rely on him and become closer. You are supposed to read the Gospel passage twice

and after that second time you close your eyes and reconstruct the scene by using your

imagination and asking questions like: “How does the air smell? What does Jesus look like?”

You are to place yourself physically in the scene so that it feels real and believable. After

engaging in this process, you are to finish the prayer and speak to Christ about what is on your

mind that comes from the heart.

I feel like I already have done this in church multiple times by accident because I get

really into the readings. When I am deep in thought on the readings I sometimes put myself in
the scripture which helps me understand it better. Sometimes the scripture in church can be very

confusing but Ignatian Contemplation helps me understand it better and become closer to God.

When I do this practice, I feel like I am understanding God more and I am able to feel his

presence and connect with him. I used Ignatian Contemplation with Mark 10 Bartimaeus which

is what we read in class. I imagined myself in Jericho surrounded by a ton of people making a lot

of noise. Amidst those people I was right next to Bartimaeus who was desperately trying to get

Jesus’ attention. Jesus heard and got silent and Jesus did what Bartimaeus asked. It was a hot

sunny day filled with chaos and when Jesus gave Bartimaeus his sight, it grew calm and sunny

and I felt reassured and fulfilled. I put myself in this story and I felt much closer to God. I

pictured Jesus and was able to connect with him through an imaginative way and feel his

presence. It was truly wonderful to be able to be in the story with him and be able to imagine

myself with him when he gave Bartimaeus the ability to see. It made me so happy for Bartimaeus

and I felt a lot of respect and love for Jesus as well. I really enjoy the practice of prayer through

Ignatian Contemplation. I kind of always practiced it but never knew that it was called that and it

was a way of prayer. Now that I know, I will use this prayer more often to make my relationship

with God stronger.