Encountering God - Christ the Consoler

Every morning on the way into school, I chat with Jesus.

It starts out pretty calm and orderly. First, I list to him all the things I am grateful for since the last time we talked. Then, I list to him the things I’m grateful for in advance for the day like “I’m grateful in advance for you helping me keep my cool in that tense meeting I have coming up today” or “I’m grateful in advance for you helping me recognize when I am catastrophizing today and reorienting me to what is really happening.” Then, I begin praying for all those who come to mind as needing his help right now more than I do.

That is usually the point in our conversation these days when the orderly part ends and my intense passion takes the wheel instead. “Lord, I’d like to pray first for those who are afraid right now to leave their home. Actually, I have to admit I’m pretty angry about this, aren’t you? I mean, did you see what happened just yesterday?” Before I know it, I have arrived at school still laying out to Jesus all the world’s problems with intensity and demanding he help me figure out what we are going to do about all of it.

And what does Jesus do in response?

Jesus travels right along with me wherever my mind and heart wish to go. I believe he is feeling what I am feeling and is right there with me in those moments, taking me as I am, no matter what. I believe he is also responding to my passion by lifting me up, crying with me, imploring me to take action, and reminding me of what is possible.

I also believe that he is doing the same for everyone else too.

Right now, for me, Jesus is the one lifting up all who are struggling with faith just as he once did with Peter. Peter, who was literally walking on water toward the Lord, took his eyes off Jesus and looked around at the powerful winds and the turbulent skies and became afraid. Begging the Lord to save him, Jesus lifted him up reminding him he had nothing to fear. (Mt 12:30-31)

Right now, for me, Jesus is the one crying with all those overcome by the grief of the present moment just as he once did with Mary. When he arrived to find that his friend Lazarus had died, he did not rush to action but instead allowed himself to be moved by Mary’s tears as well as all those grieving around him and wept openly over the loss of his friend. (Jn 11:35)

Right now, for me, Jesus is also the one imploring all who see families being ripped apart to stand up for the children, the ones he once told his disciples were the greatest in the Kingdom. When the disciples wondered who they should be like or how they should treat others, Jesus pointed again and again to the children inviting the disciples to model their innocence and humility and protect them from every harm. (Mt. 18:1-14)

Right now, for me, Jesus is the one reminding all who feel their hope for a brighter future fading, what is possible when they dare to put their nets out into the deep. Discouraged by the lack of results from their hours of fishing, his disciples were once ready to pack it in and go home, but Jesus invited them to put their nets out into deep water and try again. Trusting in him, they put out their nets which soon overflowed with fish. (Lk 5:4)

This is who Jesus is to me right now. He listened to my begging and my demands for help and action, and he responded in kind. But he didn’t stop there.

Jesus wants something in return from me, from all of us actually.

It’s a pretty simple yet also challenging request.

He wants us to be his hands and feet in the world.

Will I answer him with the same yes he has given me? Will you?

Going Deeper

• “Consider the office of consoler which Christ our Lord carries out, and compare it with the way friends console one another’” (Spiritual Exercises, §224). Learn more about how Christ is the Consoler here.

• If you are uncertain as to what exactly Christ is inviting you to do at this moment, consider praying with these reflection questions:

  • What are the gifts and talents I know I have? Which of these might Christ be inviting me to utilize right now in service of others? Beth Knobbe shares her thoughts on this question here.

  • Where is Christ inviting me to stand still? Where is Christ inviting me to stand up?

  • What clarity am I seeking from Christ at this moment? Liz Aceves explains her movement to clarity here.

  • What feelings arise in me as I consider these questions in prayer? How might those be offering me direction?

  • What grace(s) do I need from Christ to either continue to discern or to act? Becky Eldredge guides us into naming the grace we seek here.

Photo by [Josh Frenette](Photo by <a href=%22https://unsplash.com/@joshfrenette?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText%22>Josh Frenette on <a href=%22https://unsplash.com/photos/hanged-beads-on-rear-view-mirror-BWx3H95ox9Y?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText%22>Unsplash) on Unsplash.

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Gretchen Crowder

Gretchen Crowder has served as a campus minister and Ignatian educator for the Jesuit Dallas community for the last fifteen years and counting. She is also a freelance writer and speaker. She has a B.S. in mathematics and a M.Ed. from the University of Notre Dame as well as an M.T.S. from the University of Dallas. She resides in Dallas, TX with her husband, three boys, and an ever-growing number of pets.