Meditation on Jn 3, 1-15

The passage is the object of a seven-day meditation, seven minutes everyday.

(The prayer can be done at home, outside in a park, in your Office, in the bus...)

Preparatory Prayer (Say silently the following prayer)
May all what I do during the 7 minutes be directed to the praise and service of God 

First Prelude (Remember the story)
A leader of the Jews, a Pharisee called Nicodemus, came to Jesus at night. Jesus returns his respectful but self-confident greeting  with a confusing revelation about His own identity and mission. Jesus invites Nicodemus to be ‘born anew’, but Nicodemus understands to be ‘born again’. To be a member of the Covenant, he thinks that being born from a Jewish mother is enough. Jesus insists that one must be born anew in the Spirit. Nicodemus fails to understand the actual words of Jesus. 

Second Prelude (composition of place)
It will consist in seeing the street from Nicodemus house to Jesus place in Jerusalem. Consider its length, its breath; whether level, or with steps. Observe also Jesus house big or small, the number of windows, and how it is arranged.

Third Prelude 
Ask for an intimate knowledge of our Lord, who became a human for me, that I may love God more and follow Christ more closely.

FIRST DAY 7x7 - SEEING

I shall make myself an insignificant observer looking first at Jesus and then at Nicodemus. Let your imagination give you the first impressions. Then, if you can, take note of their skin colour, estimate their age range, their height, their weight,  their overall characteristics, note their hair colour, length, style,their eye colour, eye shape, eyebrows, other facial features, nose, ears and lips, other physical features, hands and feet, their posture, their nervous tics.  Look at their clothing and overall style.
At the end, I shall use seven seconds to leave a love note to God.  

SECOND DAY 7x7 - LISTENING
I shall make myself a humble listener, listening to the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, concentrating on what is said. You can use body language or other signs to acknowledge you are listening. Look at the speaker directly,  put aside distracting thoughts, listen also to the speakers’ body language. Treat the speaker the way you think he would want to be treated. 
At the end, I shall use seven seconds to express the benefits you have received from listening.

THIRD DAY 7x7 - MOTIONS
I shall make myself a modest observer of Jesus and Nicodemus body movements. Imagine what they are doing: entering the house, greeting one another (shaking hands, hugging, kissing). sitting on a chair or on the floor, leaving the house. Look at the movement of their heads, lips and hands while talking to one another. Observe the wavering, swaying or swelling of their garments. 
At the end, I shall use seven seconds to say a word to God about the spiritual fruits of your meditation.  

FOURTH DAY 7x7 - REPETITION I
From the notes I have taken during the first three days, I shall recall the moments when I felt an inner movement such as an increase of faith, love,  or joy. I shall select three of those moments and do a repetition.  I shall start with the first moment. If I feel again an inner movement I shall stay meditating as long as I can. Then, if there is still time, I shall move to the second moment, then the third moment. I do not have to meditate on the three moments, just find out where I find consolation.
At the end, I shall use seven seconds to speak intimately to God.

FIFTH DAY 7x7 - REPETITION II 
I shall recall one moment when I felt an inner movement and spend the time of the exercise on it.
At the end, I shall use seven seconds to speak intimately to God. 

SIXTH DAY 7x7 - APPLICATION OF THE SENSES
I shall move quickly from one point to the next until I feel an inner movement. Our imitation of Christ becomes more exact as we feel each sensation with and in Christ.

First Point 
This consists in seeing in imagination the persons, and in contemplating the circumstances in which they are, and then in drawing some fruits from what I have seen.

Second Point 
This is to hear what they are saying, or what they might say, and then reflecting on oneself to draw some profit from what has been heard.

Third Point 
This is to smell the infinite fragrance, and taste the infinite sweetness of the divinity. Likewise to apply these senses to the soul and its virtues, and to all according to the person we are contemplating, and to draw fruit from this.

Fourth Point 
This is to apply the sense of touch, for example, by embracing and kissing the place where the persons stand or are seated, always taking care to draw some fruit from this.

Colloquy 
The exercise should be closed with a colloquy. I will think over what I ought to say to God, or to Jesus. According to the light I have received, I will beg for grace to follow and imitate more closely our Lord, who became human for me.

SEVENTH DAY 7x7 - APPLICATION OF THE SENSES
Favour one sensation and spend the time of the contemplation on it. Feel how close you have become to the Lord.  It is not complex thinking and theological speculating that will bring about a change in us but ‘sensing and tasting things interiorly’: looking, listening, savouring, relishing and embracing what we contemplate.
End with a colloquy.