Mercy Evangelization > Ragionamento
“And not finding Him they returned to Jerusalem in search of Him. And it came to pass after three days, that they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who were listening to Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.” Luke 2:45-47
Here at the beginning of His life and ministry we experience Jesus’ method of communicating with His creation. They are searching for Him as is all humanity. We think He is lost. Nope, He is where He is supposed to be, communicating through Spiritual Conversations or “Ragionamento Spiritual Conversations.” Jesus at the age of twelve gives us the best Wine (John 2), the Wine of Mercy-Evangelization.
The first time we heard the Italian word ragionamento was while studying the life of one of our favorite saints, Saint Philip Neri. During the 16th century he, as the second Apostle of Rome, almost single handedly renewed the Catholic Church from within. And he did it mainly through Ragionamento, question and answer Spiritual Conversations. Very seldom did he preach. Rather according to the need of those present he used great tact to help people find the answer from within themselves (p.97 Saint Philip Neri - Ponnelle et Bordet).
As we began studying the Gospel of Luke we found that Philip was only following the method of His Master. Look please at the above passage of Scripture. How did Jesus teach? His method is the way of Mercy. Did He rant and rave on a stage as he harangued the crowd while they cheered Him on? I used to. Did He promise them success if they would just invest in His project? Nada nada nada!
The Son of God, Creator of the creation, Eternal Wisdom of the Father was humbly seated in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. The way of Mercy is the way of listening. He had Spiritual Conversations with them. To Him, what they had to say was important. To Him, what you have to say is important. And when He heard what they had to say He asked questions, not to trap them but to hear their Hearts.
He was so gracious and Merciful that they started asking Him questions and were amazed by His answers. Mercy receives first and then reflects the fruits of the reception. Jesus taught us this. We may do the same with everyone we meet. This is not a psychological technique although all good communication is based on listening and asking questions. Jesus taught us Mercy Evangelization.
Imagine this, Jesus is seated in the temple of your Heart and wants to listen to you (John 14:23). He doesn’t want you only to give Him a list of your needs or sufferings, He wants to hear what you think in your Heart. He wants to have Spiritual Conversations with you. “Come now let us reason together…” Isaiah 1:18. He cares so much for us He just wants to sit and listen. He who desires that one day we will listen to His Spirit truly desires to listen to us.
Whether it be alone with God in our Hearts or in a small or large group the best method of Evangelization is Spiritual Ragionamento. It is the method of Mercy. It is the purpose of life; receiving and reflecting Mercy, becoming the Heart of Jesus.
Divine Mercy Evangelization is following Jesus’ example of first, sitting in a circle; second, listening and asking questions, which results in receiving the Divine Mercy; third, speaking from the Heart which results in reflecting the Divine Mercy. The result is that all present are becoming Divine Mercy.
Whether this is done in group, “in the temple,” at the supermarket, or door-to-door, the method of Ragionamento Spiritual remains the same. This is Jesus’ method of Evangelization. He started it two thousand years ago. The Apostle Paul continued it in Acts chapter nineteen. Saint Philip Neri made it an art form in the 16th century Church and re-evangelized much of the Church in Rome.
At baptism all the answers to all of life’s questions are in the seed of the Sacrament. A person can find the way of Life if he is allowed to speak from his Heart. In Ragionamento Communication the person answers many of his own questions. How many times have you asked a question and before the other person can respond, the answer pops into your mind! Where did it come from? Perhaps from your Heart.
A person develops ethically and finds the way to the Fullness of Revelation by finding many of the answers to life’s questions in his own Heart. We asked questions to our Hearts until our Hearts led us to Mary and the Church. Hearing what God says from our Hearts implies a willingness to obey.
When a person finds the answer himself then it is his answer. It comes from seeking deep within himself. That is what will feed his soul. If God is in us then all the answers are there in God. Sometimes He wants us to learn by humbly listening to the answers of others. Studying at school and learning the Catechism are indispensable but there is so much to learn by just listening to your Heart and to the Hearts around you.
What about a person who is not baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit? How can he find answers by looking within? Some answers he can find within; some he can’t. In this case it is best to bring him into a group where he can participate in Ragionamento the way Jesus did. There in the group or alone with you he can listen and ask questions and find the Way.
Ragionamento Spiritual Conversations are the antithesis of many classical religious teaching methods. Normally there is a teacher and across from him neatly lined up are the students. When I first started teaching over thirty-five years ago I knew that this was not for me. Teaching Neurology was easy because I was responsible for the laboratory teaching. I would put a human brain on the table; the students would gather around and we would learn together. The brain would just sit there in the midst of us, “listening” and “asking us” why it had ridges and valleys and cauliflower like protrusions! The students would trace the line of thought (optic pathway) from the eyes to the back of the brain and find that that is where sight spends its time. I could just watch and learn and ask questions.
I’m always taking notes when others are talking. People must think I am a detective. We can learn from anyone anywhere if we ask questions. If all we do is talk than almost all of what we say is just a recording of what we already know, though the sound of our own voice may be comforting to us. I used to talk so much that it would even put me to sleep.
Every one of life’s puzzles are just like the Neurology class. Something we have never seen or experienced causes us to ask, “Why?” Then we try to find the answer. It is good that the answer does not come too quickly. The process of searching for the answer is as beneficial as the answer itself. If we search hard enough and ask enough questions then the answer will come. Again this does not exclude studying. In fact, searching for the answers causes us to look in various places. But in Ragionamento we resist the temptation to be the “guru” with all the wisdom.
When you ask questions sincerely wanting to know what people think in their Hearts then you are equal with them. You are both learners. When you do all the talking then the other person, even if he or she is a student feels inferior. When someone even unintentionally makes us feel inferior then we automatically reject a part of what that person says. Can you teach Math or Physics by Ragionamento? Ask your Heart! One thing is sure, the Heart functions and develops through Ragionamento.
Imagine that your wife, or sister, or daughter is your Heart. Have you tried to sit her down and tell her how she should act and think and believe. She will laugh at you unless you’ve broken her Heart and she no longer responds. Well, the Heart can think for itself if you will listen to It and ask It questions.
In summary, all levels of Mercy Evangelization work through Ragionamento. We Evangelize ourselves by asking our Heart questions and listening to the answers. We Evangelize one-on-one by Ragionamento. And we do group Evangelization like Jesus by Ragionamento. Count the questions Jesus as in the Gospels. He was always asking questions. So shouldn’t we? Now see our Mercy Training Center and Other Mercy Training Centers.