Tag: lectio

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”

During Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, his face and clothing changed and became “dazzling white.” Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus before Peter, John, and James. In the second reading from Peter, he makes clear that he himself was an eyewitness to Jesus’ coming in power and that what he proclaimed was not “cleverly devised myths.” Peter himself, along with John and James, heard a voice from heaven say, “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” In the Gospel reading of the transfiguration according to Luke, Peter was awestruck by the appearance of Moses and Elijah and hardly knew what to say. As he was still speaking, God spoke from heaven, saying, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”

God, help me understand the need to listen for your voice. Thank you for the boldness of Peter in proclaiming his faith and insisting that he is not professing made-up accounts. Overwhelmed by what he witnesses, he fails to find words: “But he did not know what he was saying.” It is your voice that quiets Peter and turns his attention back to your Son. Surely, in my life there are moments when I speak for the sake of speaking and act for the sake of acting even as I am an eyewitness to a transformation taking place.

It is the Great I Am who speaks from a cloud in a voice that Peter, James, and John hear. It quiets the hearts of those close to the Lord and directs their attention back to him. The Gospel reading says about the disciples after that moment: “After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.” God, give me the grace today to hear and know your voice in silence and listen to your Son. At the end of today, I hope to be able to look back and know that you were present, that you love me, and that you were well pleased with all my words and actions.

Readings

Podcast

Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?”

In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus repeats the word life four times, and the refrain of the responsorial psalm is “It is I who deal death and give life.” There is no doubt that today’s readings deal with life and death but also with death in life, the kind of death in which life given to the pursuit of amassing riches is self-destructive. To die to this life through self-denial for the sake of following God leads to greater life.

God, help me hear and understand you through today’s readings. It isn’t easy to read the words “deny himself, take up his cross and follow me,” and it’s harder to do than it is to read. Yet, when I dwell on your invitation to come after you, I know that’s what I desire, to whatever degree I act on that desire.

I know that God asks that I slow down and quiet myself enough so that I can recognize him and hear him throughout the day. It isn’t always clear to me what my cross is, but I ask for God’s grace to recognize it so that I can come after him and deny myself. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

Podcast

Memorial of Saint John Vianney, Priest

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Fully divine and fully human, Jesus said first to Peter, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church” and next, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” This is Jesus calling Peter to a higher standard, to be like God through his indwelling in us, as is expressed in the first reading from the book of Jeremiah: “I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” In that short passage, God speaks the word covenant four times. And what is that covenant but God’s commitment to us in his unfathomable mercy, found in its fullest expression in the incarnation? “All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.” The cost of this to God? The cost was the suffering and death of his Son. For this reason, Jesus said to Peter, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

God, thank you for the gift of your covenant, your unending mercy. Help me understand what you need from me in order to please you. The responsorial psalm says, “For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” I can’t help thinking, God, that just as I try at times to be a people pleaser, I behave in the same way toward you. Give me the grace to avoid hollow sacrifices and instead be ready for you with a clean heart. “A willing spirit sustain in me, Lord.”

Lord, you are with me always. Even as I struggle to see that you are present in the quiet times of the day or amid the bustle of activity. Come, Holy Spirit. Be with me today and let me know you are present, not in ephemeral sensations but through the certainty of faith. Lord, give me the grace to turn to you during the day and acknowledge you in my thoughts, words, and actions. Help me think not as human beings do but as you do, relying on your covenant with me, which you have placed upon my heart.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

Podcast

Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

At the beginning of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus withdraws to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Having just challenged the scribes and Pharisees in their questioning him about why the disciples break with tradition, Jesus says to them: “You have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition.”

These are warring words, so it makes sense that Jesus, a warrior whose Passion was all-out war against sin, would go on the offensive and then retreat strategically. Yet, this is the same God of Israel who says in the first reading from Jeremiah: “With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you.”

Help me understand, God, how today’s readings fit together into a larger picture. Jesus left one front where he fought against sin only to encounter another: the Canaanite woman’s daughter who was tormented by a demon. The woman begged for Jesus’ mercy, was challenged by him to test her faith (“It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs”), and then with her persistence, received his mercy (“O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish”). More than once, Jesus attempted to retreat to be alone with his Father in prayer but then saw the needs of those who came to him and met them where they were with his unconditional love. Again, from the first reading, God says: “As Israel comes forward to be given his rest, the LORD appears to him from afar.”

If I see that people came to Jesus no matter where he was or where he was on his way to (even to spend quiet time in prayer), let me not be afraid at that moment to bring my greatest needs to him. If my own plans lead to an unending cycle where I am never satisfied to rest, let me recognize like the Canaanite woman that even the scraps from the Lord’s table, like supersubstantial bread, would at last satisfy my longing and hunger to know God’s will and to do it. Today, Lord, I know you want me to come to you and that you will meet me where I am. Let me recognize that and be bold in standing behind you today in spiritual battle, asking confidently for what I need.

Readings

Podcast

Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Reflection

“Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.”

The Gospel reading for today continues where yesterday’s reading left off. After the death of John the Baptist, Jesus intended to go off and pray alone, but the crowd followed him and his heart was moved to care for them and feed them. It is striking in today’s reading to see that Jesus dismisses the crowd and then goes up the mountain by himself to pray. His steadfastness is no surprise, yet this subtle detail reveals his desire and fidelity to be with the Father in prayer. When Jesus walks on water and grasps Peter as he begins to sink, he says to him: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Before that, only after Jesus finishes praying, uniting his identity with that of the Father’s, do the disciples say “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

God, help me understand the divine identity of your Son so that when I am perturbed by the day or overtaken by apprehension and doubt, I can hear Jesus’ words to the disciples: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Thank you, Jesus, for your example of being steadfast in prayer. Give me the grace to follow that example when I see only my way of doing things. Help me understand how to make a return to you.

God, teach me to trust you. Show me that the day is not mine, but yours as a gift to me for the sake of giving it back to you to give glory to your name. The pressure of the day and its anxieties—what are they for if not to proclaim that you are over them—all over all? I ask that you stay near throughout the day and come to me to grasp my arm in the midst of the day’s turbulence and storms. Through your grace, give me the means to be steadfast in my desire to give to you little moments alone with you in prayer.

Readings

Podcast

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church: Reflection

“Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.”

Today’s Gospel reading shows Jesus looking in heaven toward God the Father as he blesses and breaks the loaves and then shares them. Matthew makes very clear in this description Jesus’ actions and demeanor as he prays. The feeding of the five thousand takes place after he has learned about the beheading of John the Baptist and tries to go off to a deserted place by boat. Yet, when he arrives, what does he find but a crowd who followed him? Matthew says about Jesus when he saw this: “When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.”

God, help me understand that being fully human, Jesus attempted to rectify himself in prayer with the death of John the Baptist. He tried to do what is understandable in such a situation by mourning and trying to understand God’s will. Yet, being fully divine, at seeing the crowd Jesus showed his limitless mercy in caring for them, curing the sick, and then feeding them. Thank you, Lord, for this example for those times when I try to understand your will but am so-called interrupted by the needs of others, whether family or strangers.

Lord, you sought prayer and solace with your Father in heaven, yet at the sight of the crowds, your heart was moved with pity for them. Rather than being interrupted, you made your work itself a means of uniting with the Father.

Today through the grace of God, let me be humble in what I see as the right direction. Let me be supple enough to know your will and accomplish it rather than stubbornly pursuing my own aims. Help me realize Jesus’ invitation throughout the day to care for others, to give them some food myself and allow God to take whatever good is in that and make it superabundant.

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.

Readings

Podcast

Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Reflection

He replied, “No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”

In the parable from today’s Gospel reading, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a man who sowed good seed in his field. His enemy sowed weeds throughout the wheat so that both the weeds and the wheat appeared from the soil and would not be separated until harvest. The first reading from Jeremiah tells the story of human wheat and weeds, how evil grows among the living temples of the Lord.

Help me understand, God, that there are people today who do exactly as people did in the first reading, people who “[are to] steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury burn incense to Baal, go after strange gods that you know not.” There are people who reach not for Baal, but who worship what goes beyond the limits of freedom and distort it, thinking, “We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again.” God, help me remember to pray for peace and conversion of heart so that all will worship you alone. In my own life, guide me away from strange gods so that I do always what is pleasing to you.

Jesus, you know that this life is a spiritual battle, that the enemy comes while we are asleep and prospers among us during the day. Can I trust that in me you see a little child, whose fears and anxieties you can scatter with the touch of your hand and a whisper of reassurance that you are ever present?

It is summer, and the weeds have flowered and grown tall. Today, God, help me to acknowledge that they are here for now and will be until the end of time, and help me to work on uprooting the weeds that have grown in the very heart of my own garden. Let the weeds be the weeds and be bundled in time for burning, but let me then be gathered like wheat in your arms.

Readings

Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr: Reflection

“They came and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us!  We are perishing!’ He said to them, ‘Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?’ Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, ‘What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?’ ”

The Gospel acclamation for today’s reading says, “I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word.” In the Gospel reading from Matthew, when Jesus calms the storm, it is the Word Incarnate who calms the storm. Unlike human beings whose words are carried through into action in a limited way, Jesus, the Son of God, speaks actions into existence. “Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.”

Most of what I know and observe every day relates to human action in the world; consequently, I come to believe in the material limits of that action. God, help me understand your limitless power in the world. You speak, and your very word brings being into the world. Consider your justice, as today’s Psalm describes it: “no evil man remains with you; the arrogant may not stand in your sight.” With you, no evil remains; in your presence, arrogance is nonexistent because it is a lie. “I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word.” Yet, you respect free will and let all choose you or reject you—choose you a little, choose you wholeheartedly, or reject you altogether.

“Lord, save us! We are perishing!” These words of the disciples Jesus hears and responds to immediately. The little faith they had poured forth from them when they needed Jesus to intervene. It was a small thing for Jesus to calm the winds and the sea. The result: great calm. It is a small thing for Jesus to rebuke the daily fears and terrors. “I can’t,” I often tell myself throughout the day. When I ask for his help, Jesus speaks into reality the direct opposition to fear: “Oh yes you can!” And there is great peace in trusting he holds good to his word.

As I travel in this vessel, the sunlit day, I want to remember what unearthly power is in it with me. At the end of the day, let me see where God was present. Let me look back and see that I was the one who had little faith, the one amazed at the man “whom even the winds and sea obey.”

USCCB Readings

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Reflection

“ ‘Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.’ And he said to them, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ ”

This short dialogue between Jesus and Mary offers a window into the relationship between Jesus and each individual person. Mary’s question, “Son, why have you done this to us?” is one I myself might ask of God countless times throughout the day. With anxiety and bewilderment, I wonder where God is in the midst of turmoil or uncertainty. “I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” Yet, Mary is quieted by her 12-year-old son. “Do you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” In the same way, I might quiet myself in times of trouble, assured that I will always be able to find Jesus in his Father’s house.

God, help me understand that troubles and anxiety will come but that I don’t have to go looking far to find peace, to find Jesus in his Father’s house.

By being present in his Father’s house as a boy, Jesus began to recognize his divine identity through obedience to his parents and to his Father in heaven. God, help me be able to find you today and simply be with you. I know you don’t want me to look for you with anxiety, so I ask the grace to see you through the ordinary trials of the day present with your Son, who asks, “Why are you looking for me?” You know my heart, Lord, and you know why I look for you. Help me find you!

Today a moment might come when I ask, like Mary, why God has done something in a certain way. I don’t need to think too hard about what is happening. In fact, he hasn’t done anything that brings harm or anxiety. The anxiety is in losing faith, not knowing how to find him, or in looking for him in the wrong places. “I must be in my Father’s house.”

USCCB Readings

Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

USCCB Readings

One of the lines that strikes me in today’s readings has been made famous by wherever large crowds appear, John 3:16: “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Also in today’s reading, what stands out for me is “so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”

Today’s reading is a continuation of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, who said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” At the end of today’s Gospel passage, John follows Nicodemus’s statement to its conclusion: “But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”

I love the imagery of light and darkness. But what’s hard to acknowledge is my participation in the latter: “And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.” Evil is abominable, wickedness has been personified throughout history by names instilled in all of us by sixth grade. “That’s not me; I’m not them,” I might reassure myself. But evil is impartial, and every reasoning person of age succumbs at times to evil. No question, no exceptions. It is to will the harm of the other just as love (as Saint Thomas Aquinas describes) is to will the good of the other. God, help me understand always the way to avoid evil and live in the light.

Father in heaven, I have a full agenda today. Some of it is good and necessary; some, pie in the sky. Help me be remain in your light today and be responsive to the Holy Spirit. As Jesus says to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” God, help me stay in the light.

Today, among the many junctions I will come to, I have a moral choice set before me: avoid the light so that my actions might not be exposed; that is, live in darkness; or, live the truth and come toward the light to receive and act in God’s grace.