Tag: lectio divina

Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 4:31-37)

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm.

In the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon calls Jesus by his name and place and also recognizes his divinity, the “Holy One of God.” With a few words, Jesus exorcises the demon, and the man is left unharmed. “Be quiet!” The demon cannot withstand the authority of Jesus and the reality-forming words that he speaks. “Come out of him!” The people who witness this are amazed and say to one another, “What is there about his word?” The spirit knows that Jesus was from Nazareth and raised there. Like the people of Capernaum, the unclean spirit probably also knew that Jesus was the son of Mary and Joseph, a carpenter. And it beheld that at the same time Jesus’ divinity coexisted with his humanity. While the people were amazed, the unclean spirit is convicted in God’s presence and cannot remain standing within it.

Father in heaven, no evil can remain hidden in darkness in the presence of your light. In the relationship of the Trinity, Jesus your Son is “God from God, Light from Light . . . by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” Whenever I am threatened by overpowering darkness, come to my aid to quiet evil in all its manifestations and banish it in the name of Jesus. Through the grace of the sacraments, help me remain in your light. As Saint Paul says in the first reading: “But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief. For all of you are children of the light and children of the day.”

From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?”

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaVQ82g2C4

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 4:16-30)

Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

From the close of today’s Gospel reading, Luke relates how Jesus is driven out of town by the people in the synagogue. What did he do to receive this treatment? At the beginning of the passage, minutes before this, Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah the words “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” and to people amazed at his gracious words, he says: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing,” thus revealing himself as the Messiah. But the people of Nazareth are unable to accept Jesus’ claims and become hostile toward him. They reject him, skeptical that “the son of Joseph” could not possibly be the Messiah. How does this relate to those of us who live among family or within tight-knit communities?

God, help me understand today’s Gospel in relation to my own experiences among the people whose lives I touch. I sometimes feel trapped in the skeptical milieu of modern communication—social media, instant access to communication, layer upon layer of interpretations of events. Help me recognize that despite living in this age, the world is yours and all that is in and that truth is not a philosophy or dictum or creed but a person—Jesus Christ your Son. Your kingdom is present and it is to come. When I am met with hostility because of my faith in the Church, help me remember the words that Jesus read from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”

From the responsorial psalm: “Before the LORD, for he comes; for he comes to rule the earth. He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his constancy.”

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.

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 16:21-27)

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. 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.”

Jesus calls Peter Satan only a short time after he tells him “you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Peter, who recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, rebukes Jesus for hearing and doing the will of the Father; namely, to undergo his passion, death, and resurrection for the salvation of the world. In today’s Gospel, Jesus goes on to tell Peter: “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.” There is no other way to eternal life except in the mystical body of Christ—through Him, with Him, and in Him.

Father in heaven, help me recognize my cross and pick it up. Give me the opportunity to be aware of you today in the people you place before me, through prayer, and in receiving the Eucharist. Rather than turn away from my cross, give me the grace to make it a means of participating in the redemptive suffering of your Son. In the mystery of this participation, instill in my heart with your love the hope of the resurrection and eternal life in the world to come.

From the second reading: “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

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.

Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 25:14-30)

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.”

Today’s Gospel contains the well-known parable of the talents, which Jesus shares with his disciples to teach them about the importance of using their God-given gifts and resources wisely and faithfully. The first and second servants do well in using God’s gifts; the third, does not do well. While the first two servants were faithful stewards, the third acted out of fear and hid his talents. It’s hard not to look with pity on the third servant. His fear paralyzed him. Yet, it was not success or profit the master sought in entrusting his possessions to the servants but an open and faithful trust in him, a share in his joy.

God, help me choose to receive and use your gifts not out of servile fear but out of love in response to love. You are the giver of all good things, and I strive to use your gifts faithfully but tend toward disuse or misuse of them. Because your love and generosity extend boundlessly beyond my imagination, teach me to be faithful to you, living in your love and unafraid of the outcome. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says of those animated by God’s gift of spiritual freedom in charity “[they] no longer stand before God as a slave, in servile fear, or as a mercenary looking for wages, but as a son responding to the love of him who “first loved us.”

From the Gospel acclamation: “I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” Lord, I want to be your good and faithful servant. Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, bring me into the presence of Jesus your Son.

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.

Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 25:1-13)

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.”

As in yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus urges the disciples to be vigilant for the second coming of the Son of Man and his final judgment. In sharing the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus teaches about the importance of readiness for the coming of the Kingdom of heaven. On his return, will Jesus find us waiting for him in the light of our faith?

Father in heaven, help me grasp the meaning of this parable. Teach me vigilance for the second coming, and teach me day-to-day preparedness as he comes through his words, in the moments of the day, through the people I encounter, and in the sacraments. Give me the grace to respond immediately to your Son’s call at whatever time to come out to meet him. “Therefore, stay awake,” Jesus says to me, “for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

From the Gospel acclamation: “Be vigilant at all time and pray, that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.”

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.

Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 24:42-51)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Jesus tells the disciples to be vigilant for the coming of the Son of Man. In the first reading, Saint Paul in his Letter to the Thessalonians echoes the Lord’s words: “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all . . . so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.” Today’s readings speak to the importance of vigilance and faithful stewardship in relation to the Second Coming and final judgment of Christ.

Father in heaven, help me remember to return to you throughout the day in awareness of your presence. Give me the grace to be vigilant today and every day of the coming of your Son. Help me live out each day with a sense of urgency, faithfully taking responsibility for your gifts and living in accordance with your will. Bless me with your care, and make me an instrument of your love and mercy.

From the responsorial psalm: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!”

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.

Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 23:27-32)

Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.”

Jesus judges incisively the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, yet the Son of God is the Just Judge. The words Jesus chooses to address the Pharisees likens them to tombs and what is inside them. He describes the ghastly appearance of death, the death of those who live a life of whitewashed appearances, a life of feigned holiness. “Thus you bear witness against yourselves,” Jesus tells them, “that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets.” But as the responsorial psalm makes clear, there is nothing hidden that God cannot see: “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light’–For you darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the day.”

God, help me understand the relevance of today’s Gospel. Your word is at work in me now, as Saint Paul says, yet I often choose to put on appearances and be on guard to uphold my self-image, the edifice I have built and shore up for the sake of others. Jesus cuts deep only to heal when he calls out arrogance and hypocrisy for the spiritual decay that results: “full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.” Give me the grace to abandon what is futile and foolish and do what is pleasing to you. Help me see that in the light of your presence there is no place to hide. Teach me, God, to love you, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.

From the first reading: “And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.”

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.

Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 6:17-29)

The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison.

In today’s Gospel, Mark relates the story of John the Baptist’s execution by Herod. The forerunner, the herald of Jesus’ ministry, is beheaded for preaching repentance and baptism. As Herod throws a party for himself on his birthday, Herodias’s daughter dances for him and his guests. “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you,” Herod tells her after she dances. “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” Prompted by her mother, Herodias’s daughter asks for the head of John the Baptist, and she and Herodias get what they ask for. As the one who prepares the way of Jesus, John suffers in prison and dies a martyr’s death in a baptism of blood.

God, help me be ready when courage is needed to uphold my faith and commit to proclaiming the truth. John’s life and death were marked by decreasing so that your Son might increase, a precursor to Jesus who prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah. Help me recognize in John’s martyrdom the absolute dedication of his mission, and give me the grace to put aside my own sense of propriety and be a bold witness to Christ, who is truth itself.

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Saint John the Baptist, pray for us!

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.

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 16:13-20)

Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

In today’s Gospel, Peter confesses the identity of Jesus as the Son of God when few others recognized that. Among the disciples, he spoke in response to Jesus’ question “But who do you say that I am?” Jesus affirms Peter’s declaration, acknowledging that this revelation did not come from human knowledge but from God the Father. Jesus then bestows a significant blessing on Peter as the rock on which the Church is built and the one who has unique authority over it. All of that follows in the emergence of the Church stems from God’s divine revelation to Peter.

God, help me recognize the authority given to Peter in the moment Jesus speaks to him. It continues to this day in apostolic succession throughout the ages, starting from Peter and continuing unbroken to Pope Francis. This authority to bind and loose, given to Peter by your Son, is understood as the power to make authoritative decisions and judgments in matters of faith and morals within the Church. Help me be obedient to the teachings of the Church, fully recognizing its divine origins and trusting in the guidance of Pope Francis and the bishops whose vocation is to live in your love and continually answer Jesus’ question “But who do you say that I am?”

From the responsorial psalm: “I will give thanks to your name, because of your kindness and your truth: When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me.”

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.

Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 23:1-12)

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen.”

Jesus, who came to fulfill and not to abolish the law and the prophets, says of the scribes and Pharisees: “Do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you.” But as for the burdens they place on others and their self-righteousness, Jesus also says: “Do not follow their example.” At the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus’ message to the crowds and to the disciples is unequivocal: “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

God, keep me from the temptation to seek honor and titles that draw attention to myself. Help me refuse to be led by pride, which tempts me to put myself first above others. Jesus calls his disciples to embrace humility and recognize their dependence on you and their need for your grace. Help me do the same, examining my attitudes and motives, and able to prioritize serving and uplifting others rather than seeking personal gain or recognition.

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored.” Make known to me your ways, LORD; teach me your paths!

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.