lectio divina – Page 81

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Jesus weeps as he draws near Jerusalem, realizing its destruction was imminent. Commentary on this passage notes that Jesus weeps this way in only one other instance—for the death of his friend Lazarus. Here is Emmanuel among his people, who do not recognize him and suffer division because of that.

God, help me understand that what Jesus says standing outside Jerusalem, he says to me in a personal way. Father in heaven, you sent your son out of love for each person. How is it that the enemies of the day—the enemies within me and the enemies without—hem me in and overtake me? God, give me the gift of wisdom to recognize that you are present, to recognize the moments of the day when you make your visitation. It is harder for me to acknowledge and confront the enemies within than the enemies that abound of “one holy catholic and apostolic Church,” who “smash you to the ground and your children within you.” How peace will come out of what seems impossible, only God knows. As Jesus says in the Gospel according to Matthew: “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your presence. I know you love your children and never turn away. Help me remember to turn to you today to see you through the eyes of faith. Saint Elizabeth, 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.

Readings

Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

“‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’ He replied, ‘I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.’”

The Gospel reading from today is difficult to hear if not read in light of how God is to be worshiped. In the reading from the Book of Revelation, John describes the four evangelists before God’s throne, exclaiming: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.” The Parable of the Talents calls attention not to financial shortcomings or levels of worldly success but to devotion to God throughout life. In the parable, the king represents Jesus, present on earth as the Son of God and who will be present again as Christ the King when he returns in glory for the final judgment. In the parable, the king tells his servants: “Engage in trade with these [gold coins] until I return.” The question Jesus presents in the parable might be put this way when, at the end of this life, we meet the one who was, and who is, and who is to come: “What have you done with the coins, the gifts, I have given you?”

I might answer, God, by saying I have done little—not enough. Whatever I have done to bring forth the Kingdom of God, it was not my work but yours. What Jesus says in the parable is something I could ask myself every day, knowing the outcome of each scenario. To the servant who earns ten more coins, the king says, “Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.” To the servant who returns the single coin, the king calls him a wicked servant. Bless me, Lord, with the wisdom of thinking little of what I can on my own; instead, let me love you by allowing you to act in and through me to accomplish marvelous works—your own Divine Will. God, you know that although I often stop short and gain little with the gifts you have given me, I would rather be like the servant who is faithful in small matters and hear you say, “Well done, good servant!” Help me strive to be faithful.

God, you give me every good you yourself have created. You meet me where I am and love me as I am. Help me through your grace gain the wisdom and strength I need to accomplish all that I am able with the gifts you have given me. Teach me your ways in this life so that in the life to come, I will exclaim with my whole heart: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.

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

Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

And Jesus said to [Zacchaeus], “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

The Gospel reading from today, which we heard recently during the Sunday Mass, tells the story of Jesus’ encounter with the wealthy chief tax collector Zacchaeus. As Jesus announces to Zacchaeus that today he will stay at his house, some people in the crowd surrounding Jesus grumble about him spending time in the house of a sinner. But after coming down to receive Jesus with joy, the passage says that “Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.’” How does this resonate with my own life? Have there been times when I see someone rejoicing in their relationship with the Lord, yet I respond with harsh judgment?

God, help me understand this Gospel reading in respect to my own life. The first reading says what might be said of Zacchaeus or anyone of relative wealth and social status: “For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Even as Zacchaeus heard the grumbling of the people, he was overjoyed at standing before Jesus face to face. What Jesus says to Zacchaeus as he repents in person in the past, Jesus says to all of us who repent and return to him: “Today salvation has come to this house. . . . For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Thank you, Lord, for the Eucharist, which brings your Son (body and blood, soul and divinity) to us today and every day in the Masses celebrated throughout the world.

I am yours, God; help me remain in you today and every day. I can proclaim this with boldness only because I depend on your grace to remain in your word. Come today, Lord, to stay at my house when I hear your voice. You say, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with 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.

Readings

Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

“Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

A blind man called out to Jesus as he passed by on his way to Jericho. Despite people trying to quiet him, the man called out all the more, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” When the man was brought to Jesus, he said, “What do you want me to do for you?” As soon as the man asked to see, Jesus spoke, giving him sight. After he received sight, the man followed Jesus, giving glory to God; the people who witnessed this gave praise to God.

It seems almost a given that the man’s physical blindness is symbolic of human spiritual blindness. Yet he was truly physically blind, and Jesus met him where he was, asking, “What do you want me to do for you?” Help me understand, Lord, that I can ask you through prayer to heal me of physical and spiritual illnesses. The blind man had perfect faith in Jesus, and after Jesus healed him, his response was perfect: to follow Jesus and give glory to God.

God, thank you for the gift of your Son, present every minute of every day in the Eucharist and in the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus, in your real presence, give me the grace today to know that I can come to you at any time, asking for your mercy and for eyes of faith that see beyond the mere physical world. Let me know, God, that in the person of Jesus, I have the means to obtain the beatific vision, the hope to see you face to face in heaven.

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

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus said, “Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. . . . You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks about the end times, when nation will rise against nation and catastrophic natural events will occur. Also to come, Jesus says, are “awesome sights and mighty signs [that] will come from the sky.” Before that, though, many will come in God’s name saying “I am he” and “The time has come.” Jesus warns us not to follow them; that is not of God or from God. What is instead, is the name above all names, the one who will give us irrefutable wisdom and security through our perseverance in the faith.

God, help me understand a simple truth that I am aware of but often don’t acknowledge: things fall apart. Whether out of fear or my focus on the present, I don’t often dwell on the end times; that is, my own death and the time of redemption, the Second Coming of Christ. How much less I have to fear when I consider that Jesus refers to the resurrection—my resurrection because of his—that not a hair of my head will be destroyed. Yet, the temple in Jerusalem and all the greatest architectural and sacred treasures of the world will someday fall to dust. Lord, you invite each of us through perseverance in faith to risen life, to a new creation that will endure forever. As C. S. Lewis said: “Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”

Mary, Mother of God, today I will bring my fears, prayers of thanksgiving, and intentions to you in praying the rosary. I know you welcome me always so that you can show me the way to your son. Thank you, God, for your great goodness! Glory to you! Bless me with your presence, and help me persevere.

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

Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr

The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Jesus says in today’s Gospel reading that for those who call out to him day and night, God renders justice speedily. By saying this, Jesus draws a direct connection between constant prayer and speedy justice. In my experience, I know that God hears my prayers, but I wait a long time to see a response to them or any kind of justice as a result of my prayers. What is apparently contradictory, is not contradictory at all. God works in his own time and in his own way, and what seems like an eternity to me is to God like a flash of lightning. God’s time is not my own. I know it must be that his will is accomplished even as I pray but am unable to see results.

God, help me understand and be at peace with how you accomplish justice on earth; that is, how your will is carried out in my life and the world around me. Figuring out your timetable is futile and irrelevant, but learning to trust you and believe that you hear me and act in my life is absolutely vital. “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

God, you sent your Son to every one of us out of love and mercy, and he will come again in glory. These invisible realities I hold in faith; strengthen me through your grace to accept them as truth. Thank you for your goodness, Lord, and let me remember to return to you throughout the day in my prayers, words, and actions. You are my Father in heaven, and I want you to be well pleased with 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.

Readings

Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop

Jesus said to his disciples: “Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples the story of Noah, how during his time people were going about their customary ways of eating, drinking, and marrying when the floods came and destroyed them all. “Similarly,” Jesus says, in the days of Lot, “they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” Although the angels told Lot and his wife not to look back, Lot’s wife did look back and turned into a pillar of salt. “Remember the wife of Lot,” Jesus says. How clearly does the meaning of this ring out in the words of Jesus? “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it”? Do I move forward in my faith, or do I look back on the desolate ruins of my past?

God, help me understand today’s Scripture readings. What do I gain by trying to grasp what instead I should let go of? My hope is to let go of what I should lose so that I can gain what endures by striving to hear and do God’s will. As Saint John says in the first reading: “Look to yourselves that you do not lose what we worked for but may receive a full recompense. Anyone who is so ‘progressive’ as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.” Today, we remember Saint Martin of Tours, a fourth-century priest and bishop, who was known for saying near the time of his death: “Lord, if your people still need me, I do not refuse the work. Your will be done.”

Today, God, let your spirit work in me. I am eager to face the strife of the day when I can put to the test the words of Jesus: “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.” Through your grace may I have the courage when my faith is tested to lose my life for the sake of gaining Christ. Thank you, God, for your great goodness!

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

Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of God in today’s Gospel reading in a mysterious way that seems almost self-contradictory. The Kingdom of God, Jesus says, cannot be observed yet at the same time is among us. The Greek word entos, from which midst is translated (also translated as among) means “within” or “inside.” Within each of us is a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of God within us. Later in the Gospel passage, Jesus says that the appearance of the Kingdom of God (the Son of Man) will leave no doubt about its presence among us: “For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” That said, the Kingdom of God is both within (invisible) and external (visible in the sky) when Christ comes again.

God, help me understand the mystery of your kingdom. How will I see it today, whether looking within or looking outside of myself for its manifestation in others and in opportunities you present to me? Through your grace let me live in the light of Christ today. In the words of Saint Leo the Great: “Recall how you had been wrested from the power of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God. Through the sacrament of baptism you were made a temple of the Holy Spirit.”

Thank you, Lord, for your gift of the Holy Spirit, present in the sacraments. Help me order my day with the gift of discernment so that I can please you in all I do and say as a child of your kingdom. Be with me, Lord.

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

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.”

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The cathedral church of Rome, known as the mother church, was dedicated by Pope Sylvester in 324. The church was dedicated after Emperor Constantine’s Edit of Milan, which gave religious freedom to Christians. In the Gospel reading, Jesus makes clear through his words and actions that the temple is a sacred place, not to be desecrated by being made into a marketplace. But Jesus’ zeal is not for physical buildings but for the temple of his Body, the foundation on which Jesus builds the Church. As Saint Paul says in the second reading, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God” and that “the temple of God, which you are, is holy.”

Help me understand, Lord, the sanctity of my body through the Spirit of God who dwells in me, which is constantly nourished by the sacraments. I am your building, built by you. Let me accept this body and spirit as your pure gift allowing me to live a life that will bring me to you, forever praising your name in the company of saints and angels.

Spirit of God, dwell in me today to make me holy. I know you love me with perpetual care; I know also that I will look away from you today. Keep me in your care, Lord, and let me see you in the people and opportunities you set before me today. Thank you, God, for your goodness!

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

Tuesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus said to the Apostles, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’ ”

In the the first reading from Paul taken together with today’s Gospel reading, the Scriptures provide a guidance on how to live and what attitude to take toward life. Do all you can, Jesus suggests, and think little of what you were obliged to do. Addressing men and women, Paul says, “For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ.” Still, to hear the words of Jesus—that we are unprofitable servants—seems harsh and hard to accept. What more is there that Jesus says to me in these words?

God, help me understand that everything I have in this life—my all—is yours. Acknowledging that, my only recourse is to give back to you what is yours for your glory. Any other way to live is an exercise in self-glorification and a lie. Even as I consider this, I test it to see if it is true. Help me, Lord, to learn truth from you, doing what I am obliged to do by acting on your Divine Will. The words of Saint Paul give sound guidance in carrying this out as we await the blessed hope: “be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance.”

Come to me, Lord, and stay with me every minute of this day. Since I am certain to forget that you are with me, rouse me through the breath of the Holy Spirit to take heart. Give me the grace and quiet consolation to know you are near and the ears to hear your still small voice. I know that you delight in me; let my delight be to please you and be, as Paul says, “a model of good deeds in every respect.” Thank you, Lord, for all the gifts you give me every day.

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