Tag: USCCB Lectio Divina

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord: 09 April – Matthew 27:45-54 ~ the death of Jesus

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord: 09 April 2017

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, though in our weakness we fail,  we may be revived through the Passion of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
__________

Reading: Matthew 27:45-54 (NLT)

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
__________

Prayer:

Sovereign God: you are our strength and our hope. Make haste to help us.

+ For your people throughout the world – that we may celebrate these holy days with reverence and devotion…. Lord, hear us.
+ For our own faith communities – that we may deepen our love for Christ in this Holy Week…. Lord, hear us.
+ For the Jewish people, our brothers and sisters – that they may continue to grow in faith during this season of Passover…. Lord, hear us.
+ For the city of Jerusalem – that it may be a place of peace and healing for the nations…. Lord, hear us.
+ For Christians who are being persecuted – that they may receive strength and courage from your presence with them…. Lord, hear us.
+ For those who suffer torture as Christ did – that He may be close to them…. Lord, hear us.
+ For all those who have gone before us in faith – that they may journey through the valley of death to resurrection…. Lord, hear us.

God of compassion, in the death and resurrection of Jesus you show your love for us: hear our prayers, and grant them, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
__________

“By His Wounds” – Steven Curtis Chapman


__________

Closing:

It was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. – Isaiah 53:4-5 (NLT)

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
_________

Format adapted from Lectio Divina: USCCB Lenten Resources, 2017

Fifth Sunday of Lent: 02 April – John 11:3-7; 17; 20-27; 33b-45 ~ “Lazarus, come out!”

Fifth Sunday of Lent: 02 April 2017

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Enlighten, O God of compassion, the hearts of your children, and in your kindness grant those you stir to faith and devotion a gracious hearing when they cry out to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
__________

Reading: John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45 (NLT)

The Raising of Lazarus

So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”

But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days. Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
_____

When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days.
_____

When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

“Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

“Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”
_____

When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them.

They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen.
__________

Prayer:

Heavenly Father: In your Son, Jesus, you gave life abundant and eternal to all who believe in his name.

+ Remind us again that nothing is impossible for you, even raising the dead to life.
+ Remind us again of your compassion and love for us, especially in times of sorrow and grief.
+ Fill us with confident faith in your Son, Jesus, our resurrection and our life.
+ Draw us close to you during this season of repentance and reflection.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers, and fill our hearts with your mercy, so that safeguarding the gifts received through your goodness, we may walk in newness of life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
__________

“I Am the Resurrection” – Diocese of St. Benedict – Old Catholic Missionaries


__________

Closing:

See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted.

But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.

And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence.

For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.

– Isaiah 52:13-15 (NLT)

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
_________

Format adapted from Lectio Divina: USCCB Lenten Resources, 2017

Fourth Sunday of Lent: 26 March – John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38 ~ seeing and believing

Fourth Sunday of Lent: 26 March 2017

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

O God: you renew the world through mysteries beyond all telling; grant, I pray, that your people may be guided by your eternal design and not be deprived of your help in this present age. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
__________

Reading: John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38 (NLT)

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.
_____

Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”

But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
_____

Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”

Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.

Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”

The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
_____

“You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”

“You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”

“Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
__________

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ: Light of the world – open my eyes to recognize your hand at work in the miraculous and the mundane.

+ Lord, open my eyes to the needs of people in my neighborhood.
+ Lord, show me the good works you are already doing in their lives.
+ Lord, give me discernment to recognize opportunities to join your work.
+ Lord, help me make the most of these opportunities to love them and honor you.

Lord Jesus Christ: Light of the world – display your wonder-working power in my neighborhood; that all may acknowledge you as the Son of God and worship you – to the glory of the Most High God. Amen.
__________

“This I Believe” – Hillsong Worship


__________

Closing:

The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away. – Isaiah 50:4-5 (NLT)

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
_________

Format adapted from Lectio Divina: USCCB Lenten Resources, 2017

Third Sunday of Lent: 19 March – John 4:5-15, 19-26, 39-42 ~ come to the well

Third Sunday of Lent: 19 March 2017

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

May your unfailing compassion, O Lord, cleanse and protect your Church, and, since without you she cannot stand secure, may she be always governed by your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
__________

Reading: John 4:5-15, 19-26,39-42 (NLT)

The Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s Well

Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
_____

“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”
_____

Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”
__________

Prayer:

O God, living and true, look upon your people, whose dry and stony hearts are parched with thirst. Unseal the living water of your Spirit; let it become within us an ever-flowing spring, leaping up to eternal life. Thus may we worship you in spirit and in truth through Christ, our deliverance and hope, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God for ever and ever.
__________

“The Well” – Casting Crowns


__________

Closing:

The Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength.

He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” – Isaiah 49″5b-6 (NLT)

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
_________

Format adapted from Lectio Divina: USCCB Lenten Resources, 2017

Second Sunday of Lent: 12 March – Matthew 17:1-9 ~ a glimpse of glory

Second Sunday of Lent: 12 March 2017

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Holy God, from the dazzling cloud you revealed Jesus in glory as your beloved Son. During these forty days enlighten your people with the bright glory of your presence. Inspire us by your word and so transform us into the image of the risen Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God for ever and ever.
__________

Reading: Matthew 17:1-9 (NLT)

The Transfiguration of Jesus

Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.

Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.

Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.

As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
__________

Prayer:

Holy God – Father, Son and Spirit – reveal your glory to me today that I may be comforted by your touch and challenged by your word spoken to me.

+ Draw me close to you in worship – that I may be dazzled by your presence.
+ Open my eyes to the reality of your holiness – that I may be terrified by my unworthiness.
+ Touch my heart, my soul, my lips – that I may be purified and cleansed of my sin.
+ Renew my mind and transform my will – that I may trust you completely and obey you in all things.
+ Remake me and mold me in your image – that you may abide in me and I in you for ever.

Holy God – show me your glory that I may be shocked and awed by your presence. Then send me out with boldness and confidence to love and serve you in this upside down world. Through my Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
__________

“Show Me Your Glory” – Jesus Culture


__________

Closing:

Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The Lord called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name. He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.

He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory.”

I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.” – Isaiah 49:1-4

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
_________

Format adapted from Lectio Divina: USCCB Lenten Resources, 2017