A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday and Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 11, n. 47)
29th WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME: October 20-26, 2013 *****
(N.B. The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year C from three perspectives. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 2. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 5. For reflections based on the Second Reading, open Series 8. Please go to Series 10 and Series 11 for the back issues of the Weekday Lectio.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: October 20-26, 2013. The weekday reflections are based on the First Reading. For the weekday reflections based on the Gospel Reading, please open Series 10.)
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October 20, 2013: 29th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
“JESUS SAVIOR: “He Teaches Us the Power of Prayer”
29th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
N.B. Today is WORLD MISSION SUNDAY.
BIBLE READINGS
Ex 17:8-13 // II Tm 3:14-4:2 // Lk 18:1-8
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
I was the Liturgy Coordinator of the Program and Events Committee that prepared the papal liturgy for World Youth Day ’95 held in Manila, Philippines. Some of our main concerns were the peace and security of the participants as well as fair weather for the open-air liturgical celebrations with Pope John Paul II. Challenged by these concerns and cognizant of many others, we organized youth “prayer warriors” to offer special supplication for the Pope and to invoke God’s blessings upon World Youth Day ’95, a wonderful pastoral event in the life of the Church. The late Jaime Cardinal Sin of the Archdiocese of Manila was greatly pleased when he came to know of the ministry of the youth “prayer warriors”. The heartfelt prayers of the “warriors” were answered. The culminating liturgy at the Rizal National Park in Manila was blessed with fair weather and the “phenomenal” assembly of about four million participants at the Eucharistic celebration presided by the Pope was spared from harm, terrorist attack and injury. A false alarm in that incomparable throng would have provoked a horrible stampede and a sinister plot on that tightly packed crowd would have resulted in utter disaster. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw on television Pope John Paul II safely boarding the plane that would take him to his next pastoral destination – New Guinea.
The Old Testament reading of this Sunday (Ex 17:8-13) depicts Moses with uplifted hands as a “prayer warrior”, a powerful symbol of the necessity and efficacy of prayer. The image of Moses interceding on the mountain with uplifted hands while Joshua and the Israelites battled the Amalekites at Rephidim illustrates the powerful, indispensable ministry of intercession. The Amalekites, who controlled the caravan routes between Arabia and Egypt, resented the intrusion of the Israelites, newly liberated by Yahweh from their slavery in Egypt. The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses ordered a counter attack – the first military activity of the newly freed Israelites. The victory of the fledging Israelite army depended on divine help mediated through Moses, steadfastly brandishing “the staff of God”. Indeed, Moses – a figure of Jesus Christ - was an efficacious “prayer warrior” on account of divine predilection and because the power of “Yahweh-warrior” was upon him.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 6, comment: “Moses and his uplifted hands … they are holding the staff of God … It is this banner of God lifted by Moses over the battle that has won the victory. It is God who has fought for his people on their way to the Promised Land … The episode of Moses on the mountain is therefore an urgent call to faithful vigilance and incessant prayer to the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle (Ps 24:8). Without God’s intervention – without the banner of God raised above us – Amalek is stronger. But this protection does not free us from the need to fight. God waits for us to enter the battle ourselves before assisting us. Thus we pray and proclaim with assurance: God is our help; he who has made heaven and earth neither sleeps nor slumbers; he will protect us from all evil because he stays near us and because he desires for us to have eternal life.”
The Gospel reading (Lk 18:1-8) depicts the figure of another exquisite “prayer warrior” – the importunate widow who was able to evoke a just decision in her favor from a dishonest judge who could no longer endure her persistence. The evangelist Luke linked the persevering and patient prayer of the widow with a Christian challenge: “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8). Indeed, the deeper issue that underlines the parable of the persistent widow and the dishonest judge is faith: faith in the saving God and in the Son of Man who will come again, a faith that needs to be renewed and strengthened, for without it there would be no salvation. The goal of Christian prayer offered in faith is our salvation – a gift won for us by Christ, who extended his arms in prayer and sacrifice on the redemptive cross.
The figure of Moses as a “prayer warrior” and the image of the courageous widow who persevered in prayer - a veritable “prayer warrior” in her own right – invite us to contemplate the ultimate “prayer warrior”, Jesus Christ, whose hands were lifted up in a prayer of surrender on the cross of paschal sacrifice. The Son of God, by his prayer and sacrificial death on the cross that led to his glorification, achieved the decisive victory against the forces of sin and evil.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
What are our personal insights concerning this episode of Moses interceding intensely for the victory of the fledging army of Israel? How does the role of Aaron and Hur in assisting Moses’ ministry of intercession impact us? How does the figure of Moses as a “prayer warrior” inspire us? Why is the importunate widow a “prayer warrior”? How did her perseverance and continual intercession become a victory? Do we see ourselves in the role of the importunate widow? Do we likewise see ourselves as the unjust judge who could be decisively influenced by prayer? How does God respond to our prayers? Are our prayers insistent and persevering?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving Father,
you are loving and compassionate.
You care for us and listen to our prayers.
Grant that we may experience deeply your goodness
so that our prayers may be strengthened
by the truth of your saving Word.
Teach us to embrace the concerns of others
and those of the suffering world
so that we can pray for them with trusting hearts.
Help us to be faithful to your Word
and persevering in prayer.
We love you, almighty Father.
We give you thanks and glorify you,
now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight.” (Ex 17:11)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Meditate on the meaning of intercessory prayer and our vocation to be “prayer warriors”. Endeavor to exercise the ministry of intercession on behalf of the local community, the Church, and the whole world. Assist with your prayer and concrete deeds of charity the poor people around you.
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October 21, 2013: MONDAY – WEEKDAY (29)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Was Raised for Our Justification”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 4:20-25 // Lk 12:13-21
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In today’s First Reading, Saint Paul asserts that Abraham’s faith is the pattern of our Christian faith. Abraham did not doubt God’s promise, and his faith filled him with power to glorify God. Abraham showed an unwavering trust in God’s benevolent promise. His faith made him righteous in the sight of God and put him in intimate relationship with God. That Abraham was put right with God is also true for us. We too are justified by faith. Our sins have caused us to experience “death”. But God raised Jesus from the dead for our salvation. By the paschal mystery of Christ’s death and rising, God offered us the gift of healing and the forgiveness of sins.
The following story illustrates that Jesus Christ, who is the cause of our salvation, is ready to comfort us and strengthen our “imperfect” faith in him (cf. Jeanne McClure, “Heaven Is Warm” in 101 Inspiration Stories of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Sister Patricia Proctor, Spokane: Franciscan Monastery of Saint Clare, 2006, p. 93-94).
I am an alcoholic, and the day I finally turned it over to God, I immediately went to confession for the first time in years. It was at a church I hadn’t been attending, with a priest I didn’t know.
At that time of my life I was working, going to school, and raising two young children on my own. I wondered what on earth I could tell the priest that would be just a small amount of information, but enough that he would quickly give me an absolution and let me leave.
When I got into the confessional, I forgot the words to the act of contrition and had to be coached through it. I also had my two small children crammed into the booth with me, asking questions as I tried to give as brief but as honest a confession as I could.
As I left the church with my absolution clutched figuratively in my hand, I felt only halfway forgiven. It had nothing to do with the priest. I felt I had made a hasty, halfway confession and was terrified that God wasn’t going to accept it. I took my children home to our cold apartment and bundled them into bed, my infant son in his playpen and my toddler daughter with me on a mattress that was on the floor. I covered us with every blanket we had in an attempt to get warm enough to sleep.
I was worried that God wasn’t going to accept or forgive me because I’d been way too imperfect, so I lay there in the cold and cried. Moments later, I was above the mattress and seated almost sprawled at the feet of Jesus. I rested my head on His knee and felt the soft billowing of His white robe. I never looked up; I never felt the need to. I knew who He was. And I was warm, so very warm. No one said anything and I never moved, nor did He.
Eventually I returned to my bed. He was gone and I was once again shivering beneath the blankets. I wrapped my arms around my little girl and pulled her close to me, my heart swollen and aching with the agony of ecstasy. I now know for certain – Heaven is warm, and the Son accepts our most inept confessions if they come from our hearts.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Is our faith as steadfast and empowering as that of patriarch Abraham? Do we trust in the goodness of God who raised his Son Jesus from the dead for our salvation?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving God,
how marvelous is the faith of Abraham!
He fully trusted in your benevolent promise.
Let us be “justified” by our steadfast faith in you,
who raised your Son Jesus from the dead for our salvation.
We give you glory and praise,
now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Abraham was fully convinced that what God had promised he was able to do.” (Rom 4:21)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
When the daily vicissitude challenges you, ask the good Lord to strengthen you and to grant you a faith as steadfast as that of Abraham.
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October 22, 2013: TUESDAY – WEEKDAY (29)
“JESUS SAVIOR: His Gift of Grace Overflows”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 5:12, 15b, 17-19 // Lk 12:35-38
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
Today’s First Reading helps us delve into the wonderful consequence of Christ’s fidelity. His unmitigated trust in the word of God overcame the effects of sin and death wrought by the first Adam. Christ’s faithfulness to God enabled him to offer alienated humanity the gift of reconciliation and reap the precious fruits of “grace abounding”. Indeed, Christ’s beneficence overturned the destruction caused by Adam’ disobedience and negation of God’s love.
The biblical scholar John Pilch comments: “Paul’s main interest is not to talk about sin or death, but rather to draw a contrasting picture of Adam and Christ, prominent figures of the beginning and the end time respectively. Adam is a type or prototype of the person to come, namely, Jesus, who would far surpass what Adam did. The world was changed by both of these individuals. Adam unleashed an active hostile force into the world (sin), which has the power to cause definitive alienation (death) from God, the source of all life … In contrast, Christ’s effect is starkly different. Through the gracious gift, namely, the redemptive death of Jesus Christ, uprightness and life super-abound for all individuals who accept him.”
The following story illustrates beautifully today’s message that God’s grace is greater than the power of evil or the effects of sin (cf. Facing the Enemy” by Laura Hillenbrand in GUIDEPOSTS, January 2011, p. 52-57). Temptations to hate and despair can be overcome by letting the “seeds of faith” grow and by surrendering to the mighty love of God.
As a boy in California in the 1920s and early 1930s, Louie Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. Then he discovered that he had an extraordinary talent for running. He became a world-famous track phenomenon, competing in the 1936 Berlin Olympics when he was still a teenager.
World War II began, and Louie set aside athletics and joined the Army Air Corps. He was stationed in Hawaii as a bombardier, fighting harrowing air battles against the Japanese. On May 27, 1943, Louie and his crew took off to search for a missing bomber. Far out over the Pacific, engine failure sent their plane plunging into the ocean. Trapped by wires in the wreckage, Louie passed out. When he came to, the wires were gone. He swam to the surface and climbed onto a raft, joining two other survivors. They’d sent no distress call, and no one knew where they were. For weeks the men floated, followed by sharks, surviving on rainwater and the few fish and birds they could catch. On the twenty-seventh day, a plane appeared. Louie fired flares, and the plane turned toward them. But it turned out to be Japanese bomber, and its crewmen fired machine guns at the castaways. Louie leaped overboard. He had to kick and punch the circling sharks to keep them away until the firing stopped and he could climb back up onto the raft. Over and over the bomber returned to strafe the men, sending Louie back into the shark-infested water. By the time the bomber flew off the raft was riddled with bullet holes and was starting to sink. Amazingly, none of the men had been hit, but the sharks tried to drag them away. Beating them off with oars, the men frantically patched the raft and pumped air into it. Finally the sharks left.
On they drifted, starving. One man died; Louie and the other crewman hung on. On the forty-sixth day, they saw a distant island. They rowed toward it. When they were only yards from shore, a Japanese boat intercepted them. For the next two and a quarter years, Louie was a captive of the Japanese military. First he was held in a filthy cell, subjected to medical experiments, starved, beaten and interrogated. Then he was shipped to a prison camp in Japan, where he was forced to race against Japanese runners, winning even though he knew he’d be clubbed as punishment. He joined a daring POW underground, stealing food and circulating information to other captives.
It was in the prison camp that Louie encountered a monstrous guard known as the Bird. Fixated on breaking the famous Olympian, the Bird beat Louie relentlessly and forced him to do slave labor. Louie reached the end of his endurance. With his dignity destroyed and his will fading, he prayed for rescue. When the atomic bombs ended the war, the Bird fled to escape war-crimes trials, and Louie was saved from almost certain death.
He went home a deeply haunted man. He had nightmares of being bludgeoned by the Bird. Trying to rebuild his life, he married a beautiful debutante named Cynthia, but even her love couldn’t blot the Bird from his mind. He sought solace in running, but an ankle injury, incurred in POW camp and exacerbated by the Bird’s beatings, hampered him. Just as he was reaching Olympic form again, his ankle failed. His athletic career was finished.
Devastated, he started drinking. He had flashbacks: The raft of the prison camp would appear around him, and he’d relive terrifying memories. He simmered with rage, provoking fistfights with strangers and confrontations with Cynthia. He couldn’t shake the sense of shame that had been beaten into him by the Bird. Louie thought that God was toying with him. When he heard preachers on the radio, he turned it off. He forbade Cynthia to go to church. He drank more and more heavily. In time, Louie’s rage hardened into a twisted ambition: He would return to Japan, hunt down the Bird and strangle him. It was the only way he could restore his dignity. He became obsessed, trying to raise the money for the trip, but his financial ventures kept failing.
One night in 1948, Louie dreamed he was locked in a death battle with the Bird. A scream startled him awake. He was straddling his pregnant wife, hands clenched around her neck. His daughter was born a few months later. One day, Cynthia found him shaking the baby, trying to stop her from crying. She snatched the baby away, then packed her bags and walked out.
In the fall of 1949, Cynthia made a last effort to save her husband. She asked Louie to come to a tent meeting in Los Angeles, where a young minister named Billy Graham was preaching. For two nights, Louie sat in that tent, feeling guilty and angry as Graham spoke of sin and its consequences, and God bringing miracles to the stricken. On the second night, Graham asked people to step forward to declare their faith. Louie stood up and stormed toward the exit. But at the aisle, he stopped short. Suddenly he was in a flashback, adrift on the raft. It hadn’t rained in days, and he was dying of thirst. In anguish, he whispered a prayer: If you will save me, I will serve you forever. Over the raft, rain began falling. Standing in Graham’s tent, lost in the flashback, Louie felt the rain on his face. At that moment Louie began to see his whole ordeal differently. When he’d been trapped in the wreckage of his plane, somehow he’d been freed. When the Japanese bomber had shot the raft full of holes, somehow none of the men had been hit. When the Bird had driven him to the breaking point, and he’d prayed for help, somehow he’d found the strength to keep breathing. And that day on the raft, he had prayed for rain, and rain had come. Louie’s conviction that he was forsaken was gone, replaced by a belief that divine love had been all around him, even at his darkest moments. That night in Graham’s tent, the bitterness and pain that had haunted him vanished.
A year later, Louie went to Japan. He was a joyful man, his marriage restored, his nightmares and flashbacks gone, his alcoholism overcome. He went to a Tokyo prison where war criminals were serving their sentences. He hoped to find the Bird, to know for sure if the peace he’d found was resilient. But the Bird wasn’t there. Louie was told that the guard had killed himself. Louie was struck with emotion. He was surprised by what he felt. It was not hatred. Not relief. It was compassion. Louie had found forgiveness. Louie’s Zamperini’s life is a journey of outrageous fortune, ferocious will and astonishing redemption.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do you believe that the grace won for us by Christ, by his obedience to the Father’s word, is superabundant and greater than the effects of sin?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving God,
we thank you for your Son Jesus.
He was faithful and obedient to your word.
When tempted to despair,
fill us with hope and strengthen us with your love.
Incline our hearts to your voice.
Let your Son Jesus sow the “seeds of faith” in our hearts.
Make them grow in the grace-filled choices of daily life
and bear abundant fruits.
Fill us with healing love
and delight us with grace abounding,
now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“How much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.” (cf. Rom 5:15b)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your acts of charity, justice and peace, let the “seeds of faith … of grace abounding” be sown more efficaciously, especially in those with broken and despairing hearts.
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October 23, 2013: WEDNESDAY – WEEKDAY (29); SAINT JOHN CAPISTRANO, priest
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Freed Us from Sin”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 6:12-18 // Lk 12:39-48
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In today’s First Reading, Saint Paul speaks of our liberation from sin. We are dead to sin but alive in union with Christ Jesus. Hence, we must not let the alienating force of sin govern our living. We must give ourselves to God who, in Jesus Savior, has brought us from death to life. We must surrender our whole being to him to be used for his purpose. Although as Christians we have already been baptized and freed from sin, we can still succumb to sin’s seduction. Hence, we must not be complacent. Humbly relying on divine grace, we need to manifest our union with Christ and his definitive victory over sin by the way we live. Saint Paul reminds us that we are set free from sin in order to be slaves of righteousness.
The following story illustrates what it means to be freed from the slavery to sin and to choose to be a slave of righteousness (cf. “Torn Between Good and Evil” by an anonymous writer in 101 Inspiration Stories of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Sister Patricia Proctor, Spokane: Franciscan Monastery of Saint Clare, 2006, p. 98-99).
When I was a young girl, I was a very devout Catholic. I spent every morning before school at church and after school I would return alone to pray. When I became a teenager, I gradually started moving away from the Church. Like most girls, I started spending more time with boys than with God.
Later I married and after ten years and two children, I began to find my heart yearning to go back to my Catholic faith. My children were attending Catholic school, and my oldest son was in the process of making his first reconciliation when I felt my heart being pulled by Jesus.
My marriage was a wreck. I was working full time and spending many hours away from home. I began to fall into a bad lifestyle, but at the same time, I felt God tugging at my heart. I was extremely torn between good and evil.
One night I fell into a deep sleep, and in my sleep the devil came to me. The appearance of the devil was so grotesque that I cannot put it into words. He fought me. I was engaged in a complete physical altercation with Satan. I looked up for a moment and saw my two guardian angels, looking down on me with such sorrow in their faces that I knew this was it. I had to make a decision. Do I go with Satan and continue to live in sin, or do I turn my life over to Jesus?
At that moment I screamed out, “Leave me alone, Satan! I am a child of God!” As I said these words, he slithered away. When I awoke, I was soaking wet from head to foot, and I was shaking. I was so frightened that I had to leave all the lights on in my room.
I now knew the choice I had to make. I knew I could no longer live in perpetual sin. That’s when I called my local parish. After being away from the confessional for more than ten years, I wanted to start my life anew.
It was about six o’clock in the evening when I called the church to find out what time confessions were heard. The parish priest answered the phone. I explained that I wanted to know the confession schedule. He told me what it was and then said, “Or upon request”. He invited me to drop everything and meet him at the church. He would go over and open the church so I could make my confession immediately.
At seven o’clock that night I entered the confessional for the first time in many years. After examining my conscience, I made a very heartfelt confession. I actually felt the Holy Spirit lift my burdens and I knew when I walked out of that confessional that my life was going to be changed forever. It was.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Are we ready to renounce being slaves to sin and, embracing the grace of God, to be slaves of righteousness?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Heavenly Father,
through the sorrowful passion of your beloved Son Jesus Christ,
we are no longer slaves to sin,
but rather, slaves of righteousness.
We have been brought from death to life.
We surrender our whole being
- our mind, heart and will – to you.
We give you thanks and praise for great is your love
and you are very merciful.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life.” (Rom 6:13)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Be cognizant of the healing and transforming power of the sacrament of reconciliation. Avail yourself of this grace especially when your personal relationship with God has been ruptured by sinful actions.
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October 24, 2013: THURSDAY – WEEKDAY (29); SAINT ANTHONY MARY CLARET, bishop
“JESUS SAVIOR: In Him We Become Slaves of Righteousness”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 6:19-23 // Lk 12:49-53
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In today’s First Reading, Saint Paul underlines that freedom from sin is freedom to serve God. The liberation from the oppression of sin wrought by Christ’s death and rising does not mean total and complete independence, but rather acceptance of God as master. To become slaves of God means “sanctification”, that is, a total dedication that demands a withdrawal from sin. The wages of sin is death, but the result of sanctification is eternal life. Indeed, God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
The transforming and life-giving effect of one’s radical decision for Christ can be gleaned from the following story (cf. Oscar Wilde, “The Selfish Giant” in A Holiday Treasury, ed. Diana Wenk, New York: Nelson Doubleday, Inc., 1983, p. 97-102)
(…) The autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant’s garden she gave none. “He is too selfish”, she said. So it was always winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King’s musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. “I believe the spring has come at last”, said the Giant, and he jumped out of bed and looked out.
What did he see? He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the tree. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children’s heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all around it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. “Climb up! Little boy”, said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was so tiny.
And the Giant’s heart melted as he looked out. “How selfish I have been! he said; “now I know why the spring would not enter here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children’s playground forever and ever.” He was really sorry for what he had done.
So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away and the garden became winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant strode up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them around the giant’s neck, and kissed him. And the other children when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the spring. “It is your garden now, little children”, said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at twelve o’clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.
All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye. “But where is your little companion?” he said, “the boy I put into the tree.” The Giant loved him the best because he kissed him. “We don’t know”, answered the children; “he has gone away.”
“You must tell him to be sure and come here tomorrow”, said the Giant. But the children said they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.
Every afternoon, when the school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his little friend, and often spoke of him. “How I would like to see him!” he used to say.
Years went by, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. “I have many beautiful flowers”, he said; “but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.”
One winter he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the winter now, for he knew that it was merely spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvelous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he loved.
Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and said, “Who hath dared to wound thee?” For on the palms of the child’s hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet. “Who hath dared to wound thee?” cried the Giant; “tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him.” “Nay!” answered the child; “but these are wounds of Love.”
“Who art thou?” said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child. And the child smiled on the Giant, and he said to him, “You let me play once in your garden; today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.”
And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
What does it mean for us to be liberated from sin and become slaves of righteousness? Are we ready to welcome God’s free gift of eternal life in union with Jesus?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving God,
through the passion and death of your Son Jesus,
you liberated us from the power of sin
and we rise to new life in him
who is our Lord and Savior.
Let us be slaves of righteousness
and let us rejoice in your gift of eternal life
in union with Christ Jesus.
We praise and glorify you,
now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Begin your day by making an act of consecration to Jesus and resolve that everything you do will be for the greater glory of God.
***
October 25, 2013: FRIDAY – WEEKDAY (29)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is Our Deliverer”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 7:18-25a // Lk 12:54-59
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In today’s First Reading Saint Paul tells us that each person has an internal part which desires what God desires. He exclaims: “My inner being delights in the law of God.” But there is also a negative force that pulls away from the law of God, making impossible a decision to re-center one’s whole life on Christ. The internal struggle that takes place between the law of God and the law of Sin is frustrating and weakening. That is why Saint Paul cries out in agony and longs for relief: “Miserable man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body that is taking me to death?” In anticipation of deliverance, the apostle sings a brief statement of praise: “Thanks be to God who does this through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
The inner conflict within us and the benevolent saving action of Christ in our life can be gleaned from the following story (cf. “My Decision” by an anonymous writer in 101 Inspiration Stories of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Sister Patricia Proctor, Spokane: Franciscan Monastery of Saint Clare, 2006, p. 70).
The children, the house, the finances, health and the relatives – it was just all getting to me. Some of it was caused by me and some by others, but it was all getting me down. And I mean down.
Since I suffer from depression and anxiety, feeling down is more serious for me than for many others who are feeling blue. I began to think that the only way for me to solve my problems was to remove myself from them. For me, that meant suicide. I thought about it and decided Wednesday would be the best day to do it. This would be after the family retreat we had planned, and the girls would have completed the jobs they were doing to raise money for a trip.
At the family retreat, several priests were available for reconciliation. I took advantage of this, telling my husband that I really needed to go to confession, and asked him to take care of the children for me. Then I stood in a long line with many elderly people, young people, toddlers, and babies. Finally, it was my turn.
I began my confession, telling the priest about my confusion and decision to commit suicide, and as we spoke, I could feel Jesus healing me through this priest. I felt much better when we were finished talking. The priest and I spoke many more times during the rest of the retreat, and he continued to counsel and help me. Although I am not completely healed, I am feeling significantly better. If it had not been for reconciliation, I would not be here and my children would be without a mother. That Wednesday has come and gone, and I thank God that I am still here.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
What do we do when we feel the raging spiritual conflict within us? Do we have recourse to Jesus for liberation?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving God,
you are very merciful and compassionate.
When the raging forces of sin seek to destroy us,
rescue us from their clutches
through the death and resurrection
of your Son Jesus.
Our inner being delights in your Law, O Lord!
Grant us the grace to live with you,
forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Who will deliver me from this mortal body?” (II Rom 7:24)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
When assailed with inner conflict, turn to God in prayer and if possible, seek help from a Church minister. In any way you can, help the people you know who are experiencing moral-spiritual turmoil.
***
October 26, 2013: SATURDAY – WEEKDAY (29); BVM ON SATURDAY
“JESUS SAVIOR: Through Him We Have Life in the Spirit”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 8:1-11 // Lk 13:1-9
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
It seemed just a simple science project for the first graders in a Canadian parochial school, but it was more than that. The teacher was preparing my six-year old niece for the imminent death of her dad, Gisbert, my younger brother. Little Nicole planted some seeds in a plastic cup filled with soil. She brought the sprouting plant to her dad who was confined in the Palliative Care section of Brampton Hospital in Toronto. She placed it on the window sill for him to look at. Her dad passed away two days later. Nicole’s sprouting plant was suggestive of new life and the resurrection of the body. The seeds that died were “seeds of life”.
Like the seed that is buried and dies in the ground, our mortal body would die, but the spirit lives forever, and even our mortal body would be brought to life. The “seeds of life” are “seeds of the Spirit”. To accept the Spirit of Christ is to receive “new life”. We still live in the “flesh” with its tendency to sin, even after we have received the Spirit, but the indwelling Spirit vivifies the mortal flesh so that it becomes an instrument of grace and not an impediment. Moreover, through the gift of the Spirit, we receive a pledge of eternal life. Indeed, he who raised Jesus from the dead will also restore our mortal bodies by the power of his Spirit who dwells in us (cf. Rom 8:11).
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do we nurture the “seeds of the Spirit” as “seeds of life”? Do we respond to the indwelling Spirit who enables us to live the life of Christ in the “here and now” and will raise our mortal bodies to eternal life?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving God,
there is no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Through your Son Jesus,
free us from the shackles of sin and death.
Let the Spirit of Jesus raise us up.
We yearn for the “seeds of life”
to grow in our hearts.
May the “seeds of the Spirit” flourish fully
and bring forth abundant fruits.
We trust in the love and mercy of Jesus
and we praise you, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“The one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.” (Rom 8:11)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for God’s mercy and grace upon all the death-dealing situations in today’s world. Commit yourself to sow the “seeds of life … seeds of the Spirit” by opposing direct attacks against innocent human beings and by pursuing the ways of justice, peace and right.
***
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US