Lectio the Liturgy
Give a woman a phrase, and she's going to want a visual to go with it. That's how it all started. You know those times - when you ask God to show you something amazing in Scripture. One weekend during Easter of 2016, the only thing that popped off the page of Scripture was "so that". So what was I supposed to do with that? "Nothing" was my first reaction because really, what kind of conjunction is that, anyway? Next week, another "so that" appeared. THEN, I went home and started diagramming Scripture, and I found myself, each day, diagramming a new verse. This method made the Scripture, and the Prayers of the Liturgy come alive. (p.s. "So that" is not like an equal sign.) I am a wife, mom, and a convert to the Catholic Faith. I love to read, travel, teach, and share the love of God. Tea and Scripture make for the best mornings, don't they? DISCLAIMER: No "grammar police" here! I have rediscovered my passion for diagramming sentences and in doing so, have found a whole new insight into prayer because I've found joy in the words.
Episodes
“Earthly undertakings” aren’t just what we do, they are what happens to us. They also block and distract us from what God has for us, and what He wants to give us is Himself.
2 things in this week’s prayer:
This week’s Collect is filled with wonderful imagery: running to meet Christ, righteous deeds, gathered at his right hand, and possessing the heavenly kingdom.
Two things to consider this week —
- Our faith is both now AND not yet
- What does it take to be among the faithful
What is God’s will for you? To set you free from slavery.
Just beware of the sneaky ways the evil one wants to distract you from what that really means.
When we pray that we God has chosen living stones, know that we are BOTH - the building and the builder.
The Collect for the Feast of the Commemoration of All the Faithful departed (All Souls) is beautiful.
It is about life. Living today and living for eternity.
It is about faith and hope. When faith is deepened, hope is strengthened.
Who wants to earn the Eternal Life Merit Badge? I hope no one because when we pray that we would merit His promises, we are asking Him to make us worthy of them.
Who knows? Perhaps God is just waiting to answer that prayer in you.
Submitting our will to God is more than giving God permission to change our plans. It requires us to let go and allow Him to conform us.
Oh yeah, then there’s the obedience part.
Look ahead of you - God has already prepared good works for you to do.
Look behind you - His grace is pursuing you.
How did you get in the middle? You were made for it.
When you read the word kindness in this week’s prayer, don’t just keep going. In the Latin form of the prayer for kindness, we find the word pietas, which refers to the loyalty, devotion, and duty in relation to family.
If you took the look of kindness or pietas that is seen on Mary’s face in Michelangelo’s Pieta and multiplied it by infinity, that is the kindness the Father has for us.
The mind/body connection is fascinating, especially after I realized that sin came into the world through the mind and body, and that salvation came the same way.
What can you do to strengthen your mind/body connection to become more holy?
Laws sometimes come across sounding like a bad thing. But what if a law was made to help you succeed? That’s called a precept. God gives us two. We even have a few of them for the Church. It’s time to make friends with precepts.
As I was praying about the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, it occurred to me that the power and meaning of this feast depends on our response to it.
What if we had complete understanding of what it means to have sins forgiven. What if you touched the scars in HIs hands? Can we imagine the “Darling of Heaven” enduring such torture?
The Holy Cross is a sign of love.
When you shop, do you ever stop to ask yourself, “Is this item worth the money they want me to pay for it?”
That question never entered Jesus’ mind when he chose to pay the ransom for us.
This week’s Collect lists some really good gifts from God, but what really stood out for me was the word “might.”
Might = power, right? Not always. Especially not in this prayer. God uses His might, or His authority, to give, watch and nourish, all of which are gifts He chooses to give us.
Read the reflection at
lectiotheliturgy.com
Imagine a trust fall right into God’s arms. Would you do it? Surrendering to His will is just that easy.
In this week’s Collect, we learn what God has for us when we surrender, and we learn that His promises far outweigh any fear.
Have you ever thought about comparing the love of marriage and the maturing love between you and Christ and His Church?
What I heard from God this week was, “A mature love doesn’t just endure the storm, it weathers it.”
Each of us is in a relationship with Christ and the Church. The love between us intended to grow and mature. With it comes good things which no eye can see and promises which surpass every human desire.
...This week’s Collect has an amazing promise in it - that we walk in our inheritance of God. We receive this inheritance when the spirit of adoption is brought to perfection in our hearts.
What was on my heart in this prayer is the first step is to be able to accept God as our Father. This is not easy for some, but as St. Gregory writes, "The Holy Ghost Himself is Love." The love of God is stronger and more uncond...
This week’s Collect is an example of what actually happens in the Introductory Rites of the Mass. When we hear, “Let us pray,” se pray, the Lord draws near.
In this prayer, we also learn how God glorifies us. We are glorified because He is our Creator and guide. When we live in HIs glory, we glorify HIm. What a trade!
As I reflected on the prayer this week, I noticed that there are two things missing -
1)Will you accept it and not just receive it?
2)Don’t let false humility keep you from it.
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