CARPE VERBUM
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Step #1: Lectio / ReadClick the link below or open your Bible to the passage and read through the reading at least once, paying attention to what is happening in the text. Step #2: Meditatio / MeditateUse the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again). Prayer is a loving conversation with the One who loves us deeply and eternally. This lover desires us more than we can ever desire Him. Therefore, He lives right within us and makes our hearts His abode within. According to Saint Augustine, "God is closer to us than we are to ourselves". He knows us more that we know ourselves. “Were not our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us..." says the two disciples who encountered the Lord Jesus after His resurrection. Those words came out of their mouth after they had invited the Lord to stay with them since the day is almost done. So the Lord stayed with them; blessed, broke and gave bread to them the same way they experienced it in the upper room. Let us invite the Lord, and say, stay with us Lord, stay with me Lord. Let us recognize His presence within us, loving us, consoling us, strengthening us amidst all the dangers. Those who invite the Lord in and recognize Him are those who in turn experience and say, “were not our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us..." Step #3: Oratio / PrayThese questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today. Have you ever had a moment when your heart was burning for Lord, but you did not realize it until later? How can you be more aware of the Lord's presence in and around you today? In what ways might the Lord be trying to speak to you right now? Step #4: Contemplatio / ContemplateIn this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord. "Here I am Lord." "Jesus I Trust in You." "Come Holy Spirit." Step #5: Actio / ActIn light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today? In this difficult time, we will use our Action step each day to join with people around the world in praying for an end to the pandemic of the Coronavirus, for the healing of all those affected, and for the comfort of all those who have lost a loved one. The prayer below is from Archbishop José H. Gomez, President of the USCCB in his reflection and prayer during coronavirus: Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Americas. We fly to you today as your beloved children. We ask you to intercede for us with your Son, as you did at the wedding in Cana. Pray for us, loving Mother, and gain for our nation and world, and for all our families and loved ones, the protection of your holy angels, that we may be spared the worst of this illness. For those already afflicted, we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance. Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful, wipe away their tears and help them to trust. In this time of trial and testing, teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind. Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts. We come to you with confidence, knowing that you truly are our compassionate mother, health of the sick and cause of our joy. Shelter us under the mantle of your protection, keep us in the embrace of your arms, help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen. Smartphone Lock ScreenThe following image is here for you to save and use as a background or lock screen on your smartphone or device to help you carry today's Lectio Divina with you the rest of the day.  Today's prayer was prepared by Fr. Ervin Caliente, priest of the Diocese of Rockford.
If you have anything you'd like our team to pray for, please go to the page of our website called "Prayers" and let us know how we can pray for you today. Step #1: Lectio / Read
Click the link below or open your Bible to the passage and read through the reading at least once, paying attention to what is happening in the text.
Step #2: Meditatio / Meditate
Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).
Happy feast of St. Mark, one of the four Gospel writers! Mark, who is historically traced the person called "John Mark" in the Acts of the Apostles, wrote what was probably the first of the four Gospels written. In fact, Biblical scholars believe that Mark likely gave a sort of a basis for Matthew and Luke to write their Gospels; his is the shortest, but on the key story they are in agreement.
Mark probably wrote his Gospel based on conversations he had with St. Peter. This Gospel, short and direct, is a powerful account of the life and person of Jesus. St. Mark, then, is a great witness to us of what it means to be an evangelist, boldly and clearly proclaiming who Jesus was and is, what he did and taught, and what it looks like to follow him. With that background, let's look at this letter from St. Peter that we have as our first reading today. There are a few key themes in this short passage, including a call to humility, a call to vigilance, and also a clear articulation of the love that the members of the early Church had for one another. On this feast of St. Mark, the word that the Lord put on my heart to pull out of this reading is humility. I believe we often have a misunderstanding of the humility, assuming that it means simply hating ourselves and thinking we're no good, putting ourselves down and giving in to embarrassment. While these things might happen, humility itself has almost nothing to do with them. No, quite simply, humility is about taking our eyes off of ourselves and putting them where they belong. Why does St. Peter in this reading point out the need for humility? So that, as he says later in the reading, we may stand in the grace of the Lord Jesus! Why does Mark write his short, action-packed, powerful account of the life of Jesus? So that more and more people would see that Jesus is the Savior, the very Good News for our life, the one in whom we have hope and have life. On this feast day, brothers and sisters, let us humbly approach the Lord, begging from him the grace to turn our gaze off of ourselves, learning to look clearly at Jesus and, in that gaze, to love and serve the world around us however we're being called to do so. And then, as we live lives of humility with our eyes focused on the Lord, we may truly learn what it means to the eternal glory of the God of all grace. Step #3: Oratio / Pray
These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.
How is God calling you today to turn your gaze off of yourself and onto him?
In what ways are you being challenged to love others – your family, friends, co-workers, etc. – even when your relationships look different now than they ever have before? How can St. Mark's intercession be a guide to you of what it means to point those you speak with to Jesus? Step #4: Contemplatio / Contemplate
In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.
"You are Savior."
"You are Lord." "You are enough." Step #5: Actio / Act
In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?
In this difficult time, we will use our Action step each day to join with people around the world in praying for an end to the pandemic of the Coronavirus, for the healing of all those affected, and for the comfort of all those who have lost a loved one. The prayer below is from Archbishop José H. Gomez, President of the USCCB in his reflection and prayer during coronavirus: Smartphone Lock Screen
The following image is here for you to save and use as a background or lock screen on your smartphone or device to help you carry today's Lectio Divina with you the rest of the day.
Today's prayer was prepared by Jason Theobald, Executive Director of Carpe Verbum.
If you have anything you'd like our team to pray for, please go to the page of our website called "Prayers" and let us know how we can pray for you today. Step #2: Meditatio / MeditateUse the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).
Right before this passage, the Apostles were led out of prison by an angel of the Lord, began to teach and preach again, and then were recaptured. Now we read that they were beaten and ordered to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, yet they left rejoicing and immediately continued teaching and preaching. Although that might be the type of response you would expect when reading the bible and about the lives of the saints, let’s not forget that our tendency as humans more likely would have been to quietly walk away while feeling scared and discouraged.
How is it that the Apostles were able to walk away rejoicing? Through every part of this experience, the Apostles kept their eyes fixed on Jesus. Even when the Apostles had to wait outside while Gamaliel persuaded the Sanhedrin not to kill them, they maintained hope and trust in the Lord. We know they were looking at this situation through the eyes of faith because of what they rejoiced at. A worldly follower would rejoice in being found worthy of honor while a follower of Jesus would rejoice in being found worthy to suffer dishonor in His name. It might sound strange that the latter is best, but remember that Jesus- the one worthy of the most honor- received the most dishonor while on earth. Do you aspire to be more like the Apostles? When I hear of something terrible happening anywhere in the world, I have a tendency of thinking about it and considering what I might do if that were to happen to me. Despite my human tendency to respond in a more self-centered or self-preserving way, I always hope that, in that moment of greatest trial, I would stand firm in the name of Jesus and glorify God as much as I possibly can. I’m sure all of us would prefer to stand unwavering in hope and trust in God in those great, unthinkable trials, perhaps even to the point of martyrdom. The best way to ensure we will have a faithful response in the great trials is to practice with the smaller ones we encounter every single day. If we practice rejoicing to the dishonor and trials we experience on a smaller scale, how much more our souls and bodies will be prepared to stand firm in faith in the moment of our greatest sufferings. Just like the Apostles, let’s fix our eyes on Jesus in every little way. Some moments might be more successful than others, and that’s okay, as long as we don’t give up the fight. Step #3: Oratio / PrayThese questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.
How is it that the Apostles were able to walk away rejoicing?
Do you aspire to be more like the Apostles? How will you step forward today with your eyes fixed on Jesus? Step #4: Contemplatio / ContemplateIn this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.
"I fix my eyes on you, Lord."
"I rejoice in you today." "Help me be holy like the Saints!" Step #5: Actio / ActIn light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?
In this difficult time, we will use our Action step each day to join with people around the world in praying for an end to the pandemic of the Coronavirus, for the healing of all those affected, and for the comfort of all those who have lost a loved one. The prayer below is from Archbishop José H. Gomez, President of the USCCB in his reflection and prayer during coronavirus:
Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Americas. We fly to you today as your beloved children. We ask you to intercede for us with your Son, as you did at the wedding in Cana. Pray for us, loving Mother, and gain for our nation and world, and for all our families and loved ones, the protection of your holy angels, that we may be spared the worst of this illness. For those already afflicted, we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance. Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful, wipe away their tears and help them to trust. In this time of trial and testing, teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind. Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts. We come to you with confidence, knowing that you truly are our compassionate mother, health of the sick and cause of our joy. Shelter us under the mantle of your protection, keep us in the embrace of your arms, help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen. Smartphone Lock ScreenThe following image is here for you to save and use as a background or lock screen on your smartphone or device to help you carry today's Lectio Divina with you the rest of the day.
Today's prayer was prepared by Katie LoBosco, a music therapist for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Cincinnati. If you have anything you'd like our team to pray for, please go to the page of our website called "Prayers" and let us know how we can pray for you today. Step #1: Lectio / ReadClick the link below or open your Bible to the passage and read through the reading at least once, paying attention to what is happening in the text. Step #2: Meditatio / MeditateUse the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again). “He does not ration his gift.” Man oh man if that doesn’t hit right to the heart. “He does not ration his gift.” I think maybe this line strikes me so much because if I’m being honest with myself, I often act as though I believe that God does, in fact, ration his gifts. As though there’s a limited supply of grace or of love; as though I have to prove I’m worthy of it, earn it, if I’m going to be a recipient of it. But I love this gentle reminder from John the Baptist today, this reminder that reveals to us the reality that our God doesn’t know how to ration - he doesn’t know what it is to give out only in half portions. He is a God of abundance. It is within his very nature to give us always more than we could expect, always more than we could deserve, always more than we could ever dream of. This reality is at the very heart of the Easter message, is it not? The sin of Adam and Eve, casts humanity out of right relationship with God. It would be enough, it would be plenty, if the Lord had just seen fit to restore that which had been broken. But true to his character, he gave us more. Through the Passion, death, and Resurrection of Christ, our relationship with God is not merely restored, it is transformed into something even greater than what Adam and Eve experienced. This is why the Church sings out during the Easter Vigil, “Oh happy fault, which gained for us so great a Redeemer!” It is a song a celebration over God’s abundance and generosity. In every season of our lives, my friends, God wants to give us more. So whatever it is that you desire from the Lord today (whether it’s pease, patience, joy, clarity, wisdom, understanding), rest assured that he wants to give it to you... and so much more. I pray that our God of abundance would pour out his generosity into your heart today and that you might be open and willing to receive it. Amen. Step #3: Oratio / PrayThese questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today. How do you view God's grace? Do you feel as though you have to earn it or prove your worthiness? Do you see him as the God of abundance? How can you grow in trust and understanding that God will never ration his grace and love for you? What do you desire of God today? Step #4: Contemplatio / ContemplateIn this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord. "You never hold back." "Pour out your grace." "Lord, I need you." Step #5: Actio / ActIn light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today? In this difficult time, we will use our Action step each day to join with people around the world in praying for an end to the pandemic of the Coronavirus, for the healing of all those affected, and for the comfort of all those who have lost a loved one. The prayer below is from Archbishop José H. Gomez, President of the USCCB in his reflection and prayer during coronavirus: Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Americas. We fly to you today as your beloved children. We ask you to intercede for us with your Son, as you did at the wedding in Cana. Pray for us, loving Mother, and gain for our nation and world, and for all our families and loved ones, the protection of your holy angels, that we may be spared the worst of this illness. For those already afflicted, we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance. Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful, wipe away their tears and help them to trust. In this time of trial and testing, teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind. Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts. We come to you with confidence, knowing that you truly are our compassionate mother, health of the sick and cause of our joy. Shelter us under the mantle of your protection, keep us in the embrace of your arms, help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen. Smartphone Lock ScreenThe following image is here for you to save and use as a background or lock screen on your smartphone or device to help you carry today's Lectio Divina with you the rest of the day.  Today's prayer was prepared by Lauren Wright, a Youth Minister in Rockford, IL.
If you have anything you'd like our team to pray for, please go to the page of our website called "Prayers" and let us know how we can pray for you today. |
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