Give It To Jesus

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.

JOHN 12:1-11

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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).

​Holy Week.

Jesus and his friends in today’s Gospel are having a dinner party and all are taking part in different tasks. Martha is cooking and serving; Lazarus, recently raised from the dead, is reclining at table with Jesus; and Mary of Bethany is anointing the feet of Jesus with a costly perfumed oil. All of them are doing important tasks, but let’s highlight Mary.

Mary of Bethany was busy anointing the feet of Jesus with a costly perfumed oil when Judas Iscariot comes along and questions why she is wasting the oil on Jesus. Here’s the point...NOTHING given to Jesus is a waste! Give your best!

As we walk through Holy Week, the holiest week of the year, let’s ask ourselves – What can I give to Jesus this week? Perhaps it might not cost a lot like the perfumed oil, but it’s still worth giving to Jesus. Make this week different than every other week of the year, by giving something of value to Jesus. Here’s one suggestion...let’s give Jesus more of our time this week (prayer, quiet, spiritual reading, adoration). Our time is certainly valuable to all of us, but our time given to Jesus is never a waste, it is actually a blessing. 

What’s the Lord calling you to give to Him this Holy Week? Let’s be generous!

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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.

Do you give your best to Jesus? When do you give Him your best and when do you slack on what you give Him?

What is the Lord calling you to give Him?

How can you make this week different?

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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.

"I give you my best."

"Jesus I give it to you."

​"Lord what do you want from me?"

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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?

What can you do to set this week apart? Attend the Tridium? Journal every day? Increase your prayer time?

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​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.

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Today's prayer was prepared by Fr. John McNamara, 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.