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). Honestly, sometimes when I read this gospel passage, it makes me feel a little nervous. Jesus seems like a pretty tough guy here. This isn’t the nice and gentle image I have of Him that makes it easier for me to believe in His mercy or His love. But reading it again this time, something new struck me. So often, it’s easy for me to settle when it comes to following the lord. Yeah sure, I love Jesus and I want to live my life for Him, but does it really matter how I spend my money? Or that I hit the snooze button so much that I skipped my prayer time for the day? Or that I just watched 8 episodes of a show on Netflix instead of spending time with my family or doing the work I needed to get done? Or that I’m so attached to my Instagram or Facebook that I totally ignore the person sitting in the room with me? And it seems that whenever I come to a point where I want to cut those things out of my life so that I can enter fully into my Father’s house, they always seem to creep slowly back into my heart and my life. But Jesus wants more for me than to live a life yoked by the attachments I have to the world. He longs to break those free. He wants to drive out the enemy in our lives — the places where we are far from him, where we try to satisfy our desire through earthly or meaningless things. But He doesn’t want to drive the enemy out of just those places He wants to drive the enemy out of our places of selfishness, unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment. He wants to drive the enemy out of our places of loneliness, hurt, fear, anxiety, despair. He sees the places where we are so often overcome by the fears and the lies that the evil one whispers into our ears and He isn’t content to leave us in those places. 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 I given the Lord the 'extras' of my life like social media, my schedule, sports, school, etc.? Do I invite the Lord into my loneliness, my unforgiveness of hurts, my fear, my anxiety, my despair, etc.? Am I willing to bring these areas to the Father's house, or am I holding onto them to solve myself? 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 give you all of my life, Lord." "I trust you with my life, Lord." "I love you more than my fears, Lord." 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? Take a few minutes today to write down how you spend your time. Where does the Lord fit into your schedule? How can you bring the Lord into your social media life? Your sports life? Your school life? Your family life? Your friend life? 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 Catie Destatte, a Saint Paul's Outreach Missionary at University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, MN.
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. " Comments are closed.
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