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). Today’s second reading contains a message that seems so obvious, mainly because we’ve all been taught it, discussed it, and done our best to live up to it since the first time we learned of Jesus and his teachings. It doesn’t much matter if this first happened in a grammar school religious class, or if our journey with Christ began in our teenage or later years. This message is so fundamental to Christianity that it should be the foundation of any relationship we have in our lives. The message to truly love one another. In this particular reading, this central message is conveyed in the quote “Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you”. In other parts of the bible, the same message is delivered as “love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12), or “this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another” (1 John 3:11), or “walk in love, even as Christ also loved you” (Ephesians 5:2). There are countless other examples as well, but always the message is the same. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 really lays it all out for us; we are to be patient and kind, we should not be envious, boastful, arrogant, rude, irritable or resentful. Whatever we do for the sake of good, if we do not also love, it will be for naught. Why is love so important in our lives? Is it for our own benefit? Yes. Is it for the benefit of others? Yes again. But these are just a sliver of why love is all-important. The second reading today also tells us why we should love: “for the glory of God”. Mountains and trees and the universe glorify God with their existence, but they do not know they do so. Unlike those things, God has created us with the ability to choose to love, and by doing so, actively participate in the glorification of the Him who created us. This is why we live! This is our purpose! To use our lives, and every thing we do within them, to be a revelation of the love and the glory of God. 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. What does love mean to you? Is it all about the feelings or is it something more? If all of our actions (especially love) are supposed to be for the glory of God, how does that change the way you love? Do your actions (especially love) glorify God or distract from His plan? How can you make sure that all you do points to the glory of God? God gave you the ability to choose to love Him. He gave you the ability to know and willingly participate in Him and His Will. What does that mean about how much He loves you? 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. "AMDG" "For the greater glory of God!" "Love others as He has love me." "God is Love." 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 Lord bear fruit in you today? AMDG is a common abbreviation for the Latin phrase "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam" meaning "for the greater glory of God." Today let that phrase guide your actions. In whatever you do, find a way to make it for the greater glory of God instead of your own glory. 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 Jim Lundgren, a parishioner at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Crystal Lake, IL.
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