Newness

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.

MARK 2:18-22

---

​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).

I got married a little over two weeks ago, so I think it goes without saying that there is a lot of newness in my life at the moment. My husband and I have made a lot of important decisions, such as deciding where our new toaster and coffee maker will go, but as we begin a new life together, the Lord is calling us to a new and deeper spiritual reality as well.

With any change of season or time of transition in our lives, there is a natural tendency to cling to what has been or the way we have always done things. Whether it is old habits of sin or routines that we have gotten stuck in, it can be hard to enter into a new season or begin a new way of living. While we can continue to remember the joys of old, the Lord continues to call us to newness of life each and every day.

We just finished the incredible Christmas season a week ago, and now as we enter into Ordinary Time, it is time to settle in. The work that the Lord wants to do in our lives this season is no less extraordinary than it has been at any other moment of our lives.

Sometimes we prefer the old, because with the old, there is comfort and familiarity. We become used to a certain way of living and doing things. The same is true of the Pharisees at the time of Jesus. They were familiar with and used to the old law, particularly in regards to fasting. And then Jesus comes, ushering in the new law, and they have a hard time adjusting to that.

When we encounter the Lord, He calls us into a new way of living that isn’t always easy and might take some time to adjust, and that adjustment isn’t necessarily a one time thing. I encourage you to not just let these next few weeks until Lent just pass by, but seek out the ways that the Lord is calling you to a renewal and newness of life right now in Ordinary Time because each day, the Lord continues to give us the gift of Himself, which is never old but always new.

---

​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.

What is new in your life right now? How can you bring it to the Lord?

How are you approaching ordinary time? What can you do to make this time fore fruitful for your relationship with the Lord?

​How is the Lord asking you to live in a new way?

---

​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.

"Help me embrace newness."

"Lord I need you."

"Let me seek you."

---

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?

Make a resolution for ordinary time. What can you do in this ordinary season to embrace Jesus in a new way?
​

---

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 Maggie Super, Director of Youth Ministry at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Huntley, 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.