Radiant Faces

​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.

EX 34:29-35

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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).

​“He did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant.” As I read today’s first reading, I was reminded of the time when I first started taking my faith seriously as my own. I couldn’t stop crying, don’t worry, it was a good thing. At every retreat in high school, I would cry and cry and cry during Adoration. I couldn’t quite explain it and I couldn’t stop it. I had received the gift of tears alongside others who had received the gift of laughter and alongside others who did not have a tangible grace received during those times. Don’t get me wrong, there were tons of times when I was laughing while on retreat, but I shed a lot of tears with the Lord. I didn’t really understand it until my youth minister told me it was a gift of the Spirit. 

Tears? A gift? Couldn’t I exchange it for something a little happier?

Now, I understand more what the tears were about. They were an outward sign of the Lord working in my life. He was helping me shed my will and take on His will. Now that I understand this better, I’m grateful for the tears and the joy and peace that come after them. I was always glowing after a good cry with the Lord.

In today’s reading Moses isn’t gifted with tears, but he is given an outward sign of the Lord working in him. When he comes down from the mountain, he was glowing. He’d just spent some time with the Creator of the Universe, His Lord, and it showed. He couldn’t hide his joy from anyone. Aaron, his brother, and everyone else who saw him were scared. They had no idea what was happening and were probably afraid that the same thing might happen to them. What if Moses was infectious and they might catch whatever he did up on the mountain?

Well, he was! And we are supposed to be too. He was glowing because he experienced the love of the Lord in a real and profound way and he couldn’t help but show it. He couldn’t even control how it came across to others. There were something profoundly different about him and everyone knew it.

When we have an experience of the love of the Lord, it shows on our faces too. People might look and you and say “there’s something different about him” or “what happened to her, she can’t stop smiling.” We’re called to be the light of the world and to share our light with others. We shouldn’t hide it for fear of being made fun of or for being misunderstood. We are going to be both of those things, it’s inevitable in the culture we live in.
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But when we “go up to the mountain” like on a retreat, a mission trip, or to confession, we come down looking different. We radiate God’s Love for all to see and to share our experience so that others can come to know Jesus more. 

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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.

In what ways have you experienced God's love? Maybe it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, maybe it is a different form of grace. 

How do you express to others the joy you receive to God? 

​How can you show God's love to others through your actions? 

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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.

"Make me radiant." 

"I want to share joy." 

​"God loves 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?

Today, try to radiate joy. Share on social media how God has worked in your life and brought you joy. 

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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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​Katie Herzing is a former youth minister turned parish evanglization consultant living in Charlotte, North Carolina.