CARPE VERBUM
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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). Sometimes scripture is difficult to understand, or hard to discern in what way it applies to our own lives. Other times it is simple, and easy to appreciate how it speaks to us personally and directly. The Gospel from Luke today, I think, falls into the latter category. What is Jesus saying in His parable about the two houses? What is the bottom line? Simply put, He is encouraging us to follow Him. Very memorably, He stated (in John 14:6) that He was “the way and the truth and the life”. None of us can come to the Father, except through Him. His words, His life, His sacrifice, are salvation for all of us. Therefore, His parable makes perfect sense. Listen to Jesus, hear and understand His words, let them sink in, and act on them in your life. In doing so, you will be building your faith on the strongest of foundations. Just as the house built on the foundation of rock was able to withstand all the tumults that assaulted it, so too will it be with you. Jesus Himself will be your foundation. You can trust that He will be with you to ensure you are able to persist through any storm … any flood … any adversity that comes your way. The flip side of Jesus’ parable - describing the sad fate of the house built without a foundation, and was destroyed immediately by the first storm that pummeled it - only serves to underline and clarify the importance of the foundation. Within your own life, it can also serve to illuminate the immense love that Jesus has for you, because it is this love that drives His desire for you to have your own firm foundation. He wants very much to keep you safe through all of your storms. He is imploring you to trust in Him, listen to His words, and follow Him; and by doing so, forge a footing so strong that no hardship can or will ever prevail against it. 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 is your foundation like? Who has helped form that foundation and what does it entail? Do you have confidence that your foundation in Christ will carry you through the storms? How can you continue to build that foundation so you have confidence in Him through it all? What fruits do you bear in your life? Is it clear that you are a Catholic by those fruits? 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. "Here I am Lord." "Jesus I trust in You." "Come Holy Spirit." 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? Fix your foundation and bear good fruit. Let the Lord be your foundation before the storm shakes your life and bear good fruit before you are spiritual starving. Start today, so you are always ready for whatever life brings. Be humble and focus on your foundation. 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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