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). You’re a blind man on the side of the road. All your life you’ve been shunned for your disability, everyone around you assuming somehow you deserved this: our God is a just God, so why would he punish a good person with such a disability? You clearly must have done something to warrant this. At least, that’s what everyone around you thinks. So here you are, reduced to begging to survive. You’re in your usual spot when suddenly, you hear something happening. You ask and ask and ask, and finally someone tells you what’s going on. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Not stopping, just passing by. But that doesn’t stop you. This is your one chance; you’re not even in front, nowhere close to Jesus, but if you just keep calling out, maybe He’ll hear you. Maybe He’ll notice you. He doesn’t just notice you. He stops what He’s doing to come and help you, to minister to you, to ask you specifically what you need. So what do you need? Jesus already knows, of course, but He wants to hear it from you. He wants you to ask Him, no matter how big or small the request might be. He wants to hear it from you, just like a parent wants to hear what their child has to say. People have mocked you, ignored you, tried to stop you from asking for what you need, maybe flat out mocked you for asking. But now Jesus, the creator of the universe, is directly in front of you, asking you what you need. Not anyone else, you; because He loves you. This isn’t about the beggar anymore; this is all about you, about what you specifically want to ask Jesus. Think about it: what is the greatest desire of your heart right now? Whatever it might be, don’t be afraid to ask for it. The beggar’s only request was to see, something that millions to people take for granted every single day. He was mocked for asking, mocked for even trying to be near Jesus in the first place; but in the end, it was his own vulnerability, his own desire to ask for and receive help, that led people to glorify God. The beggar’s vulnerability and weakness became a source of strength and grace for others, and everyone was better for it. Now is not the time to be silent: now is the time to ask, to call out all the more to the God that literally loves us more than anything else on Earth. So what is it you need? Jesus is listening to you literally right this very moment: don’t be afraid to ask Him. 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 do you need from Jesus right? Do you have the courage to speak up, to yell out, and ask for it? What gifts do you take for granted in your life? 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. "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" "Heal me Lord." "Jesus, I trust in You." 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? Speak up. Shout out to God for what you need. Do not hide your needs and pain from Him any longer. 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 Tatiana Schaffer, a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying Engineering and Psychology.
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