The Breaking of the Bread

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. 

Luke 24:13-35

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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).

It was in the breaking of the bread that they saw Him, that their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. They realized how everything He had previously said to them was true, yet they didn't see Him until the breaking of the bread. 

How simple and how beautiful that they didn't recognize Jesus until He shared the Eucharist with them. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist should be the most important part of our week, but for so many of us it is just something we do out of routine on Sunday. When you stand in line to receive Jesus, is your heart on fire? Are you burning with the desire to receive Him? Do you know that it truly is the Lord as you approach the altar? The Eucharist is where Jesus reveals Himself to us, yet often our eyes aren't opened.

Jesus told St. Faustina:

“When I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, my hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things...They treat Me as a dead object" (Diary of St. Faustina, 1385). 

Ouch. I hope that makes you rethink how you approach the altar, because it did for me. Jesus is truly alive and present. 

Jesus makes Himself alive and present, yet we don't break ourselves out of our routine to truly notice. Just like the disciples walking, busy talking about everything happening, and too busy to notice that Jesus was with them, we are too busy; we are overwhelmed with school, homework, work and our to-do list to recognize the real presence of Jesus before us. 

So often we look for God. That's one of life's big questions: where is God? We overthink it, and when we do we miss all the ways that God is truly present to us. When we miss it, it becomes that much easier to doubt and to separate ourselves from God. It can hurt our faith. But the truth is that God is with us, that He is always walking with us on our journey. Often He is present in a much simpler way than we could even imagine; and the most important one is in the breaking of the bread. 

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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.

When you read the story of the Road to Emmaus in today's Gospel, what do you imagine was happening in the minds of the Disciples as Jesus walked with them?

When you go to Mass, is it easy or difficult for you to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread? What distracts you from that reality and challenges you in your prayer?

How is God calling you to focus your heart and mind in order to more readily encounter Him at Mass? What can you do to see Him in the simple reality of the bread broken in front of you?

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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.

"In the breaking of the bread."

"I want to see You."

​"I long to know You."

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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?

The next time you go to Mass, get there early. Take some time to read the readings, quiet your heart, and be prepared for what the Lord wants to say to you. Then, in Mass, pray that He would speak specifically to your heart.

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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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Today's prayer was prepared by Lisa Kendzior, Junior High Youth Minister at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Crystal Lake, IL.