Trust and Witness

6/23/2019

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.

1 COR 11:23-26

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).

Today is the feast of Corpus Christi – the feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The Church gives special emphasis and reflection today to the great gift of the Eucharist that Jesus offers to the Church, to the World, and to you and me. My heart was drawn to two themes from today’s readings that offer us a spiritual window to pray with the Eucharist today. The first is trust.

Mother Theresa famously said, “I do not pray for certainty, but for trust.” The famous apparition of Jesus as the Divine Mercy, calls for Christians to pray “Jesus, I trust in you.” There is something so central about trust in any good relationship, and Christianity is fundamentally a faith rooted in relationship and thus rooted in trust. I have often desired certainty and clarity in my life, in many ways and many times, and yet Jesus quietly asks me to pray for trust; trust that God is in control, is working things out for good, and calls me to join in His plan even if I cannot see or fully understand every aspect right away. We see this invitation to trust in today’s Gospel, where Jesus asks his disciples to trust in God’s ability to bring bounty from something meager, and nourishment from inadequacy. God trusts the human person with his very body and blood in the Eucharist, and it becomes a physical and constant sign of God’s trust in us, and our call to trust in a God who saves me, loves me, and wants to be completely in union with me, and transform me to be like himself, that he offers us his Body and Blood daily. How utterly awe-inspiring!

The second theme from today’s readings is that of proclamation. St. Paul writes: “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” To proclaim something is to “make known something that one considers important” or “to declare something officially.” St. Paul, reminds us that the Mass and the Eucharist is a proclamation, a public witness and affirmation of what we hold so important: God’s salvific act and our relationship with Him. At the mass, Christ entrusts his body and blood to us in a sort of spiritual transfusion, making us more divine and more fully human. In return, Christ desires that we live our life more in conformity with His life and witness. The Eucharist is the heart of a Christian’s relationship with God, because it is a sharing of two persons most deeply, is always personal, but can never be private.

Today’s Eucharistic feast, calls us to reflect on how we witness to the reality of the Eucharist in Mass and prayer, and also in how we witness to our relationship with Christ in our daily lives. The Eucharist proclaims God’s love and trust in us; how does today’s feast invite us to proclaim our love and trust for God?

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.

Where in your life is God calling you to trust? What can you give over to Him today and increase your trust in Him?

The Eucharist should affect our life everyday. How does it impact you? How can you live out this witness?

Jesus died for us. Jesus gave us His body and blood, soul and divinity, how do you proclaim this to others?

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.

"Jesus, I trust in you."

"I pray for trust."

"I will be your witness."

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?

What do you do after consecration to remind yourself that Jesus is before you? Do you genuflect before you receive Jesus? What prayer do you say when the priest raises the Eucharist? What prayer do you say after you receive the Eucharist? Decide one action today that you can do every time you go to Mass.

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 Jon Polce, a Jesuit Scholastic and current high school theology teacher.

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.

CARPE VERBUM