Wandering Hearts

7/9/2019

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.

Matthew 9:32-38

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).

I am the kind of person that if I go to seek help or go somewhere new and realize that there are a lot of people doing likewise in the same place at the same time as me (or if I assume there must be a lot of people doing likewise), I turn around and leave. When I think of placing myself in a story such as this passage where a huge crowd is following after Jesus for guidance, even my imagining mind has the inclination to turn around and leave.

Why is that my inclination? It could be a number of reasons, though it is guaranteed that each reason is based off a lie from the devil. (I’m working on fighting those temptations and if you’re in the same boat as me, I pray you are too.)

It should not be embarrassing that Jesus has pity on the great number of people wandering “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd”. We want Jesus to have pity on us; we want God’s love and compassion on us; we want to receive His Divine Mercy!

The reality is that Jesus has compassion on the crowd. He recognizes their great need for a shepherd, as lost sheep, and for a laborer, as a ready harvest. And how beautiful and full of potential are those things! After all, it is much better to be a sheep than a goat (Matthew 25:31-46) and to be a ready harvest rather than a weed (Matthew 13: 24-30). Embrace your humble identity to Christ, stay vigil to Him, let Him have compassion on you, and allow Him to transform you.

Maybe God will transform you into being a shepherd to a whole crowd of people or a laborer to just one person. Jesus said to his disciples to “ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” God is the one who sends out chosen laborers for the job. Perhaps you really want to be the person to help guide your family closer to the faith, but God has someone else for that job right now and instead wants you to reach out to a struggling friend. Whatever the case, let us never slack in prayer and trust. Remember that Jesus said to ask God for the laborers.

Keep asking, keep praying, keep showing up, and keep allowing God to transform you.

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.

How are you wandering away from the Lord in your life right now?

In what ways do you need God to seek after you? What areas of your life need more of the Lord?

How do you want God to transform your life right now?

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.

"I will follow you."

"Come transform my life."

"You are my Good Shepherd."

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?

Take time in your prayer today to identify where you feel lost or wandering. Invite the Lord into that specific place and let him transform your life!

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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 Katie LoBosco, a student at the University of Dayton studying Music Therapy.

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