Lectio Divina

by Fr Jean Celestin Ngoma

 

Prayer for Stillness

Lord, I want to know you, Lord

To know you is to be attentive and to accept the way you reveal yourself to me in the Holy Scriptures.

Help me now to accept your revelations in the silence of my heart.

 

 

1. Lectio (Rejoice and Read)

 

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”  But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you’, and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”  Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”  Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”  Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

St Matthew 4:1-11, ESVUK

 

Silence

 

I choose the refrain “Deliver me from myself, Lord” to guide me throughout my meditation on the word of life. 

 

 

2. Meditatio (Reflect)

This meditation on Jesus journey to Jerusalem ignites that hope in my heart.  I am therefore invited to join my Saviour Jesus on His way to Jerusalem and to live out this Lent under the sign of the second theological virtue: HOPE.

Hope to desire the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life.

Hope that Jesus will lead me through this Lenten period, the journey to the wilderness.

Hope that during this ascension time and inward transformation, the Holy Spirit will equip me with the garments of salvation against temptations.

I stand on the promises of my Saviour. I do not rely on my own strength, but on the support of the Holy Spirit.

Deliver me from myself, Lord

 

Pause

 

The road to Jerusalem preludes the dramatic change in the mission of my Lord Jesus Christ. It prepared Him for His Passion.

As a Christian, led by the Spirit, I am called to join Jesus on His way to Jerusalem and somehow experience His Passion.

Fasting becomes a spiritual modus operandi of my sequela Christi (following Christ) during this time of grace.

In the wilderness, Jesus sealed fasting as one of the ways or markers to experience closeness to God.

 

Silence

 

I am once more reminded about the role of the devil.

The devil continuously attempts to ignite distractions in my listening heart.

Wrong and unholy reasoning in my mind creates a pipe for the devil to insert his seeds of corruption within me.

Those evil temptations from without pierce our hearts to find their corresponding desires in our hearts and consequently induce our minds, eyes and feet into sin.

Deliver me from myself, Lord

 

 

3. Oratorio (Ask and Pray)

Throughout Lent, Lord, show me the path I must follow to restore Your image in me. 

You know, Lord, that as a human, I am confronted with the temptations of wealth, vanity and pride. 

They come into my life in a subtle way.

Help me, Lord, to dissect the snares of the devil from your divine ways.

Deliver me from myself, Lord

 

Pause

 

What are my temptations, and where do they take place?

Psalm 51:3 echoes in my mind: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Deliver me from my sins and from myself.

Deliver me from pride and disobedience.

Empower me with the necessary strength to resist temptations.

Help me control my emotions so that no one would be able to irritate me.

Help me control my mind

No one can hurt me deeper that I can.

A holy and blameless mind gives hope and joy.  

Deliver me from myself, Lord

 

What are the seeds of temptation, Lord?

Is it my screen time on TV, phone or tablet?

I therefore ask you to deliver me from myself.

So that I may be equipped to live out this Lenten period with Hope, having my eyes fixed on your Paschal mystery, the triumph of your love over death and sins.

Deliver me from myself, Lord

 

 

4. Contemplatio (Yield and Pray in silence)

And now in silence, let me offer you my daily challenges to you. 

 

Pause

 

Deliver me from myself, Lord

Help me to know what Jesus does for me.

Help me talk directly to Him about temptations I am facing.

 

Silence

 

Lord, when I think that my heart is overflowing with love

and realise in a moment’s honesty

that it is only myself that I love in the loved one.

Deliver me from myself.

Lord, when I think I have given all that I have to give

and realise in a moment’s honesty

that it is I who is the recipient,

Deliver me from myself.

Lord, when I have convinced myself that I am poor

and realise in a moment’s honesty

that I am rich in pride and envy,

Deliver me from myself.

And, Lord, when the Kingdom of Heaven

merges deceptively

with the kingdoms of this world,

Let nothing satisfy me but God.

(Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

 

Exit meditation in silence