Lectio Divina

Prayer for Stillness

O God our mystery,
you bring us to life,
call us to freedom,
and move between us with love.
May we so participate
in your dance of trinity
that our lives may resonate with you,
now and for ever. Amen

(Common worship J.9)

 

1. Lectio (Read)

 

When Jesus drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade round you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold,  saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’, but you have made it a den of robbers.” And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him.

St Luke 19:41-47, ESVUK

 

The refrain to lead me in the presence of God during this meditation is: 

“Prepare my heart to welcome Your presence continually.

 

 

2. Meditatio (Rejoice and Reflect)

 

I contemplate Jesus as both God and man. Today, He expressed His emotions by crying.  Scripture teaches that Jesus embraced the human experience in all aspects except sin.  He understands the pain of a heart hurt by mistreatment, sorrow, and disappointment.

The Greek verb “weeping” (δακρυω, dakruo) describes an expression of grief.  Jesus was deeply moved by the mourners at Lazarus’ death.  He weeps with us and transforms our sorrow into joy and prepare our hearts to welcome His presence continually in our lives.

 

Pause

 

As a wounded healer, Jesus devoted Himself to the life and healing of His followers.  He offered hope to the widow who lost her only son, telling her, “Do not weep.”

 

Silence

 

We often fail to recognize His weeping and moments of spiritual cleansing.  We clutter our hearts with disordered passions, fears, and anxieties, hindering our ability to witness God’s love.

Prepare my heart to welcome Your presence continually.

 

 Pause

 

The Church is a spiritual temple that reflects our souls, which we sometimes misuse.  Disarray in the temple represents misplaced passions like pride and lust.  While passions can be guided by grace, excessive pride disrupts God’s order in our hearts.  This explains why Jesus is troubled by the misuse of our souls, which He came to save.  God protects my soul, my mind, will, and emotions from the disordered passion of pride.  This is His holy desire for my soul: to remove any obstacles to His grace.

Prepare my heart to welcome Your presence continually.

 

 

3. Oratorio (Ask)

 

Humanity sometimes fails to recognize God’s visitation, illumination, and enlightenment.  At a personal level, when does this happen to me?

When and how do I fail to recognize the purgation, the illumination, and the infilling of grace in my soul?

I meditate upon the noise and buzz around me caused by social media. The world is continuously bombarded with disturbing news. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram create a constant buzz and other forms of excitement.

Prepare my heart to welcome Your presence continually.

 

Pause

 

I contemplate how my mind is overwhelmed with too many tasks at work because I am obliged to multitask.

All these distractions in my life, such as phones, iPads, and television, cause me to focus on trivial matters rather than on things that are truly purely holy and beneficial for me.

Prepare my heart to welcome Your presence continually.

 

Pause

 

I ask Jesus for the grace to reduce those distractions in my life so that I may have a holy, happier, and less stressful life, grounded in the spiritual gifts that God has freely bestowed upon me: obedience, humility, endurance, and patience.

Prepare my heart to welcome Your presence continually.

 

 

4. Contemplatio (Yield and Pray)

 

I welcome the challenge from Jesus to seek the vision of God.

I want Him to reset my mind this week so that my words and deeds do not sadden Him.

 

Silence, I join the just man in Psalm 137:5-6 to pray:

 

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand forget its skill!
 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
    above my highest joy!

Prepare my heart to welcome Your presence continually.

 

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