Lectio Divina on the Meaning of a Call
“It is especially necessary that listening to the word of God should become a life-giving encounter,
in the ancient and ever valid tradition of lectio divina, which draws from the biblical text
the living Word which questions, directs and shapes our lives.”
Pope John Paul II
Novo Millennio Ineunte, 39
Steps for Lectio Divina
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Take a Scripture passage on the theme of call, covenant, mission, or some other theme. It is helpful for each person to have their own copy of the passage. (See suggested Scripture passages)
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Give everyone time to read the passage silently, slowly, reflectively.
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As you read, underline any word or phrase which particularly strikes you.
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After everyone has finished reading, ask each person to share with the group the word or phrase which most struck them. (No elaboration at this point—just state the word or phrase.)
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Next, go around the group and have each person tell why this particular word or phrase struck them—what it was within their own experience that responded to this particular word or phase.
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Go around the group again asking each person, or just those who volunteer, to say what significance these insights might have for the group or for themselves.
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Finally, after a brief period of silent reflection upon what has been shared, ask each person to “gather up” in a prayer of praise, gratitude or petition, the thoughts or sentiments flowing from the shared faith experience.
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Pray together the closing prayer for vocations.
Suggested Scripture Passages
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Genesis 12:14; 15:6
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Jeremiah 1:4-10, 17-19; 15:10-21
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Exodus 3:11-12
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Amos 7:15
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Deuteronomy 29:3
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Mark 1:16-20
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1 Samuel 3:1-10
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Luke 5:1-11; 9:57-60; 12:49-53
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1 Kings 19:9-21
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John 1: 35-51
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Isaiah 6:1-8
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2 Timothy 1:6-13
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Acts 9:1-19; 13:2-3; 16:9-10; 22:6-21;26:12-19
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1 Thessalonians 5:11
Papal Reflection on Priesthood to Open Academic Year
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 7, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave last Friday evening when he presided overs Vespers for the opening of the academic year in pontifical universities.
His homily focused on priestly ministry, in light of the 70th anniversary of Pope Pius XII founding the Pontifical Work for Priestly Vocations.
A Time to Choose Priesthood
I choose priesthood.
I am just two years away from ordination, and today the priesthood is under fire, the priest is under suspicion. We all know why.
There are very real and evident victims. Knowing that one of the reasons I want to be a priest is to do good and lead people to what is right and good by example, word and deed makes my heart go out all the more to those who have been deceived and whose lives have been damaged, at times irremediably.
And there are other, less evident victims, the reputation of all good priests and seminarians has been tarnished, too. This newspaper quite appropriately called this the "collateral damage" of priestly sexual misconduct.
The Romans also used to persecute priests, Ignatius of Antioch was fed to the lions and Polycarp was burned alive. Nowadays, there's no need for such drastic measures. A rumor here, an accusation there, an anonymous declaration to the local press, about Father So-and-So. It doesn't matter whether or not the claims are true. Either way, the priest's reputation is ruined forever.
If a priest is wrongly accused, he is guilty even if proven innocent. People will never look at him the same way again. Eyes will lower during his homilies, parents will forbid their sons from serving as altar boys at his Masses. No school will have him as chaplain. Even among the people who remain friendly and supportive, outwardly trusting in his innocence, there will always be that little something held back, that nagging doubt: What if it's true?
Liturgical Year
What is the Ordinary Time?
The term "Ordinary Time" may be misleading. In the context of the liturgical year the term "ordinary" does not mean "usual or average." Ordinary here means "not seasonal." Ordinary Time is that part of the Liturgical Year that lies outside the seasons of Lent-Easter and Advent-Christmas. In Ordinary Time, the Church celebrates the mystery of Christ not in one specific aspect but in all its aspects. The readings during the liturgies of Ordinary Time help to instruct us on how to live out our Christian faith in our daily lives.
For Ordinary Time, readings for the Liturgy of the Word have been chosen for thirty-four Sundays and the weeks following them. However, some years have only thirty-three weeks of Ordinary Time. Further, since the Christmas Season ends on a Sunday with the Baptism of the Lord, and the Easter Season ends with Pentecost Sunday, two weeks in Ordinary Time do not have a corresponding Sunday. In addition, some Sundays of Ordinary Time are superceded by a solemnity that coincides with a Sunday, e.g., The Most Holy Trinity or Christ the King, the last Sunday of the liturgical year.
Practical Hints to Pray Better
"How can I pray better?"
1) In Preparing my Morning Meditation
Take 10 minutes the night before to write out your points. Make it the last thing you think of when going to bed and the first thing you think about the next morning.
Decide ahead of time the themes of your meditations. If I'm working on a particular virtue in my life, themes that correspond with that virtue.
Write out the fruit I want to get from the meditation.
2) In Doing my Meditation
Offer up my meditation for a concrete intention.
Make an act of the presence of God. Make acts of faith, hope, love, humility and confidence in God.
Ask Mary to teach me how to pray. She taught Christ.
Have a composition of place, usually a Gospel scene. Use all of your senses. You can use the Gospel of the day from the liturgy for this.
At the end write out the resolution of my meditation. If God's will during the day is the test, my resolution is a concrete way of knowing what God's will is for me that day.
Many possible ones: offer everything I do. Make Zacchaeus' resolution to pay your wrongs fourfold and do four acts of charity. Speak about Christ to someone at work.
Pray to the Holy Spirit. "Holy Spirit, gentle guest and consoler of my soul, enlighten my mind to know God's will for me. Inflame my heart to love it passionately. Strengthen my will to accomplish it as perfectly as you ask of me. Lastly, Spirit of love, grant me the graces I will need to respond faithfully to your holy inspirations."
‘For he is our peace’ (Eph. 2:14)
Commentary
Philippine Daily Inquirer
AS I watched Christ’s faithful gather symbolically in the Upper Room on Holy Thursday, around Calvary’s cross on Good Friday, and at the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, a wave of joy flowed over me. Swept up like a chip of wood on the surface of a boiling wave by the power of the community singing, I recalled the unity in faith and hope of the millions who gathered 25 years ago at Edsa. But still there was an undercurrent of sadness, sadness due to the realization that the official Church no longer stands with a united people but with one part of a nation divided; and that the struggle is carried on, no longer in the respectful manner of the crowds at Edsa, but in an atmosphere of personal animosity and demonizing.
St. Magdalene of Canossa
The life of Magdalen of Canossa dates back to 1774 the year of her birth as the second child of a noble family from Verona, the Marquis Octavius Canossa and Countess Maria Terese Szluha. The name “Canossa” has been connected with the history of Italy since the 11th Century A.D. when the famous Countess Matilda (1045-1115) exercised a strong political influence for nearly half a century. Even though the lineage is not clear, in the 17th century the Canossa’s of Verona held a prominent position in the city life.
During her early childhood Magdalen experienced deep suffering. At the age of five her father died in a geological expedition and her mother remarried and left the Canossa Palace and her children behind when Magdalen was seven years of age. In the absence of parental affection Magdalen turned to Mary for consolation:
After the revolutionary upheaval, Magdalen of Canossa, among the most influential women of her time, was the protagonist of a spiritual rebirth. In addition to her involvement with a charitable organisation in favour of the wounded and the sick, Magdalen gave special attention to girls living in poverty and those who had been abandoned. She concentrated her efforts and energy on building up an institution for them, receiving the first two at the “Canossa retreat” in 1801. In that same year Magdalen’s work earned Napoleon’s admiration for the “Charitable Establishment” erected in a suppressed Convent in a poor area.
Magdalen’s growing years were marked by suffering and trials. She lived in a society of contrasts between the very rich and those living extreme poverty. The society she grew up in was forgetful of God and dominated by arrogance and privileges. It was in this environment that Magdalen discovered deep within herself the desire to share the life of Christ in the salvation of many who had been abandoned in their poverty, exploited by the egoism of the rich and oppressed by the evils of her day. Magdalen began to give of herself without reserve to children, youth and women who had to reckon with economic as well as moral, spiritual, intellectual and family poverty.
In 1808 Magdalen left the Canossa Palace indefinitely and with some companions, established herself in the poverty-stricken district of San Zeno where she was happy to give herself. This small group of women would become the contemplatives not of the cloister but on the street. Magdalen called her companions “Daughters of Charity” because their task was to reveal God’s love to humanity.
Magdalen’s vision implied a Missionary spirit often stating that she was prepared to go anywhere and do anything so that Jesus would be known and loved. But this particular dream was not to be realised in her lifetime. Today the Daughters of Charity living the spirit of Magdalen are present in 35 countries around the world and the “Canossian family” includes the Canossian Sons of Charity (priests/brothers), the Secular Missionaries of St. Magdalen and the Association of the Lay Canossians.
On October 2, 1988 Pope John Paul 11 proclaimed Magdalen “Saint”, a prophet of Charity.Magdalen, with her life, has written a significant page in the history of humanity, a page that speaks of her personal journey in the Spirit, and above all of the Greatest Love of Christ in a broken world.
Pope urges RH bill foes not to give up
MANILA, March 25, 2011—Pope Benedict XVI called on Catholics to strengthen and not to give up the fight against any “attacks” to life and the family.
In a statement read during a prayer rally against the reproductive health (RH) bill Friday, the pope urged Filipinos to respect and protect every human life.
The pontiff’s message was relayed in a letter by Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone in a letter to the Filipino cardinals.
“His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI recommended the defense of these values which remain vital to the whole of Filipino society,” said Bertone.
“I again encourage you and all who value the human person to be firm in your commitment to honor God and, by doing so, to manifest a deep love for life and for its protection at this time,” he said.
Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill
(A Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines)
Our Filipino Brothers and Sisters:
The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights (Art. II, Section 11). The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception (Art. II, Section 12).
An Introduction to Prayer
Why Pray?
Prayer is like breathing for the soul. Did you ever try to stop breathing for a few days? What would happen to your body in that case happens to your Christian life when you stop praying.
Imagine trying to build and deepen a friendship without communicating or spending time with your friend. In the same way, how can we let God fill our life with joy, light, strength, and purpose if we don't spend time with him, get to know him, enter into a dynamic, personal relationship with him in prayer?
St Paul urges us: "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Christ himself admonishes us: "Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." (Mark 14:38). St Theresa of Avila, a Doctor of the Church, makes it potently clear: "He who neglects mental prayer needs not a devil to carry him to hell, but he brings himself there with his own hands." (Quoted by St. Alphonsus Liguori in The Great Means of Salvation and Perfection.)
Here's how the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it in number 2558:
"Great is the mystery of the faith!" The Church professes this mystery in the Apostles' Creed and celebrates it in the sacramental liturgy, so that the life of the faithful may be conformed to Christ in the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father. This mystery, then, requires that the faithful believe in it, that they celebrate it, and that they live from it in a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God. This relationship is prayer. (emphasis added)
Types of Prayer
The Church recognizes many different kinds of prayer, which can be grouped together under three general categories: vocal prayer, mental prayer, and contemplative prayer.
- Vocal prayer consists in reciting, either out loud or to oneself, the words of previously composed prayers, and aligning one's thoughts and desires to their meanings.
- Mental prayer combines personal reflection on a text from the Bible or from some other spiritual work with words of one's own, spoken to God in a heart-to-heart conversation. Mental prayer is also commonly known as Christian meditation.
- Contemplative prayer brings the soul into more direct contact with God, often without words or ideas; it is the prayer of being in the presence of God, loving him and knowing you are loved by him.
Prayer has as its ultimate goal to praise God and to receive his grace, to deepen our personal communion with God and strengthen the Church. The time we spend in prayer should awaken in our hearts attitudes of adoration, wonder, gratitude, petition, and contrition.
How to Pray
We learn to pray by praying. The single most important factor in our life of prayer is our decision to make prayer an integral part of our life. If God matters to me, I will make time for prayer. If he doesn't, I won't.
Prayer, conversation with God, should accompany us throughout our entire day. We should invite God to be a part of all our joys and sorrows, our struggles and concerns, our projects and decisions. He is a loving Father who longs to be "let in" to his children's lives.
Nevertheless, the hectic pace of life requires us to set aside some time to be alone with God. We need to "tune in" to him frequently each day, so that our activities don't end up crowding him out, so that we recognize his action in our daily lives, and so we never impede the grace that he wants to give others through us.
To maintain a healthy prayer life, and therefore a healthy relationship with God, experience has shown the following prayer commitments to be helpful:
- Starting the day with a morning offering
- Ending the day with a brief prayerful reflection on how the day went
- Dedicating 10-15 minutes each day to mental prayer
- Praying the Angelus
- Praying a decade of the rosary sometime during the day
- Regular confession (every month or every two weeks)
- Going to Mass during the week in addition to Sundays
- Praying before meals
- Visiting Christ in the Eucharist
No prayer book, however, can pray for you. God will never force his way into our lives; what kind of friend would? Each one of us has to decide, every day, how much God matters to us, and pray accordingly.