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April 27, 2020Divine Reading
“The reading from the Word of God at each Hour . . . and readings from the Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more deeply the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the psalms, and prepare for silent prayer. The lectio divina, where the Word of God is so read and meditated that it becomes prayer, is thus rooted in the liturgical celebration.”
“Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1177 and 2708.
Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!
Happy Easter!
A few weeks ago, when all these restrictions were new and Lent was fully upon us, I had suggested that we look at these days a deep Lenten Retreat – calling to mind an encouragement from Pope Benedict XVI… Previous Blog Post is here... this called us to a three-fold Lenten Retreat – prayer, listening to the Word of God, and penance. No doubt, we may have found so many limitations and the chance to engage a deeper prayer life easier during Lent, more common. And, the austerity of these surprising days for many just made more sense in Lent. Now we are in Easter, a time of rejoicing and gladness because of the Risen Christ. But the fact of the Risen Christ – the celebrations of Easter Sunday – does not imply that our time of deepening our relationship with the Lord is now over. That all that is left for the Christian is to relax and rest; no, this is not the mandate of Ester. Yes, we must see the whole picture and that our life of grace is a gift, but we are not spoiled and silly children who receive a gift to only play with the box, or use it once and then move-on to the next shiny object. If the way of Prayer, Listening to the Word of God, and Penance were the method of preparation to arrive at Easter Sunday ready to encounter the Lord, then this program must form the basis of our whole life as Easter People.
And so, I propose anew and again, that we engage the Sacred Scriptures each day. We cannot not simply become complacent with a few memorized words as the summation of our relationship with God – could you imagine how shallow and mundane a relationship would be with a loved one, if it were just a few repeated words exchanged quickly, without any reflection on their deeper meaning or their impact on the current circumstances? Yet, for many of us, this would be a description of our conversations with God… we talk at the Lord, in the same words we have used for years with no mediation on their meaning and no silence to allow the impact of the moment to take hold of your heart and inform your conversation. Thus, we need to continuously open the Word of God and listen to the revelation of the Lord as we pray. Yes, we need common and known prayers but we cannot limit our conversations with God to only these occasions. The Lord invites us to know Him better and He desires to know us better than a routine conversation will allow.
Please, prayerfully read and seriously consider the Word of God.
In addition to the links in the prior blog posts (referenced above)… Here are a few helps:
In prayer… never let the perfect be the enemy of the good! Even just 3 minutes of prayer, reading the Bible passage, is good – no, its not perfect… but do what is good and trust in the Lord to work the miracles!
Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!
Know of my prayers for you, please pray for me!
Father Wilke
Saint Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, pray for us!