Weekend of March 17th, 2024
Lectio Divina
Weekend of March 17th, 2024
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, you spoke to the reality of suffering when you told us, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) You spoke these words to each of our hearts with Your own suffering in mind. Jesus, suffering is hard. Help me to know You ,and to have Your Word written on my heart so that I can carry my cross of suffering in a way that allows You to be glorified. May my obedience to Your will become acts of love and trust because I know You. Amen.
1st Reading Jer 31:31-34
The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant, and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.
Reflection
Spend some time looking over your walk of faith. What are the stories of your before and afters? Where in your life has God's law been transformed from something to be resisted or denied to something that it embraced and held close? For myself I like to look back at the time in my life when I was in my early twenties. I thought I knew it all. I was a classic cafeteria Catholic. I picked and chose God's laws that made sense and discarded the ones where I thought I was smarter than God. God's law was not written on my heart yet. I like to look back on this time because it helps me to be steadfast in my current walk. I can see the ways that God used the circumstances of my life to write the truth of His law on my life. Thank you Lord for your steady and gentle guidance. Thank you for Your wisdom.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 51
R. (12a) Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall return to you.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Reflection
Where in my life am I doubting God's goodness and compassion? Lord, where am I playing tug of war with You? Where is my trust causing me to hold control? Lord, place your steadfast spirit within me that even in the moments of struggle and suffering of life I may know Your goodness, and walk in trust through the struggles of this life. Lord Jesus, grace me with your steadfast strength in letting it go. Help me to surrender to the Father my will that His will may be accomplished.
2nd Reading Hebrews 5:7-9
In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Reflection
"In this life you will have trouble..." Where in my life have I seen the fruit of suffering? When I am suffering and crying out in my own prayer and supplication to God do I allow my gaze to fall upon Jesus? Does Jesus' own suffering and obedience in suffering strengthen my spirit and sustain me or does Jesus' suffering baffle me? I think at one point or another upon this walk of faith, we have all struggled with the cross of our Lord. Those things that we struggle with and have difficulty wrapping our minds and hearts around can be the things we run from. Talk to Jesus, face His cross, and ask Him to write the beauty and truth of this moment upon your heart.
Gospel Jn 12:20-33
Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.The Father will honor whoever serves me.“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.
Reflection
Jesus fully human suffered with suffering. Jesus suffered for us, not just to defeat death, but to demonstrate by example. Jesus submitted to His Father's will trusting that on the other side of suffering God would be glorified. How do I react to my own suffering? What do my prayers look like in these moments? How can I learn from Jesus? If you are suffering right now, what good might God be seeking to achieve through you in this moment? If you can't fathom any good, can you look at Jesus on the cross from the perspective of Peter, Thomas, James, Matthew... they fled and couldn't see what could possibly come from this despite being assured that this must happen. Three days later their whole perspective changed. If you are suffering, in this dark hour, trusting that God is at work, can you offer this prayer to Jesus? Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything.
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