Category: Lectio Divina

What the Pharisee Missed about the Meaning of Blessing (Luke 18:9-14)

Published on by Sr. Kathryn J Hermes, FSPLeave a comment

Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:9-14

Humility, that most misunderstood of virtues, saves us from the theatrical pretensions to which all of us are drawn. Who hasn’t boasted occasionally of something they’ve accomplished, or been grateful, even in the secret of their hearts, that they aren’t in the class of people who they view to be beneath them as regards intellectual capacity, religious actions, cultural possibilities, or moral behavior?

The Pharisee praying in the synagogue was not exaggerating. He most probably did keep the law for that is what Pharisees did: they followed the legal traditions ascribed to the traditions of the Fathers. However, the special kind of prayer called the berakhah or blessing, so much a part of Judaism, is meant to be an expression of wonder at how blessed God is. For example, a typical blessing Jews recite before eating or drinking would acknowledge and bless God as the creator of the food and drink about to be enjoyed. The blessing for bread praises God as the one who brings forth bread from the earth. The blessing for wearing new clothing praises God as the one who clothes the naked.

These blessing prayers make clear that our true dignity lies infinitely more in God that in ourselves and can only be reached when we are united to God. The first truth that leads us to a great wonder in God’s glory and his goodness to us we find in Genesis. We are created from nothing. This very gift of an eternal existence make us utterly dependent on God and acutely aware of our own unworthiness. In love God created us and in love God upholds us. We have no being of our own but what we receive from God. Blessing God for his glory is in order!

The tax collector here is an image of all those who realize that they are dependent on God, gifted with life and an eternal purpose whose object is God, and that they can never come to completion without being perfectly united to God. In this case, sorrow for sins, even the grieving that comes from knowing that we will never be all that we were created to be, is appropriate and actually a necessary part of our relationship with God. Does this also sound familiar? We begin every Mass with a Penitential Act followed by the Glory to God. We take our place once again as God’s dear children so in need of his grace to live lives of  truth and goodness and beauty.

So today, bless and thank God as the source of every good in your life, acknowledge your dependence on God for reaching the final completion of your life in Christ Jesus, sorrow for your sins and never stop believing in God’s love for you.

Image: Aberdeen Art Gallery, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Praying with this Passage of Scripture

Lectio Divina is a way of listening to God as he speaks in his Word. It is a practice of communicating with God through Scripture and attending to God’s presence and what he wishes to tell us. In this slow and prayerful reading of the Word of God, we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit who forms us into the image of Christ. There are four movements in Lectio Divina: Read (lectio), Meditate (meditation), Pray (oratio), Contemplate (contemplation).

Begin by finding a still space to pray. Breathe deeply and become quieter within. Abandon any agenda, worries or thoughts you bring to this prayer and entrust these things to the merciful care of God. Ask for the grace to be receptive to what God will speak to you through this Scripture reading. Grant me, Jesus Divine Master, to be able to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God and your unfathomable riches. Grant that your word penetrate my soul; guide my steps, and brighten my way till the day dawns and darkness dissipates, you who live and reign forever and ever Amen.

Read (lectio)
Begin by slowly and meditatively reading your Scripture passage out loud. Listen for a particular word or phrase that speaks to you at this moment and sit with it for a time.

Pray (oratio)
Read the text a third time. Listen for what God is saying to you. Speak heart to heart with God. Notice the feelings that this conversation with God raises up within you. Share with God what you notice about your response to this conversation. You may wish to return to repeating the phrase quietly and gently, allowing it to permeate you more and more deeply.

Contemplate (contemplatio)
Read the text a final time. Now be still and rest in God’s embrace. Ask God to give you a gift to take with you from this prayer. You might ask God if he is inviting you to do some action, for instance, make some change in your thoughts, attitudes or reactions, in the way you speak or how you treat others. Thank God for this gift and invitation as you conclude your prayer.

The Lavish Ways of Our God (Luke 16:19-31)

Published on by Sr. Kathryn J Hermes, FSPLeave a comment

When God does things, he does them lavishly. The book of Genesis opens with the stunning array of all creation being poured forth from God’s hands in his limitless love. And here, in the familiar story of the rich man and Lazarus, we see two accounts of lavish living. The rich man clothed himself in fine linen and dined sumptuously, extravagantly, lavishly.

On the other hand, we see Lazarus taken after his death to the bosom of Abraham, a term which means being in the seat of honor at a banquet. One of my favorite word-paintings of God’s lavish feast-giving is penned by the prophet Isaiah:

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
    of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear (Is. 25:6).

Simply reading these words often brings tears to my eyes. There are so many who are suffering under burdens that weigh them down, crushing burdens mostly not of their own making. They are afraid to lift their eyes to this feast of rich food that “the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples.”

God is telling you, however, “I want you at this banquet. Don’t make banquets of your own. Don’t hoard riches on this earth for yourself. Don’t give up hope when you are not wealthy. Trust entirely in my lavish love for you.”

Let us break open this lavish love of our God. The word “lavish” appears in 1 John 3:1, which reads, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (NIV)

Paul helps us understand what this means as he almost sings exultantly:

“[God] raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable [we could read here, lavish] riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6-7).

The riches of God’s grace are not able to be measured, and they will be lavished on us for all eternity. In fact it was take eternal ages for God to show us the riches of his grace through the kindness shown to us in Christ Jesus his Son. God will be ever greater in glory and we will be ever more completely satisfied with the outpouring of his unending mercies.

There in the “bosom of Abraham,” like Lazarus, our tears will be wiped away, we will finally rest in the security of God’s provision and loving protection. We will be home in our God who can never be outdone in his lavish kindness.

Let us lift our eyes from our own wealth, however great or small it may be, and rest our gaze on the riches of God given to us even now in Christ Jesus: to live in communion with God through the sacraments in ever closer intimacy and unending joy.

Praying with this Passage of Scripture

Lectio Divina is a way of listening to God as he speaks in his Word. It is a practice of communicating with God through Scripture and attending to God’s presence and what he wishes to tell us. In this slow and prayerful reading of the Word of God, we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit who forms us into the image of Christ. There are four movements in Lectio Divina: Read (lectio), Meditate (meditation), Pray (oratio), Contemplate (contemplation).

Begin by finding a still space to pray. Breathe deeply and become quieter within. Abandon any agenda, worries or thoughts you bring to this prayer and entrust these things to the merciful care of God. Ask for the grace to be receptive to what God will speak to you through this Scripture reading. Grant me, Jesus Divine Master, to be able to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God and your unfathomable riches. Grant that your word penetrate my soul; guide my steps, and brighten my way till the day dawns and darkness dissipates, you who live and reign forever and ever Ame

Read (lectio)
Begin by slowly and meditatively reading your Scripture passage out loud. Listen for a particular word or phrase that speaks to you at this moment and sit with it for a time.

Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.

He customarily clothed himself in fine linen, an outer garment dyed purple and an inner garment of fine linen made of flax. He dined sumptuously, extravagantly, lavishly.

And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man’s table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.

The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
Abraham replied, ‘My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing
who might wish to go from our side to yours
or from your side to ours.’
He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him
to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.’
But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.’
He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Then Abraham said,
‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.'”
(Luke 16:19-31)

Meditate (meditatio)
Read the same passage a second time. As you re-engage the text, let the word or phrase that stood out become your invitation to speak from your heart with God who wishes to share his heart with you. Allow this word or phrase to wash over you and permeate your thoughts and feelings. You may wish to repeat this phrase quietly and gently for a period of time

Pray (oratio)
Read the text a third time. Listen for what God is saying to you. Speak heart to heart with God. Notice the feelings that this conversation with God raises up within you. Share with God what you notice about your response to this conversation. You may wish to return to repeating the phrase quietly and gently, allowing it to permeate you more and more deeply.

Contemplate (contemplatio)
Read the text a final time. Now be still and rest in God’s embrace. Ask God to give you a gift to take with you from this prayer. You might ask God if he is inviting you to do some action, for instance, make some change in your thoughts, attitudes or reactions, in the way you speak or how you treat others. Thank God for this gift and invitation as you conclude your prayer.

Image by Giani Pralea from Pixabay

There is no leprosy that frightens Jesus away (Mark 1:40-45)

Published on by Sr. Kathryn J Hermes, FSPLeave a comment

Two words in this Gospel are almost terrifying. Jesus “touched him.”

So far removed are we from what leprosy signified in biblical times, that this image of Jesus stretching out his hand to touch a person whose body was consumed by the disease has no affect on us.

Lepers were the walking dead who were banished to live outside towns in caves, tents, or garbage dumps. Even breathing the same air as a leper was thought to be dangerous, since leprosy was considered highly contagious.  Leprosy consumed a person’s body, leaving stumps where fingers, hands, feet, or noses had once been. The laws dictated that lepers were to maintain twelve steps distance from others, cover their mouths with a cloth, and cry out “unclean, unclean” to announce their presence.

Most of us still have lingering in our memories the fear we experienced with COVID-19, when even being within six feet of another or breathing the same air as they, conjured up the possibility of a painful death. We learned to stay from others to protect ourselves and those we love.

Jesus, instead, “touched” the leper.

Jesus stepped over the imaginary line of demarcation, entering into the dangerous zone of closeness with the leper.

Jesus got close enough to this man to smell the putrid smell of his decaying flesh. He could feel the man’s foul breath on his face.

Jesus got closer still in order to touch the body of the leper, putting his fingers into the wounds of oozing sores.

Jesus conveyed to this man that he wanted so much that he would be healed that he himself was willing to risk his life, to give his life.

Jesus was close enough to look directly into the face of a person whose face was horrifically disfigured and perhaps even unrecognizable.

And Jesus touched him.

Sometimes we may feel that we have become disfigured, unrecognizable, because of the wounds we have received in our life and the brokenness of our own sin.

And Jesus touches us.

There are certain others in our life that we consider “lepers” in the sense that they think, speak, or act in ways that threaten us or that walk outside the path of discipleship of the Lord Jesus.

And Jesus touches them.

There is no leprosy that frightens Jesus away, no disfigurement that makes him draw back. One day, when thinking of certain others in my life, wondering how they could be at peace with what they were doing, I heard God say to me this: “I know. Only I know.”

Jesus touches each of us in the places of our leprosy. We are each of us known intimately and lovingly by a God unafraid to enter into our misery and travel with us the journey to the Kingdom.

Today you might ask yourself in a moment of prayer: “Jesus, what does this say about you and about me?”

Praying with this Passage of Scripture

Lectio Divina is a way of listening to God as he speaks in his Word. It is a practice of communicating with God through Scripture and attending to God’s presence and what he wishes to tell us. In this slow and prayerful reading of the Word of God, we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit who forms us into the image of Christ. There are four movements in Lectio Divina: Read (lectio), Meditate (meditation), Pray (oratio), Contemplate (contemplation).

Begin by finding a still space to pray. Breathe deeply and become quieter within. Abandon any agenda, worries or thoughts you bring to this prayer and entrust these things to the merciful care of God. Ask for the grace to be receptive to what God will speak to you through this Scripture reading. Grant me, Jesus Divine Master, to be able to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God and your unfathomable riches. Grant that your word penetrate my soul; guide my steps, and brighten my way till the day dawns and darkness dissipates, you who live and reign forever and ever Ame

Read (lectio)
Begin by slowly and meditatively reading your Scripture passage out loud. Listen for a particular word or phrase that speaks to you at this moment and sit with it for a time.

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched him, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
(Mark 1:40-45)

Meditate (meditatio)
Read the same passage a second time. As you re-engage the text, let the word or phrase that stood out become your invitation to speak from your heart with God who wishes to share his heart with you. Allow this word or phrase to wash over you and permeate your thoughts and feelings. You may wish to repeat this phrase quietly and gently for a period of time

Pray (oratio)
Read the text a third time. Listen for what God is saying to you. Speak heart to heart with God. Notice the feelings that this conversation with God raises up within you. Share with God what you notice about your response to this conversation. You may wish to return to repeating the phrase quietly and gently, allowing it to permeate you more and more deeply.

Contemplate (contemplatio)
Read the text a final time. Now be still and rest in God’s embrace. Ask God to give you a gift to take with you from this prayer. You might ask God if he is inviting you to do some action, for instance, make some change in your thoughts, attitudes or reactions, in the way you speak or how you treat others. Thank God for this gift and invitation as you conclude your prayer.

Image: Dzambel at Cathopic

Want a way to live in wonder at all God does? (Mark 4:26-34)

Published on by Sr. Kathryn J Hermes, FSP1 Comment

I will be the first to admit I don’t have a “green thumb.” My forays into gardening and planting are very limited. Perhaps for this very reason, I am still in awe when some green thing under my care actually flourishes. A few months ago I rescued two leaves which had been unceremoniously cut off from a plant so that it would have more room to grow. I place them in a small dish of water “just to see what would happen.” Maybe I can grow another plant, I thought. Then I promptly left on retreat for two weeks.

Imagine my excitement upon my return when I noticed that each leaf had the tiniest white almost transparent roots at their base! Clearly, I couldn’t take the glory for this gardening miracle. I hadn’t even been home. But there it was. The water almost evaporated in the dish that had become their home, and yet these leaves rescued from the garbage two weeks earlier were now beginning to become new plants in their own right.

“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.”

The Kingdom of God begins in the quietest of ways, in a word of encouragement, an offer to pick up something at the grocery store for a housebound neighbor, a prayer for the world as it suffers the disharmony caused by war and falsehood, a decision to use the media responsibly. We might feel that in the face of the needs of others, our contribution is small. But isn’t that just the point? It is not our contribution at all, it is the Kingdom of God. We take the next good step in the important and more insignificant moments of our life, and God is the one who gives the growth. 

Timothy and Titus were disciples of the great apostle Paul. They learned from him the power of the Word, that it is not our actions and proclamations that make the difference, but the power of God in Christ who does all things. So have great courage that your work in the Lord’s field, whatever it may be, will bear God’s great fruit.

Praying with this Passage of Scripture

Lectio Divina is a way of listening to God as he speaks in his Word. It is a practice of communicating with God through Scripture and attending to God’s presence and what he wishes to tell us. In this slow and prayerful reading of the Word of God, we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit who forms us into the image of Christ. There are four movements in Lectio Divina: Read (lectio), Meditate (meditation), Pray (oratio), Contemplate (contemplation).

Begin by finding a still space to pray. Breathe deeply and become quieter within. Abandon any agenda, worries or thoughts you bring to this prayer and entrust these things to the merciful care of God. Ask for the grace to be receptive to what God will speak to you through this Scripture reading. Grant me, Jesus Divine Master, to be able to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God and your unfathomable riches. Grant that your word penetrate my soul; guide my steps, and brighten my way till the day dawns and darkness dissipates, you who live and reign forever and ever Ame

Read (lectio)
Begin by slowly and meditatively reading your Scripture passage out loud. Listen for a particular word or phrase that speaks to you at this moment and sit with it for a time.

The Parable of the Growing Seed

He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. (Mark 4:26-34)

Meditate (meditatio)
Read the same passage a second time. As you re-engage the text, let the word or phrase that stood out become your invitation to speak from your heart with God who wishes to share his heart with you. Allow this word or phrase to wash over you and permeate your thoughts and feelings. You may wish to repeat this phrase quietly and gently for a period of time

Pray (oratio)
Read the text a third time. Listen for what God is saying to you. Speak heart to heart with God. Notice the feelings that this conversation with God raises up within you. Share with God what you notice about your response to this conversation. You may wish to return to repeating the phrase quietly and gently, allowing it to permeate you more and more deeply.

Contemplate (contemplatio)
Read the text a final time. Now be still and rest in God’s embrace. Ask God to give you a gift to take with you from this prayer. You might ask God if he is inviting you to do some action, for instance, make some change in your thoughts, attitudes or reactions, in the way you speak or how you treat others. Thank God for this gift and invitation as you conclude your prayer.

Image: Myriams-Fotos; pixabay.com

You have been made for a purpose greater than you can imagine (Acts 9)

Published on by Sr. Kathryn J Hermes, FSPLeave a comment

Paul had no way of knowing when he awoke on the day he planned to descend on Damascus and take the followers of Jesus captive in order to put them into prison, that he himself stood on a threshold….

No way of knowing that he himself that day would be taken captive, that he would be captured and captivated by the One for whom he would live the rest of his life….

There in the dust on the outskirts of Damascus, radiant light all around him, his eyes in darkness, confusion swirling in his heart, he was uprooted from one life and planted in another. His response, “Lord, what would you have me do?” closed one era of his life and ushered in another.

Transition moments are rarely neat. They aren’t pretty. Sometimes they don’t even make sense. Paul’s conversion which we celebrate in the liturgy on January 25 appears quite dramatic and immensely important in hindsight. We’ve witnessed for 2000 years how the life and teaching of this greatest of apostles has transformed the Church and powerfully influenced the world.

I am sure, however, that as Paul reached out for help as he stumbled to stand up and as he was led by hand just like a child into the very city his arrival had been a day earlier such a cause for alarm, it was far from glorious. With every humiliating and faltering step into the city of Damascus, Paul was no doubt met with the comments and astonished jeers of bystanders.

When we are done with being captivated by our great plans and our stunning ideas and surrender to the Lord who takes us captive through similar not-so-pretty situations, we also are at a threshold in our lives. And this moment can seem equally inglorious. It can be difficult to cherish the hope that the closing of a door is offering the hope of a future ripe with new possibilities.

At these moments, remember this: You like Paul have been made for a purpose greater than anything you could think of. You like Paul have been made for something far more than this world. After that meeting with Jesus on his way to Damascus, Paul didn’t just change his behavior, or his goals, or his way of behaving, or what he was doing. Paul allowed God to pull him up into his own mighty mystery and unfolding selfless loving of the world.

After his “conversion” Paul belonged entirely to God, but he also finally belonged most truly to himself. He now knew deeply the reason for which he had been born. His joy grew from strength to strength, even in suffering and weakness, as he discovered every day how glorious it is to be remade in the image of Christ for the glory of God the Father. This is the promise held out to each of us as we celebrate this feast in the Church. 

Praying with this Passage of Scripture

Lectio Divina is a way of listening to God as he speaks in his Word. It is a practice of communicating with God through Scripture and attending to God’s presence and what he wishes to tell us. In this slow and prayerful reading of the Word of God, we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit who forms us into the image of Christ. There are four movements in Lectio Divina: Read (lectio), Meditate (meditation), Pray (oratio), Contemplate (contemplation).

Begin by finding a still space to pray. Breathe deeply and become quieter within. Abandon any agenda, worries or thoughts you bring to this prayer and entrust these things to the merciful care of God. Ask for the grace to be receptive to what God will speak to you through this Scripture reading. Grant me, Jesus Divine Master, to be able to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God and your unfathomable riches. Grant that your word penetrate my soul; guide my steps, and brighten my way till the day dawns and darkness dissipates, you who live and reign forever and ever Ame

Read (lectio)
Begin by slowly and meditatively reading your Scripture passage out loud. Listen for a particular word or phrase that speaks to you at this moment and sit with it for a time.

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. (Acts 9)

Meditate (meditatio)
Read the same passage a second time. As you re-engage the text, let the word or phrase that stood out become your invitation to speak from your heart with God who wishes to share his heart with you. Allow this word or phrase to wash over you and permeate your thoughts and feelings. You may wish to repeat this phrase quietly and gently for a period of time

Pray (oratio)
Read the text a third time. Listen for what God is saying to you. Speak heart to heart with God. Notice the feelings that this conversation with God raises up within you. Share with God what you notice about your response to this conversation. You may wish to return to repeating the phrase quietly and gently, allowing it to permeate you more and more deeply.

Contemplate (contemplatio)
Read the text a final time. Now be still and rest in God’s embrace. Ask God to give you a gift to take with you from this prayer. You might ask God if he is inviting you to do some action, for instance, make some change in your thoughts, attitudes or reactions, in the way you speak or how you treat others. Thank God for this gift and invitation as you conclude your prayer.

Image: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Annunciation: “Let our adoration never cease!” (St. John Paul II)

Published on by Sr. Kathryn J Hermes, FSP1 Comment

I can remember cherished moments as a child turning the living room lights low on Christmas eve and sitting with a cup of hot chocolate before the nativity scene so carefully arranged on the logs in the fireplace. Tiny Christmas lights twinkled in the straw that surrounded the figurines: Mary and Joseph, shepherds and kings, sheep and donkeys and cattle. I loved singing Christmas carols on that blessed evening, uniting myself in spirit to the angels who announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds over 2000 years ago. It was a magical moment for a child.

Over fifty years later, magical moments of singing carols at our family’s creche at Christmas have been replaced with the deeply meaningful and mystical times spent in stillness before the burning presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Here is no figurine, no nativity display that once a year captivates our hearts and reminds us of the birth of Christ. In the Blessed Sacrament Jesus is truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity. Jesus is real. Jesus is here. Right now. Today. A statue of the infant Jesus in a manger reminds us of something that happened 2000 years ago. The Eucharist lets us enter into that reality with our entire being right now, and participate in the salvation Jesus is bringing about on this earth today. We can bring Jesus our desires, tell him of our struggles and need for healing, beg him to teach us to pray as did the apostles, and commit ourselves body and soul to his service.

In the Gospel account of the Annunciation we learn three very important lessons from the Virgin of the Annunciation that model for us how to receive and adore Jesus in the Eucharist.

  1. God is living and real. God loves you. God speaks to you. God has something to say to you. God cares about what is happening to you and has a plan for your healing and salvation. Each of us has our own unique role to play in the mystery of salvation.
  2. The Father has sent his Son as Savior of the world. In the Nicene Creed we confess: “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.” God sent his Son to save us by reconciling us with himself, taking away our sins. In this instant, the Eternal Word leapt down from heaven and he whom the whole world could not contain enclosed himself in the womb of his Virgin Mother. The Word became flesh in the womb of Mary that we might know God’s love and that he might make us “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pt 1:4.)
  3. Mary models for us how to be still and silent before the presence of God. The Virgin of the Annunciation shows us how to listen and respond with obedient faith, committing to God, as she did, our whole being, body and soul. “Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” I often think of the moment right after the angel left Mary. It was the first instant of Jesus’ life within her womb. How she must have quietly loved him and adored him. What faith it must have required of her. She knew better than most the utter reality of God’s presence.

Mary, the Virgin of the Annunciation is also known under the title Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. The flesh of Jesus that was crucified, raised up in glory by the Father, the flesh that Jesus gave us at the Last Supper and continues to give us sacramentally in the Eucharist is the very flesh that he received from the Virgin Mary on the day she said her Fiat to the angel. In our reception of the Eucharist in holy Communion and in Eucharistic adoration, the Virgin of the Annunciation models for us faith, adoration, and loving surrender. As Jesus’ Mother she calls us to unite ourselves sacramentally to her Son as often as we can. As Jesus’ Mother she calls us to the silent and still presence of God that burns in our Eucharistic Chapels. This Christmas, as we are drawn into the wonder of Christ’s birth and our hearts are warmed by the figurines of our nativities, as well they should be, let us resolve to warm ourselves from now on at the fire of the Eucharist, Jesus truly present in our churches.

Mary was the first tabernacle of God. She adored him in her womb for the nine months before his birth, a secret prayer of loving worship. May the Virgin Mother of the Savior teach us how to become tabernacles of God. After receiving Jesus in Communion may we, as did Mary, carry him into the world. In the words of Saint John Paul II, “Let our adoration never cease.”

“O Mary, model of loving souls and fervent adorers, I ask you for three precious graces: to know the God hidden in the Tabernacle; to seek his presence, in holy intimacy; to live habitually with my heart turned to him. Amen” (Blessed James Alberione, SSP).

Praying with this Passage of Scripture

Lectio Divina is a way of listening to God as he speaks in his Word. It is a practice of communicating with God through Scripture and attending to God’s presence and what he wishes to tell us. In this slow and prayerful reading of the Word of God, we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit who forms us into the image of Christ. There are four movements in Lectio Divina: Read (lectio), Meditate (meditation), Pray (oratio), Contemplate (contemplation).

Begin by finding a still space to pray. Breathe deeply and become quieter within. Abandon any agenda, worries or thoughts you bring to this prayer and entrust these things to the merciful care of God. Ask for the grace to be receptive to what God will speak to you through this Scripture reading. Grant me, Jesus Divine Master, to be able to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God and your unfathomable riches. Grant that your word penetrate my soul; guide my steps, and brighten my way till the day dawns and darkness dissipates, you who live and reign forever and ever Ame

Read (lectio)
Begin by slowly and meditatively reading your Scripture passage out loud. Listen for a particular word or phrase that speaks to you at this moment and sit with it for a time.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Meditate (meditatio)
Read the same passage a second time. As you re-engage the text, let the word or phrase that stood out become your invitation to speak from your heart with God who wishes to share his heart with you. Allow this word or phrase to wash over you and permeate your thoughts and feelings. You may wish to repeat this phrase quietly and gently for a period of time

Pray (oratio)
Read the text a third time. Listen for what God is saying to you. Speak heart to heart with God. Notice the feelings that this conversation with God raises up within you. Share with God what you notice about your response to this conversation. You may wish to return to repeating the phrase quietly and gently, allowing it to permeate you more and more deeply.

Contemplate (contemplatio)
Read the text a final time. Now be still and rest in God’s embrace. Ask God to give you a gift to take with you from this prayer. You might ask God if he is inviting you to do some action, for instance, make some change in your thoughts, attitudes or reactions, in the way you speak or how you treat others. Thank God for this gift and invitation as you conclude your prayer.

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