First Friday of the Month

Readings of the day: RB 50

Mass: Daniel 7:2-14; Resp. Psalm (Dn 3); Luke 21:29-33

MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY.

 

Sr Ann Marie at Lectio Divina

Not long ago I had an excellent, semester long course on lectio divina. It was taught by an Irish diocesan priest; a caring man, a Scripture scholar. He warned us of what he called the Prodigal Son syndrome, that is, we hear or read a familiar biblical passage and immediately tune out—we already know what the story is all about. Doing so, we miss out on what the Word is saying to us on that day, at that moment, in whatever space we find ourselves. The words of our Lord do not pass away—they are the sure foundation. That said, it is we who pass from one mood to another, from one place to another, to one stage of the spiritual journey to another. The WORD will always have a different message depending on how open we are to receiving it. In my experience, when I read a familiar passage, one which I have already heard 1,000 times, I hear or read a word or phrase that I have never heard before! The WORD is speaking to me in a particular way at that moment, and will in another tomorrow. This is the beauty of the discipline of lectio divina—how our lives can be transformed by the WORD speaking to each one of us individually, calling us to a more intimate relationship with the WORD made FLESH who dwells among us. Put another way, we fall deeper and deeper in love with the living and true God, LOVE poured into our hearts. Why not spend some time with the parable of the Prodigal Son, or any other parable—you really might not know what the story is all about.

THUS SAY THE LORD:

LET WHOEVER IS THIRSTY COME TO ME AND DRINK.

STREAMS OF LIVING WATER WILL FLOW

FROM WITHIN THE ONE WHO BELIEVES IN ME.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)