Tag Archives: Lectio Divina

Don’t bury your goodness

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Harmen Jansz Muller, ca. 1539 – 1617
Dienaar begraaft zijn talent
print, 1565-1572
Rijksmuseum

For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness.
1 Thessalonians 5:5

Don’t be afraid to be who you are, to share what you have—a smile, an encouraging word, an act of kindness, an item for the food pantry, a prayer for someone in need. Don’t bury your goodness.

Today I will make a list of my gifts and talents and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance on how to use them to be of help in our fragile world. I will also ask for the grace to grow in goodness in the light of God’s love.

The wisdom to thirst for God

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Martin Schongauer
(ca. 1435/50–1491)
The Fourth Wise Virgin,
from the series The Wise and Foolish Virgins
Engraving, 1470-1491
Metropolitan Museum of Art

O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
Psalm 63:2

It is wisdom to thirst for God. God is our source of life, love, and healing. When our reserves of energy, faith, hope, kindness, patience, and compassion run low, we need to take time to rest, pray, contemplate the natural world, be with people who love and accept us, and practice awareness of our thoughts, emotions, and fears. With the renewal of our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual reserves, we are able to continue to carry out God’s vision of love in our fragile world.

Today I will take fifteen minutes to rest and become aware of my body, my thoughts, and my emotions. I will ask the Holy Spirit for the grace and wisdom to be renewed in God’s power of love and goodness.

Blessed are we

Gustave Doré (1832-1883)
The Saintly Throng in form of a Rose
Dante’s Paradiso 31.1-9

[Jesus began to teach them, saying,] “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

There is much to mourn in our world. Cruelty. Oppression. Injustice. Greed. War. Poverty. Blessed are we when we reach out to comfort each other in these days of sorrow, when we embody kindness, encouragement, mercy, generosity, nonviolence, and respect for all people of every nation, race, and culture.

Today I will look for God’s face in everyone I encounter. I will remember we are all God’s beloved children and treat everyone as I wish to be treated.

Our daily challenge

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
Sister Maurice Schnell (1830-1902)
oil on panel, between 1847 and 1902
Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana

Thus says the LORD:
“You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry.”
Exodus 22:20-22

Helping, defending, serving, protecting: this is how we love God and our neighbor. Cherishing, encouraging, honoring, listening: this is how we love God and our neighbor. Embodying patience, kindness, humility, respect: this is how we love God and our neighbor. Love is our daily, hourly, moment-by-moment challenge.

Today I will receive and take to heart Jesus’s teaching to love God and my neighbor. I will ask the Holy Spirit to give me strength and guide me in all of my interactions that I may be living proof of God’s love for each and every person.

What belongs to God

James Tissot (1836-1902)
Le denier de César
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894
Brooklyn Museum

Jesus said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Matthew 22:21

We are God’s people, all of us, every single precious human being on earth. We are alive by the grace of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are here to be God’s loving, healing, compassionate presence to everyone we encounter.

Today I will honor God by conforming and aligning my mind, heart, and will to God’s. I will ask the Holy Spirit to guide my words, actions, and behaviors that I may become more like God in love and goodness and do my best to carry out God’s vision of unity, love, and peace among all people.

God provides for all peoples

Beth Jacob Cemetery
Finksburg, Carroll County, Maryland
15 July 2015

The Lord guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. Psalm 23:3-4

Whether I am poor or well-off, healthy or ill, at ease or frightened, welcomed by others or rejected, I am always safe in the heart of God. God strengthens me and supplies whatever I need so that I may continue to grow in love and goodness and treat myself and others with respect, kindness, and compassion.

Today I will respond to God’s invitation to come closer. I will find the courage to ask God for whatever I need and trust I am heard and answered.

A vineyard of peace, love, and goodness

Marten I. van Valckenborch (1534/1535 – 1612)
Gleichnis von den bösen Winzern (Oktober), 1580/1590
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Jesus said, “Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” Matthew 21:43

My challenge every day is to produce the fruit of God’s kingdom: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious” (Philippians 4:8).

Today I will examine my words, actions, attitudes, and behaviors to discern the fruits I am producing as I go about my daily life. I will ask the Lord to give me the courage to make necessary changes that I may grow in peace, love, and goodness.

It’s never too late

William Hogarth (1697-1764)
after Nicholas Yeates (1669-1686 (fl.c.))
The parable of the two sons (Matthew, 21:28-32)
print, 1724

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: “When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.” Matthew 21:32

It’s never too late to change my attitudes and behaviors. It’s never too late to ask God to open my heart to mercy and forgiveness. It’s never too late to learn to relate to others with forbearance instead of resentment, patience instead of scorn, kindness instead of ridicule, peace instead of violence, love instead of fear.

Today I will humble myself and ask God to show me where I need to make changes in my thinking, attitudes, behaviors, and actions. I will ask God to give me the courage to make these changes so that I may grow in love and goodness.

God is always near

School of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669)
Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard: Matthew 20:1-16
5 15/16 x 7 11/16 inches
Pen and brown ink, pentimento in left arm of seated figure corrected in opaque white, on paper; later washes and pen strokes in gray.
The Morgan Library and Museum

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
Isaiah 55:6-7

God is always near, God is always here. We are always welcome to call on God for help, guidance, mercy, compassion, comfort, and love. It is never too late to call on God.

Today I will intentionally make conscious contact with God. I will ask God to lead me where I need to be and then rest in stillness for a minute to listen to God’s voice in my heart of hearts.

Forgiveness is a journey

Lawrence W. Ladd (1879-1945)
Parable of the King and His Servants, ca. 1880
watercolor and pencil on paper
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Bates and Isabel Lowry, 1986.70.5

Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor; remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults. Sirach 28:7

Forgiveness is a journey that takes time and our willing participation. God gently calls us to let go of the wrath and resentment that have held us in bondage and become more like God in mercy and kindness. To answer God’s call we work our way through the anger and blame and fear we feel as the result of being treated disrespectfully, carelessly, scornfully, unjustly, inhumanely. We will eventually arrive at the heart of the grief of how others have treated us, how we have treated others, how a societal norm is growing where it is acceptable to treat people as objects to be manipulated rather than as subjects who have been made in love to be loved.

Today I will ask God to show me how to forgive those who have hurt me and to become willing to make amends to those I have hurt. I will remember God’s covenant of love and ask for the grace to grow more like God in mercy, kindness, patience, and compassion.