The Word
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England dedicated 2020 to ‘The Year of the Word’. During the special year, the Church encouraged schools to celebrate, live and share God’s Word. As a school we already do this in so many ways. Various prayers and activities will be taking place during this year to encourage our daily living out of the ‘Gospel’ which simply means ‘Good News’. Let us help one another to be ‘Good News’ to everyone we meet, both in word and deed.
Lectio Divina
(Latin for ‘Divine Reading’)
There are various approaches to Lectio Divina a simple approach is to see Lectio Divina as a way of encountering God through Scripture – normally, by taking a specific passage from the Bible as the basis for this prayer.
Four Steps of Lectio Divina by James Martin SJ.
- 1st Reading (Lectio): What does the text say? First you read the text. Then you look at what is going on in this Bible passage?
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2nd Meditation: What is God saying to me in the text? At this point, you ask whether there is something that God might want to reveal to you through this passage. Often, it might connect with something in your life.
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3ʳᵈ Prayer: What do I want to say to God about the text?
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4th Action: What do I want to do based on my prayer? Finally, you act. Prayer should move us to action, even if it simply makes us want to be more compassionate and faithful.
The story of the ‘The Good Samaritan’ is a good Gospel to use for Lectio Divina.
Luke 10: 25-37
Gospel reading for Saturday 5th October
Reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 10: 17-24
The seventy-two came back rejoicing. ‘Lord’, they said ‘even the devils submit to us when we use your name.’ Jesus said to them, ‘ I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yes, I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.’
It was then that, filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, he said, ‘I bless you , Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the son chooses to reveal him.’
Then turning to his disciples he spoke to them in private, ‘Happy the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.’
The Gospel of the Lord
Response: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ