 This month we will explore Discipleship Habit #3: Attend Mass Often. While focused on the Mass, we will maintain a common Opening Prayer with a reflection tailored to the Mass area of focus for the week. Each week our focus is a different aspect of the Mass with the goal to invite you into a better understanding of the Mass to inspire a greater Love of the Mass.
Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, You are good, for You are a faithful God. By offering us the sacrifice of Your Body and Blood, You lovingly give us Your grace and invite us into deep relationship. Forgive us for the times that we’ve failed to recognize that You desire to be truly present with us and in us through the Eucharist. In Your Scripture you tell us of the first Eucharist, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15) Thank You for giving Yourself to us in the Eucharist so freely and so completely. Help us to know that You eagerly await us at every Mass. Lord, inspire us to grow in intimate union with You be receiving You in the Eucharist often. Jesus we trust in You. We make this prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN Reflection: The third habit of discipleship that we want to explore is the call to “Attend Mass Often”. This is the habit that finds the disciple regularly encountering the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. By practicing this habit, we open ourselves to be filled with the Divine Life of Jesus so that we can be transformed more fully into His likeness. For Catholics, the seven Sacraments are the pinnacle of how Jesus makes Himself alive and present to us through His Living Body of the Church. The Sacraments are the perfect “three-way intersection” of the fullness of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), Jesus’ Body of the Church, and each of our individual lives. The Sacraments are the holy intersection between heaven and earth! This is where disciples want to be as often as possible! Since the Mass is offered somewhere every day, except on Good Friday, disciples make it a habit to encounter Christ in the Eucharist on a frequent, if not daily, basis. Deeply aware of the God-sized hunger in their souls, disciples intentionally seek Jesus at Mass so they can surrender their repentant hearts to Him and be nourished by His life-giving Word, Body, and Blood. Beautiful in its simplicity, the Mass is a two-step journey into the very heart and life of Christ. First, we encounter Christ as He speaks His Word of love to us in the Scriptures and invites us into deep relationship. Then, as if that wasn’t amazing enough, we encounter Christ taking, blessing, breaking, and giving us His Body and Blood. He gives himself totally to us – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity! Jesus calls us together as His Church so that He can give Himself to us in the Mass. He so badly wants to give Himself to us, to be so close to us, that we actually take His Body and Blood into ourselves through Communion. He wants to draw us deeply into His Divine Life and transform us through His death and resurrection so that He can send us in His image to bring His sacrificial love to the world. Let’s seek to encounter Him at Mass often so we can be strengthened for a life of intentional discipleship. Reflecting with Scripture John 6:48 - 59 Jesus said: “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of the world.” The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [His] flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will have life because of Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” These things He said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. One method of exploring a deeper understanding of this scripture and its relationship to the Mass is to markup/highlight the reading for further investigation and contemplation. The following are ideas of what to highlight:
What is happening in this passage? What details stand out for you? To whom is Jesus addressing in this passage? What does Jesus mean when He talks about true food and drink? Why is Jesus true food and drink? What makes it true? What does Jesus mean when He says we will live forever? How do the people Jesus is speaking to in this passage react to this teaching? What about this teaching is difficult for you or someone you know? What have you learned or experienced that has helped you to believe these teachings? How do you think Jesus is calling you right now through this passage? How are you going to respond? Closing Prayer All Who Hunger Sylvia G. Dunstan All who hunger, gather gladly; Holy manna is our bread. Come from wilderness and wandering. Here, in truth, we will be fed. You who yearn for days of fullness, All around us is our food. Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good. All who hunger, never strangers, Seeker, be a welcome guest. Come from restlessness and roaming. Here, in joy, we keep the feast. We who once were lost and scattered, In Communion’s love have stood. Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good. All who hunger, sing together; Jesus Christ is living bread. Come from loneliness and longing. Here, in peace, we have been led. Blest are those who from this table Live their days in gratitude. Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good. Gather Hymnal, #925
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Discipleship Habit #2: Read Scripture Every Day - Week 16 The Word of God is Living in Me12/16/2020  Discipleship Habit #2: Read Scripture Every Day
Week 16 The Word of God is Living in Me Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, You are good, and we praise You. Through Your Scripture, You lovingly tell us the story of our salvation and continue to speak to us today. Forgive us for the times that we haven’t listened to You in the Scripture. In Your Scripture you tell us, “the Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Thank You for coming to us so powerfully through Your Word. Help us to know that You long to speak to us through Your Word. Lord, teach us how to listen to Your voice speaking to us through Your Scriptures. Inspire us to meet You in Your Word daily. Jesus, we trust in You. We make this prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN Reflection: Praying with the Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office, is the daily prayer of the Church, marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer. The Hours consist primarily of Psalms supplemented by hymns, readings, and other prayers and antiphons. Together with the Mass, they constitute the official public prayer life of the Church. Each day is canonically divided into five Offices, or Hours (often referred to as the Breviary): Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer. The Divine Office is available online at www.liturgies.net. For a mobile phone app with the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as Daily Mass readings, go to www.catholicapps.com/laudate . For this week’s prayer experience, the Morning Prayer from Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time is given below. Morning Prayer: God, come to my assistance,
HYMN I sing the mighty power of God, that made the mountains rise, that spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day; the moon shines full at God’s command, and all the stars obey. I sing the goodness of the Lord, Who filled the earth with food, Who formed the creatures through the Word, and then pronounced them good. Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’re I turn my eye, if I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky. There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known. And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne; while all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care; and everywhere that we can be, Thou, God, art present there. PSALMODY Antiphon 1: When will I come to the end of my pilgrimage and enter the presence of God? Psalm 42 Longing for the Lord’s presence in his Temple Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for You, my God. My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life; when can I enter and see the face of God? My tears have become my bread, by night, by day, as I hear it said all the day long: Where is your God? These things will I remember as I pour out my soul: How I would lead the rejoicing crowd into the house of God, amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving, the throng wild with joy. Why are you cast down, my soul, why groan within me? Hope in God; I will praise Him still, my Savior and my God. My soul is cast down within me as I think of You, from the country of Jordan and Mount Hermon, from the Hill of Mizar. Deep is calling on deep, in the roar of waters; Your torrents and all Your waves swept over me. By day the Lord will send His loving kindness; by night I will sing to Him, praise the God of my life. I will say to God, my rock: Why have You forgotten me? With cries that pierce me to the heart, my enemies revile me, saying to me all day long: Where is your God? Why are you cast down, my soul, why groan within me? Hope in God; I will praise Him still, my Savior and my God. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Psalm Prayer: Father in heaven, when Your strength takes possession of us, we no longer say: Why are you cast down, my soul? So now that the surging waves of Your indignation have passed over us, let us feel the healing calm of Your forgiveness. Inspire us to yearn for You always, like the deer for running streams, until You satisfy every longing in heaven. Antiphon 1: When will I come to the end of my pilgrimage and enter the presence of God? Antiphon 2: Lord, show us the radiance of Your mercy. Canticle – Sirach 36:1 – 5, 10, 13 Prayer of entreaty for the Holy City, Jerusalem Come to our aid, O God of the universe and put all the nations in dread of You! Raise Your hand against the heathen, that they may realize Your power. As You have used us to show them Your holiness, so now use them to show us Your glory. Thus, they will know, as we know, that there is no God but You. Give new signs and work new wonders; show forth the splendor of Your right hand and arm. Gather all the tribes of Jacob, that they may inherit the land as of old, show mercy to the people called by Your name; Israel, whom You named your first-born. Take pity on Your Holy City, Jerusalem, Your dwelling place. Fill Zion with Your majesty, Your temple with Your glory. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Antiphon 2: Lord, show us the radiance of Your mercy. Antiphon 3: The vaults of heaven ring with Your praise, O Lord. Psalm 19A Praise of the Lord, Creator of All The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of His hands. Day unto day takes up the story and night unto night makes known the message. No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends through all the earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world. There He has placed a tent for the sun; it comes forth like a bridegroom coming from His tent, rejoices like a champion to run its course. At the end of the sky is the rising of the sun; to the furthest end of the sky is its course. There is nothing concealed from its burning heat. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Psalm Prayer: To enlighten the world, Father, You sent to us Your Word as the sun of truth and justice shining upon mankind. Illumine our eyes that we may discern Your glory in the many works of Your hand. Antiphon 3: The vaults of heaven ring with Your praise, O Lord. Reading Jeremiah 15:16 When I found Your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart, Because I bore Your name, O Lord, God of hosts. Responsory Sing for joy, God’s chosen ones, give Him the praise that is due.
Benedictus (Canticle of Zechariah) Antiphon: Blessed be the Lord, for He has come to His people and set them free. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; He has come to His people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of His servant, David. Through His holy prophets He promised of old that He would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His Holy Covenant. This was the oath He swore to our father, Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship Him without fear, holy and righteous in His sight all the days of our life. You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His way, to give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Antiphon: Blessed be the Lord, for He has come to His people and set them free. Intercessions Our Savior has made us a nation of priests to offer acceptable sacrifice to the Father. Let us call upon Him in gratitude: Preserve us in Your ministry, Lord. Christ, eternal priest, You conferred the holy priesthood on Your people,
In Your goodness pour out on us the fruits of Your Spirit,
May we seek those things which are beneficial to our brothers and sisters, without counting the cost,
Our Father… Prayer Almighty Father, You have brought us to the light of a new day: keep us safe the whole day through from every sinful inclination. May all of our thoughts, words, and actions aim at doing what is pleasing in Your sight. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, AMEN May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. AMEN Closing Prayer I am not trying, O Lord, to penetrate Your loftiness, for I cannot begin to match my understanding with it, but I desire in some measure to understand Your truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this, too, I believe, that “unless I believe, I shall not understand”. Teach me to seek You, and reveal Yourself to me as I seek: for unless You instruct me I cannot seek You, and unless You reveal Yourself I cannot find You. Let me seek You in desiring You: let me desire You in seeking You. Let me find You in loving You: let me love You in finding You. St. Anselm of Canterbury, 1033 – 1109 AD Discipleship Habit #2: Read Scripture Every Day
Week 15 Jesus, Speak Directly to Me Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, You are good, and we praise You. Through Your Scripture, You lovingly tell us the story of our salvation and continue to speak to us today. Forgive us for the times that we haven’t listened to You in the Scripture. In Your Scripture you tell us, “the Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Thank You for coming to us so powerfully through Your Word. Help us to know that You long to speak to us through Your Word. Lord, teach us how to listen to Your voice speaking to us through Your Scriptures. Inspire us to meet You in Your Word daily. Jesus, we trust in You. We make this prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN Reflection: Each week, we grow more deeply into the habits of discipleship, into that “ONE THING”, which is the loving encounter with Jesus Christ in his Church. Last month, we focused on the habit of prayer. This month, we turn to the habit of growing in deeper relationship with Jesus by coming to know, more deeply, God’s Word in Sacred Scripture. Pause, for a few moments, and consider how Jesus prayed during His earthly life. He was raised in a Jewish family and steeped in Jewish traditions. He was taught to pray, by His family, His teachers, and the rabbis. He was taught the Sacred Scriptures from childhood, memorizing them, and coming to grow into God’s Word. As disciples, we do as Jesus did. How does one begin the habit of reading and praying with Scripture? An easy way to begin this habit is to pray with the whole Church, each day, by praying the readings of the day. These can be easily found in your parish bulletin, on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (usccb.org/bible/readings), and you can download an app for your smartphone (look for “Daily Readings” at the Apple App Store, Google Play, or Amazon App Store). When you read the daily readings, you not only have the opportunity to pray the daily Scriptures (habit of prayer), but you do so with the entire Church throughout the world (habit of community). There are terrific publications you can also subscribe to in printed or electronic form, like Give Us This Day, The Word Among Us, Magnificat, and Living Faith. You can also find great websites that offer reflections on the readings of the day. Throughout the month, practice incorporating reading and praying with Sacred Scripture into your day. By listening to God’s living Word in Sacred Scripture, we can hear the voice of Christ speaking directly to us in our lives. What is your favorite Bible verse? In what way does it impact how you think about Jesus? … about yourself? Praying with Ignatian Contemplation The Scriptures are God’s Word revealed to His people. He continues to speak to us through them today. Leaning to listen to God speak through Scripture is like learning any new language. It takes practice. One way the Church has taught us to listen to God speaking through the Scripture is through Ignatian Contemplation. In this prayer, one uses his or her senses in an imaginative way to reflect on a Gospel event in Jesus’ life. One uses the senses – seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling – to make the Gospel scene feel real and alive. Begin by selecting a passage from Sacred Scripture with which you may wish to pray. Some suggestions might be: John 11:1 - 44: The Raising of Lazarus. Mark 10:46 – 52: The Blind Bartimaeus. 1 Samuel 3:9: Speak, Lord. The Ignatian Contemplation method:
Closing Prayer Lord, inspire me to read Your Scriptures and to meditate upon them day and night. I beg You to give me real understanding of what I need, that I in turn may put its precepts into practice. Yet, I know that understanding and good intentions are worthless, unless rooted in Your graceful love. So I ask that the words of Scripture may also be not just signs on a page, but channels of grace into my heart. AMEN Origen of Alexandria, 184 – 253 AD Discipleship Habit #2: Read Scripture Every Day
Week 14 Lord, Teach Me To Listen Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, You are good, and we praise You. Through Your Scripture, You lovingly tell us the story of our salvation and continue to speak to us today. Forgive us for the times that we haven’t listened to You in the Scripture. In Your Scripture you tell us, “the Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Thank You for coming to us so powerfully through Your Word. Help us to know that You long to speak to us through Your Word. Lord, teach us how to listen to Your voice speaking to us through Your Scriptures. Inspire us to meet You in Your Word daily. Jesus, we trust in You. We make this prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN Reflection: Let’s remember that the attributes of the heart and the six habits of discipleship, though dealt with separately for clarity’s sake, are really just one thing. They are “THE ONE THING”, that is, “the loving encounter with Jesus Christ in His Church”. This is the one thing, and the only thing, that really matters. With that in mind, let’s continue our exploration of discipleship habits. The second habit of discipleship that we want to explore is the call to “Read Scripture Every Day”. This is the habit that finds the disciple regularly encountering Christ in His Holy Word, and most especially in the four Gospels. Do you want to learn how to listen to God? Praying with Scripture regularly is how we hear the living and eternal voice of Christ speaking directly to us in our lives. Scripture is God’s Word spoken both to a people in the past and to us today. Through it, “the deathless presence of Jesus speaks to us in the moment we read [a passage]” (Dr. James Finley). Just a few of the ways He speaks through Scripture include making a word or phrase jump out at us, showing us more of who He is as we reflect on stories from His life, or giving us insight into our own life when we reflect on how He acted in the lives of others. Encountering Christ in His Word is always an encounter with Love. Jesus meets us without judgment and lovingly helps us to see ourselves and our lives more clearly. Then He invites us to turn away from what is less than our Divine purpose and calls us to follow Him in His way of truth, goodness, and beauty. Christ in the Word brings us to the point of decision: Will we turn to follow Him more completely, or will we turn away? So, reading Scripture is always an encounter with Christ. And since the Scriptures are God’s revealed Word to His covenant people, reading Scripture is simultaneously an encounter with the Church. Reading Scripture timelessly connects us with Christ in and through all of His people – past, present, and future. In the Scriptures, Christ encounters us together to know us, call us, convert us, and set us free. Describe an experience that caused you to think about something or someone differently. What happened? How did it change you? Reflect on Scripture Luke 24:13 – 34 Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all of the things that had occurred. And it happened that, while they were conversing and debating, Jesus Himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And He replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to Him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all of the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed Him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that He would be the One to redeem Israel; and besides all of this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group; however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find His body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that He was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but Him they did not see.” And He said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all of the scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, He gave the impression that He was going on farther. But they urged Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So, He went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while He was with them at table, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, but He vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while He spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” So, they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. At the start of the passage, what are the disciples thinking and feeling? What are they thinking about Jesus? Why do you think Jesus asks them what they are discussing? (As if He doesn’t know…) What does this tell us about Jesus’ attitude toward us? In response, what does Jesus explain to them? Why do you think Jesus used Scripture to explain this? How do the disciples come to recognize Jesus? What part do the Scriptures play in this? What do you think it means that their hearts “were burning within them” when Jesus opened the Scriptures to them? Have you ever had an experience like this? What do the disciples finally come to understand? What is their response? How do you think Jesus is calling you right now through this passage? How are you going to respond? Closing Prayer Easter Arsonists of the Heart On the road that escapes Jerusalem and winds along the ridge to Emmaus two disillusioned youths drag home their crucified dream. They had smelled Messiah in the air and rose to the scarred and ancient hope only to mourn what might have been. And now a sudden stranger falls upon their loss with excited words about mustard seeds and surprises hidden at the heart of death and that evil must be kissed upon the lips and that every scream is redeemed for it echoes in the ear of God and do you not understand what died upon the cross was fear. They protested their right to despair, but He said, “My Father’s laughter fills the silence of the tomb.” Because they did not understand, they offered Him food. And in the breaking of the bread they knew the imposter for who He was – the arsonist of the heart. John Shea |
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