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In observance of Holy Week, our store will be closed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, March 28-29. Regular store hours will resume on April 1. 🙏
In observance of Holy Week, our store will be closed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, March 28-29. Regular store hours will resume on April 1. 🙏

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SUNDAY GOSPEL LECTIO DIVINA

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  • Gospel Lectio Divina for The Fifth Sunday of Easter - May 7, 2023
    May 4, 2023

    Gospel Lectio Divina for The Fifth Sunday of Easter - May 7, 2023

    Many of the sayings of Jesus are hard to understand, and I’ll admit I’m taken aback by some of them. Some of the things he says are challenging. They challenge us to see things differently, which is good. It’s good because it’s a reminder that life and the world have knocked us off track. When something Jesus says does not line up with my own values, I can know that it’s because my experiences–and the way I perceive them–have caused me to see the world and life in ways that are not right and true. Listening to Jesus’ word sets me back on track. But sometimes listening requires a little extra effort, more than just skimming through the words and getting the superficial meaning. Some of the realities Jesus is teaching us lie beneath the surface. He has a reason for putting them there: It’s to teach us patience and to help us get in touch with our spiritual side.

    Kilby is a freelance writing from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report.

     

    Glory to the Father The Son and The Holy Spirit

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  • Gospel Lectio Divina for The Fourth Sunday of Easter - April 30, 2023
    April 27, 2023

    Gospel Lectio Divina for The Fourth Sunday of Easter - April 30, 2023

    We will hear the Good Shepherd’s voice when we listen to it. Anyone can claim to be a messenger from God, but only by knowing God’s voice can we know for sure that it is him speaking. He speaks to the heart. Coincidences happen. Not all coincidences are God incidents. If that were the case, every bet a gambler won would be a heavenly intervention. God intervenes at just the right time and place for a very distinct reason. His interventions are about much more than chance. He speaks to us in Scripture at the exact time when we need to hear it. If we don’t hear his voice in Scripture, we can remember what he said therein and listen for his voice in our everyday lives. God is good like that. He is resolute. He speaks to us in his timing–kairos, the promising moment of decision or action. In other words, when we do hear his voice it’s because he is calling us to make a decision or take action. 

    If I cannot hear him, I will wait for that right moment. After all, he has waited for me for much longer many times. When I do not hear his voice distinctly, it may be because he is calling me to rest within, reflect, or contemplate the words he has already given me.

    Kilby is a freelance writing from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report.

     

    Glory to the Father The Son and The Holy Spirit

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  • Gospel Lectio Divina for The Third Sunday of Easter - April 23, 2023
    April 20, 2023

    Gospel Lectio Divina for The Third Sunday of Easter - April 23, 2023

    After listening to Jesus, the disciples on the road to Emmaus finally understood the Scriptures. That can be a lesson for us, too. After reading Scripture, if we continue to talk, wonder, and ask questions about it, God will lead us to answers. I like to listen for the ways Scripture resonates through the rest of my day after reading it. I share with others any connections I see between my experiences and what I read in God’s word. This helps me to see how the Bible is the living and breathing word of God. He continues to speak to us after we read it. When we read the Scriptures, it is like nutrition for our souls that fuels us for the rest of the day.

    Kilby is a freelance writing from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report.

     

    Glory to the Father The Son and The Holy Spirit

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  • Gospel Lectio Divina for The Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy) - April 16, 2023
    April 13, 2023

    Gospel Lectio Divina for The Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy) - April 16, 2023

    In the midst of doing what we can to hear and listen to God, it helps to remember that God listens to us. Even when our requests are outside of his will, I imagine it breaks his heart to tell us no–but he still listens. He listened to Thomas. He fulfilled Thomas’ request for proof. He knew that this answer would resonate through the ages for all those who ever doubt. His answer was for more than Thomas. It served as a truth that the entire world needs to know. When we are within God’s will, our requests—like Thomas’--align beautifully with the needs of others who are within his will. John speaks a great deal about abiding in the Lord, which means living within his will. When we do that, he hears us and we hear him. 

    Kilby is a freelance writing from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report.

     

    Glory to the Father The Son and The Holy Spirit

    Read now
  • Gospel Lectio Divina for The Resurrection of the Lord - April 9, 2023
    April 6, 2023

    Gospel Lectio Divina for The Resurrection of the Lord - April 9, 2023

    Mary came to Peter and John telling them that Jesus’ body was gone. By listening to her and running in haste to see if what she said were true, their faith was affirmed. People tell stories testifying to the works of God in their lives all of the time. These testimonies can often help us believe. Why not listen more closely to the ways God is working in other people’s lives? We can take this Gospel and use it as a lens through which we see other people’s lives. Sometimes God is working in our lives in ways we don’t understand, and other people can misinterpret his actions, just as Mary saw the empty tomb and assumed that someone stole Jesus’ body. God is always working in our lives, even if we don’t understand how at the moment. Sometimes we have to run to the tomb, or pursue the truth of someone’s testimony, to see what’s really going on. I have found that when we listen and search for the truth with a stout and genuine heart, God will always lead us to a deeper understanding of him and his works. 

    Kilby is a freelance writing from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report.

     

    Glory to the Father The Son and The Holy Spirit

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  • Gospel Lectio Divina for The Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion - April 2, 2023
    March 30, 2023

    Gospel Lectio Divina for The Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion - April 2, 2023

    Those who listened to Jesus knew who he was. Those who did not listen had no way of believing. We must listen in order to believe. All the answers to all the questions we have could be right in front of us, but if we have not been listening to what God has to teach us we can easily miss them. We can always make up excuses, but the truth is found by absorbing everything God has to say. In this week’s Gospel, he speaks clearly through great signs and wonders after Jesus’ death. But his answers are just as present in our everyday lives if we just listen. The secret to reading the Word of God well is to see it all still happening all around us; at Mass, with every sunrise, with every life in countless different ways. God gives us the springtime every year to remind us that the story of the Resurrection never stops. There is always renewal happening all around us. This is the hopeful message Jesus died and rose to share with us and it is why we celebrate Easter next week.

    Kilby is a freelance writing from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report.

     

    Glory to the Father The Son and The Holy Spirit

     

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  • Gospel Lectio Divina for The Fifth Sunday of Lent - March 26, 2023
    March 23, 2023

    Gospel Lectio Divina for The Fifth Sunday of Lent - March 26, 2023

    Sometimes the things the Lord tells us to do seem crazy. Jesus said, “Roll away the stone” and Martha said, “By now there will be a stench.” What Jesus was saying to do probably seemed absurd. He gives strange instructions, and does strange things, many times before performing a miracle. This is to test the faith of those around him. He does nothing arbitrarily. If he tells us to do something, in the same way, none of it is meaningless. Listen to him. He is God the Father’s beloved son. He alone can lead us to the resurrection of new life. 

    Kilby is a freelance writing from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report.

     

    Glory to the Father The Son and The Holy Spirit

    Read now