POSTULANTS VISIT

 

 

September 16-18 saw our Prayer Fraternity hosting the two new postulants (and their directors) from the Province of St. John the Baptist in Cincinnati;  pictured above are Ramon Castellon  and  Zach Bischler who have just begun their first year with the formation team of Frs. Carl Langenderfer and  Frank Geers, OFM.   It's always a pleasure to see the new class from Cincinnati include our friary in a visit of their provincial ministries.   We wish them the best in their year of formation and promise to keep them in our prayers.

PRAYER: A DUTY, A JOY

 

(a small chapel on the grounds of our Prayer Fraternity)

PRAYER:  A DUTY,  A JOY!

 

"Then Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, spending the night in communion with God."  LK  6:12

 

This reflection is written by Mary Marrocco and appeared in the daily devotional,  LIVING FAITH, for September 11, 2012:

 

"To my mother, reading is as necessary as eating and breathing.  Lately, due to an eye blockage, she has difficulty seeing.  She didn't read the newspaper this morning.   She couldn't read the recipe she was making.  But she picked up a lighted magnifying glass to read morning prayer, explaining:  "I've almost memorized it anyway."   Watching her, book and glass close to her face, I saw a woman whose strength and grace stem from prayer.

In this way, among others, she's Christlike.  The gospels clearly show how prayerful Jesus was and how he drew on prayer for everything he did.  If we desire to be like him, prayer will help take us there.  At times, it will feel like a duty;  at other times, pure joy.  At all times, it's air to breathe and water to drink, ever available, ever sweet."

 

Lectio Divina as a 5-Step Prayer

 

(summer sunflowers in the friar's garden)

 

 

A QUICK LOOK AT LECTIO DIVINA:

This meditation appeared in the September issue of The Word Among Us from Sunday, September 2nd.   It offers a quick and simple look at the ancient practice of Lectio Divina and offers a 5th step to the classic 4 steps  that we normally think of when we consider LECTIO.   The meditation was based on the Letter to James 1:22  "Be doers of the word and not hearers only." 

Words, words, words!   We live in a very verbal world.  Televisions, radios, iPods, table computers, newspapers, billboards, books, magazines  -- they are all ready to saturate our minds and stimulate our interests.  But so much comes at us that it goes in one ear and right out the other.

If our judgment is spiritually acute, this can be a good protection against ungodly influences.  But we also run the risk of closing our ears to the most important word of all, the word of God.  Without even realizing it, we may end up treating Scripture as we do other words:  tuning it out, shielding ourselves from its challenge, not feeling any need to apply it to our lives.  So what can we do to make sure that we become "doers" of God's word?

One of the best answers is the ancient practice of LECTIO DIVINA,  or "sacred reading."  Its basic steps are simple:

LECTIO:   First, read a passage of Scripture slowly and carefully.  Use your Bible's footnotes or a trusted commentary if you need help.

MEDITATIO:   Next, reflect quietly on the meaning of the passage.  Let the words sink deeply into your mind.

ORATIO:  Next, in prayer, talk with God about the passage.  "Lord, how does this verse apply to my own life?"

CONTEMPLATIO:   In the silence of your heart, simply rest in God's presence, contemplating the goodness he has show you in his word.

OPERATIO:   And then, as a fruit of your prayer and reading, decide how you will respond to what God has shown you.  How will you live out the word that has come alive?

 

CARRYING THE SICK TO GOD IN PRAYER

 

This wonderful reflection on Prayer and the Sick by Sr. Joyce Rupp, OSM,  appeared in the LIVING FAITH daily devotional on September 5, 2012 --their website is  www.livingfaith.com.

Scripture:   "At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus."   (Luke 4:40)

Reflection:

Notice that in Luke's description of Jesus' healing the sick,  it does not say the sick came to him.   Rather, they were BROUGHT by someone who cared about them.   For a variety of reasons --  weakness,  immobility,  fear  or disbelief -- the infirm were unable to come on their own.   Who brought them?  People like you and me who know many who are suffering from various ailments, especially cancer, depression and conditions associated with aging.   How do we bring them to the Divine Healer?   We carry them on our prayers, trusting that whatever form of healing they most need will be given.   Never doubt that praying for the sick can make a difference.   Their illness may or may not dissipate, but courage, comfort, strength, peace and other essential gifts of inner healing will grow in them.  When people ask you for pray for them,   write down their names, daily hold these names close to your heart and send forth God's love to these persons.