What is lectio divina? According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 2708, “Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.” The five steps of lectio divina include:
- Reading. Read a passage slowly and carefully within the bible.
- Meditation. Thinking deeply or dwelling upon a spiritual reality within a text.
- Prayer. Having a loving conversation with God.
- Contemplation. Resting in Gods presence.
- Action. Go and do likewise.
Meditation 4th Sunday Easter Yr. B: “Jesus entrusted a specific authority to Peter: ‘I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The power of the keys designates authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: ‘Feed my sheep.” The power to ‘bind and loose connotes the authority to absolve sins to pronounce doctrinal judgments, and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church. Jesus entrusted the authority to the Church through the ministry of the Apostles, and in particular through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically entrusted the Keys of the Kingdom.”
1st Reading: Acts 4: 8 – 12: “There is no salvation through anyone else.”
Responsorial Psalm: 118: 1,8-9, 21–23,26,28,29: “The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.”
2nd Reading: 1 John 3:1-2: “We shall see God as he really is.”
Gospel: John 10: 11- 18: “The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.”
This Sunday is often referred to as Good Shepherd Sunday. If you have been a shepherd, you know how cantankerous sheep can be, but also how loving and playful they can be. If you are good to them, they will follow you anywhere.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who actually gave His life, to redeem our souls. Peter said It was in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazorean, who healed the crippled man. “He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, who became the cornerstone There is no salvation through anyone else.”
This incredible gift, our Father in heaven has bestowed on us, through the Life, Death, and Resurrection of His Son Jesus, is “Eternal Life”. How can one understand: the meaning of Eternal Life? The first thing that comes to mind is: the end of ‘Time’, as we know it.
Rev: 21:1 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; …Then I heard a voice call from the throne, “You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, And he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. “God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him.” 1Jn16 Many people who have had a near death experience, describe heaven as beautiful: fields, flowers, streams, etc. But the most common words used are peace, tranquility, and joy. That is what trust in God gives us.
Paul tells us “The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; we teach what Scripture calls: the things which no eye has seen and no ear heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Cor 2:9. SM