Lectio for Lent- Monday, March 21, 2022
Theme: God So Loved the World
Readings: Psalm 107:1-3 John 3:14-17
Today begins the week of March 21st, we are reading the Psalm and gospel reading from the fourth Sunday in Lent.
St. John of the Cross says, “Our greatest need is to be silent before this great God…” Feel free to pause the recording at any time to be still in silence.
Simply rejoin the audio when you feel ready. It is important for you to follow a rhythm that feels natural for you.
CLICK THE ARROW TO PLAY THE AUDIO FILE
Prayer of Stillness
Oh Lord, as we enter prayer now, we pause to be still (Pause & Pray)
To be silent (Pause)
To gather our scattered senses and thoughts (Pause)
To re-center our attention on the presence of God (Pause)
To breath in deeply the love of God (Pause)
God is here with us. He desires and loves to be with us.
He delights in us. He delights when we come together in a community of prayer.
Prayer of Gathering
O Lord, we ask that you would gather us as one vessel to receive and hold whatever you would pour into us so that whatever you give us might overflow from our hearts into our community and the world. Fill us with your Holy Spirit.
Amen
We join with the universal body of God’s people in reading the words of Psalm 107:1-3.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north and from the south.
Psalm 107:1-3
Lectio Divina
Lectio– First reading: John 3:14-17
Let the text wash over you, noticing words or phrases that grab your attention.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:14-17 ESV
Let the text wash over you, noticing words or phrases that grab your attention.
(Pause & Pray)
Meditatio– Second reading: John 3:14-17 From The Message Translation
Put yourself in the story, notice what images, sensations, or feelings that stand out.
No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe,
it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.
This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
John 3:13-17 MSG
Put yourself in the story, notice what images, sensations, or feelings that stand out.
(Pause & Pray)
Oratio– Third reading: John 3:13-17
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:14-17 ESV
Respond to God with a prayer of what you’ve just seen and heard.
(Pause & Pray)
Now may I say St. Patrick’s Prayer of Blessing over you.
St. Patrick’s Prayer of Blessing
"As you arise today,
may the strength of God pilot you,
the power of God uphold you,
the wisdom of God guide you.
May the eye of God look before you,
the ear of God hear you,
the word of God speak for you.
May the hand of God protect you,
the way of God lie before you,
the shield of God defend you,
the host of God save you.
May Christ shield you today.
Christ with you, Christ before you,
Christ behind you,
Christ in you, Christ beneath you,
Christ above you,
Christ on your right, Christ on your left,
Christ when you lie down, Christ when you sit, Christ when you stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of you,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of you,
Christ in every eye that sees you,
Christ in every ear that hears you.
Amen."
