Prayer & Lectio Divina
Very often my prayer begins in Scripture or is nourished by it. As St. Ambrose observed, we speak to the Lord when we pray, and we listen to him when we read his word. Here you’ll find posts about lectio divina (the practice of pondering Scripture until it becomes prayer) and other forms of prayer, both how and why to use them. Explore the posts below (pictured with the most recent first) or start with one of the ones listed here:
- Read the Bible Like a Disciple
- Flourishing in Drought (a 4-part series on lectio divina)
- God Hears Our Prayers
- Why Pray, if it Doesn’t Always “Work”?
What do we do when God does not answer our prayer? I know they say he always answers – just not necessarily as we would like. So what do we do when God answers “no”? This week I’ve been meditating on Psalm 38, the third of seven “penitential psalms.” It’s a psalm of David, who infamously committed adultery with Bathsheba ...
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As is often the case, my heart is hard by the time Lent rolls around. I need help to soften and to turn it, so I can recognize my sin: the ways I've missed the mark or turned good to my own ends or put my own will before God's. Or my needs before those others. Each of these acts ...
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Used to be, a wide receiver wanted nothing to come between his fingertips and the football. But it’s a fair bet that when the Eagles and Patriots file onto the field this weekend, anyone who anticipates touching the ball will be wearing high-tech, sticky gloves. And if Alshon Jeffery makes a three-fingered catch the fans will cheer! — but no ...
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“You’re the man!” According to the Urban Dictionary, that’s a cool way of saying “you rock!” You’re comparing the person to someone everyone knows is awesome, like Jesus (or Allah, or Buddah, or even Chuck Norris, according to that source!) Somehow I don’t think that’s what the prophet Nathan meant in 2 Samuel 12 when he called out King David ...
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If the stores in our area are anything to go by, Thanksgiving is going the way of the pilgrims. We're too busy, it seems, to linger in gratitude when there's so much out there to get. X-mas trees (I can't call them "Christmas") appeared the afternoon of Halloween, and Thanksgiving's treated as a signpost for Black Friday. How can we ...
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This weekend at the National Catholic Bible Conference in Houston, I spoke on "The Word of God in the Life of the Disciple." Scripture plays an important role in helping us ENCOUNTER Jesus and grow in RELATIONSHIP with him, and it fosters the TRANSFORMATION that is the hallmark of true disciples. As Catholics, we have a powerful encounter with the ...
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"Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, had recourse to the Lord." (Esther C:12*) Have you ever felt like that? "Seized with mortal anguish"? I've never faced genocide the way Queen Esther did, but I have felt the "mortal anguish" of despair when we faced deep financial trouble ... when our baby's life hung by a thread ... when our son ...
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The mural fills an entire wall of the Encounter Chapel, which is built on the first-century stone floor of the marketplace at Magdala by the Sea of Galilee. In it, sandals crowd the floor and linen robes brush against the legs and ankles of the men who throng around Jesus. He is a man on a mission, on his way ...
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I always think of what to say after the conversation’s over. For an hour I sat and listened to my friend complain. The world is falling apart, she fears. “And can you believe those people who pray about every little problem — do they think God cares about a parking space?!” She was incensed. “God has way too much on his ...
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