Daily Reflection for Monday, May 02, 2022
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Monday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050222.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Acts 6:8-15
Responsorial: Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30
Gospel: John 6:22-29
Our reflection on Monday’s readings:
… teach me your statutes. Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. Psalm 119:24b-25
These are stressful times. War and plague abound. False prophets have arisen and have misled many people. Sin is so rampant that it is written into the law of the land. The love of many has turned to mistrust and exclusion. With all the stressful things that assail us each day, the popular interest in meditation is understandable.
Meditation is to think deeply or focus one’s mind for a period of time in silence or with the aid of chanting for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation. An example of meditation is praying the Rosary. In this form of prayer, we repeat Scripture and a petition to Our Lady, while we focus on various episodes in the life of Christ.
Having attended more than a few Catholic prayer workshops, I can tell you that many people find praying the Rosary nonsensically repetitive, boring and unfulfilling. They are more comfortable with other forms of prayer such as journaling, the Liturgy of the Hours, or Lectio Divina to name just a few.
I employ various forms of prayer in my prayer time but in a pinch or an acute crisis I always fall back on the Rosary. There’s just something about those words spoken aloud and repeated in the hearing of all the angels (elect and fallen) that calms me, gives me hope and strengthens my faith in the love and providence of God.
Regardless of how we pray, let us focus on God’s wondrous deeds in our lives. Through Christ, God has taught us his statutes so that we know right from wrong. We know that truth is objective and not flexible, we know that war and plague, rampant sin, false prophets and all the other things that may stress us out are only background noise.
Focus on the Lord and…breathe!
Peace and blessings to you dear friends in Christ.
Melissa Kittrell