Scripture: Jer 23:1-6 Eph 2:13-18 Mk 6:30-34

Vacation

• My time with my brother and his family on Tainter Lake – A God-Send
• I enjoyed nature as I prayed – I enjoyed a couple good novels
• I wrote Were Not Our Hearts Burning Within-Us – My Synod Response
• Shared porkchops and ribeye steaks – avoided physical labor
• At my brother’s request, I rested and relaxed

Jesus Wanted

His Apostles to rest or relax in a quiet place – after whirlwind missionary travels through villages

My Imagination

• Place myself in that group camping out among the shores of Galilee
• Sharing the highlights of the mission
• I met this lady who already had a love for the Lord in her heart – she never met them
• Amazed at faith that so many struggling people who persevered
• Jesus was appreciative of me and all I do for him
• Together we are with Jesus – It seems as if our hearts are in sync with his.
• Jesus’ compassion of others becomes my compassion

My Pastoral Response – Section Five – Worship

This constant awareness of the Lord’s presence is only possible if we are dedicating some time each day to the Lord in our prayer of silence and solitude…Our faith is so much more than giving assent to a list of teachings. Our faith is a friendship with a real person. This friendship grows through a daily commitment to spend time in prayer with Jesus. A friend of Jesus is a friend of silence and stillness…There are as many ways to pray as there are people who pray. The key is to find a form of prayer that fits your personality and to dedicate time every day to that prayer. Perhaps you are wanting to explore the different kinds of prayer. Perhaps you would like to give Lectio Divina a try. In English, that’s Sacred or Divine Reading. I tried to start to do just a little bit of that above with my meditation on Jesus’ invitation to the Apostles to come away to a quiet place and rest awhile.

Lectio Divina – WRAP

• WRITE down a word or phrase from the passage
• REFLECT on encounter with the Lord in the story
• APPLY – What is God asking of me?
• PRAY AND PRAISE Share with the Lord what is percolating in your heart – Quiet praise

Allow the Lord to wrap his arms around.

My Pastoral Response – Section 3 – Discipleship

A disciple of Jesus is necessarily a lover of Sacred Scripture. Saint Jerome reminds us that “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Jesus.” It is in the living Word of God that we come to know of the Holy Trinity’s unconditional love for us. We need to dig deeply into these stories which tell of the love connection between the Lord and our Jewish and Christian sisters and brothers. We are a People of the Book. Since that is true, we are invited to go deeper in our familiarity with the Scriptures. They are our inspiration in prayer and they are a compass that guides us to holy living.

Questions for reflection

• What impacted you from the  readings/homily?
• Do you ever put yourself in the story of Scripture? What is that like for you?
• Does your heart automatically turn to prayer when you are touched by Scripture? What might you say to Jesus in that moment?

Live Connected

Practice Lectio Divina using the WRAP method this year.