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Lectio Divina XXII Sunday in Ordinary Time B
Lectio Divina XXII Sunday in Ordinary Time B
Come, Holy Spirit, by whom every devout soul, who believes in Christ, is
sanctified to become a citizen of the City of God! (en. Ps. 45:8) Come,
Holy Spirit, grant that we receive the motions of God; put in us your flame;
enlighten us and raise us up to God (s. 128, 4). Amen.
B. LECTIO
WITH THE HEART WELL DISPOSED, WITH SERENITY, READ SLOWLY THE FOLLOWING WORDS,
SAVORING THEM AND ALLOWING YOURSELF TO BE TOUCHED BY THEM.
N ow when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from
Jerusalem gathered around him, they observed that some of his
disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. For the
Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing
their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from
the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And
there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the
purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. So the Pharisees and
scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of
the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This
people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in
vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts,’ You
disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” … He
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summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you,
and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that
person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” …
From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, un-chastity,
theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy,
blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they
defile.”
C. MEDITATIO
LET US MEDITATE NOW WITH THE COMMENTARY OF ST. AUGUSTINE ON THESE WORDS OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING
TO ST. MARK.
The Lord also said with his own mouth: purify what is inside and what
is outside will also be purified. He refuted the
foolish words of the scribes, who falsely accused
his disciples for eating without washing their
hands, and he added: What enters the mouth
does not defile a man; rather, what comes out of
the mouth that defiles a man. Such a statement
is unintelligible if we apply it exclusively to a
sensible mouth. Whom the food does not defile,
neither does the vomit defile him. If the food is
what enters the mouth, the vomit is what comes
out of it. The first part without doubt, refers to
the mouth of the body, which says: what enters
through the mouth does not defile a man. But
the second part refers to the mouth of the heart
that says: what comes out of the mouth that is what defiles a man. When
the Apostle Peter asked Jesus to explain this parable, he answered: Even
you are still without understanding? Do you not see that everything that
enters the mouth goes to the stomach and is expelled in the toilet? Here
without doubt one deals with the mouth of the body, where food enters.
The indolence of our heart can scarcely discover that what follows refers
to the mouth of the heart…. For in continuation he says: what comes
out of the mouth sprouts from the heart. It is like saying: “When you hear
it said by the mouth, it is understood from the heart. I refer to both, but I
explain the one by the other. The interior man has an interior mouth, and
the interior ear discovers it. What proceeds from that mouth, comes out
D. ORATIO
WITH THE TEXT, LET US NOW PRAY FROM THE DEPTHS OF OUR HEART. I SUGGEST THE FOLLOWING PHRASES AND
QUESTIONS THAT CAN AWAKEN IN YOU DIALOGUE WITH GOD, AND AT THE SAME TIME CAN GIVE RISE TO
AFFECTIONS AND SENTIMENTS IN YOUR DIALOGUE WITH GOD. DO NOT MOVE TO THE NEXT PHRASE OR QUESTION
IF YOU CAN STILL CONTINUE DIALOGUING WITH GOD IN ONE OF THEM. IT IS NOT A MATTER OF EXHAUSTING THE
LIST, BUT OF HELPING YOU TO PRAY WITH SOME POINTS THAT BETTER FIT YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
a. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me”
(Mk. 7:6; Is. 29:13).”
•How is your prayer? What importance do external elements have?
•When you pray and worship God, where is your heart?
b. “The interior man has his interior mouth, and the interior ear discovers
it. What proceeds from that mouth, comes from the heart and that
is what defiles the man” (cont. 4).
a. Contemplate Christ seated at the door of your heart. Ask him that all
your thoughts be right and always be directed towards him. Verify your
feelings.
b. Contemplate a group of Pharisees that have just arrived from the
market. Observe how they wash their hands up to the elbows and how
they purify themselves to eat. Contemplate nonetheless that their heart
is far from God, since they believe that only the exterior is enough.
Contemplate now your own heart and ask God that you do not remain
in what is exterior but that you pass into the interior.
F. COMMUNICATIO
THINK OF EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH THOSE AROUND YOU ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE YOU HAD WITH GOD, ESPECIALLY
CONCERNING THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND THE UNIVERSAL JUDGMENT. THE FOLLOWING POINTS CAN HELP YOU AS GUIDE
TO SHARE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY THE EXPERIENCE OF THE LECTIO DIVINA ON THIS TEXT.
• What have I discovered about God and about myself in this moment
of prayer?
• How can I apply this text of Scripture at this moment of my life? What
light does it give me? What challenges does it put before me?
• What concrete commitment does this text of Scripture ask of me in
my spiritual life, in my community life?
• What has been my dominant sentiment during this moment of
prayer?
“No one finds himself distant from God by space, but by the heart. Do you love
God? You are near. Do you hate him? You are far. Being in the same place, you
find yourself near or far” (en. Ps. 84:11).
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