Lectio Divina

(Sacred Reading)
March 22, 2024
For the Palm Sunday
of the Lord’s Passion
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 Benedicite!
Let us remember that we are always
in the Most Holy Presence of God.

To those coming from other faith traditions

you may now make your sign of faith
as we make ours.

+In the Name of the Father, and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
 Opening Prayer
Prayer of St. John Chrysostom
before Reading the Sacred Scriptures

O Lord Jesus Christ, open the eyes of my heart

that I may hear your Word, and understand and
do your will, for I am a pilgrim upon the Earth.
Hide not your commandments from me, but open
my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of your
Law. Speak unto me the hidden and secret things
of your wisdom.
 Opening Prayer
Prayer of St. John Chrysostom
before Reading the Sacred Scriptures

On you do I set my hope, O my God, that you

shall enlighten my mind and understanding with
the light of your knowledge; not only to cherish
those things which are written, but to do them;
For you are the enlightenment of those who lie in
darkness, and from you comes every good deed
and every gift. Amen.
 Lectio
“Take a Bite”
of the Word
 Gospel: Mark 11:1-10
When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem,
to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he
sent two of his disciples and said to them,
“Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately on entering it,
you will find a colt tethered
on which no one has ever sat.
Untie it and bring it here. If anyone should say to you,
‘Why are you doing this?’ reply,
‘The Master has need of it and will send it back here at
once.’”
 Gospel: Mark 11:1-10
So they went off
and found a colt tethered
at a gate outside on the street,
and they untied it.
Some of the bystanders said to them,
“What are you doing, untying the colt?”
They answered them
just as Jesus had told them to,
and they permitted them to do it.
So they brought the colt to Jesus
and put their cloaks over it.
And he sat on it.
 Gospel: Mark 11:1-10
Many people spread their cloaks on the road,
and others spread leafy branches
that they had cut from the fields.
Those preceding him
as well as those following kept crying out:
“Hosanna!
Blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is
to come!
Hosanna in the highest!”
 Gospel: John 3:14-21
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been
condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only
Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
Meditatio
“Chew”
on the Word
Meditate on the following questions:
• What word or words in this passage
caught your attention?
• What in this passage
comforted you?
• What in this passage
challenged you?
Contemplatio
“Digest”
the Word
 Reflection:
Among the
Fickle Ground
by Fr. Johnny Go, SJ
 Reflection
The event we recount–and reenact–on Palm
Sunday was a highlight of sorts in our Lord’s
Public Ministry. Reported in all four gospels, our
Lord’s entry to Jerusalem is often prefixed with the
adjective “triumphal” to express the exceptional
welcome given to Jesus as he arrived in Jerusalem.
The welcome must have been overwhelming, for
the Pharisees and priests of the temple were quite
disturbed.
 Reflection
But if the noise of the cheering crowd bothered
them, we can only imagine how they felt when
Jesus, right after this welcome, went on to “cleanse
the temple”–i.e., driving away the merchants and
moneychangers who were corrupting his Father’s
house. We are told that the cleansing of the temple
was the last straw that convinced the Pharisees and
scribes to plot Jesus’ death.
 Reflection
But what draws my attention today as I reflect on
today’s reading is not so the Jewish leaders, who had
been opposed to Jesus from the start anyway, but the
crowd that cheered him so jubilantly as he entered
the city of Jerusalem. This crowd that received him
with singing and dancing, waving palm leaves–the
same crowd would later be so easily persuaded to
cry for his blood, waving their fists, while
demanding that Pilate release the murderer Barabbas
instead.
 Reflection
Many of these same people would look away as
our Lord staggered through the streets of
Jerusalem under the weight of his cross–or worse,
join in the mockery and jeering. The Lord’s entry
to Jerusalem questions us about where we’re going
to be standing when our Lord ascends his Calvary:
Are we going to remain faithful to him, huddled
with the few faithful disciples standing under his
cross.
Or are we going to be among the fickle crowd,
mocking the Lord from a distance or gone into
hiding?
 Reflection
As we prepare to enter into Holy Week, let us
examine ourselves: Do we welcome the Lord to our
lives both in good times and bad? Or are we faithful
only conditionally–attend Mass, say our prayers,
follow the commandments only when it feels good
or only when we have problems and are in
desperate need of the Lord’s help? In other words,
do we forget about Him when it becomes
inconvenient or uncool to be his disciple–or when
times are too good for us to “bother” with the Lord?
Oratio
“Savor”
the Word
 Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for the blessing of reading
your word together.
We ask that these words of life, truth and hope
would continue to impact us in the week
ahead.
May your love and grace follow each of us as
we return to our daily lives, refreshed and
blessed by you.
We recognize that your ways are not our ways,
your choices are not ours.
 Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, you teach us by your example never
to fear the cross that saves, but to embrace it in
obedience to the will of the Father.
May our hearts and yours beat as one whenever
love calls us to make a sacrifice. With our eyes
fixed on you, we resolve to follow you as disciples
of the cross. Amen
St. Benedict and St. Scholastica
Pray for us.
 Mary with her loving son,
+Bless us each and everyone
That in all things
God may be
glorified!
 Lectio Divina
(Sacred Reading)
March 22, 2024
For the Palm Sunday
of the Lord’s Passion