Lectio Divina

(Sacred Reading)
March 8, 2024
For the Fourth Sunday of Lent
(Laetare Sunday)
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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: John 3:14-21
“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal
life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
might not perish but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world might be saved
through him.
 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.
 Gospel: John 3:14-21
For everyone who does wicked things
hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.

But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,

so that his works may be clearly seen
as done in God.
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:
Healthy and Well
by Fr. Arnel Aquino, SJ
 Reflection
Nicodemus noticed that Jesus’ image of God was
strangely different from what he always thought
God was: someone, well, like them, the Pharisees;
who demanded strict ritual purity and legal
uprightness, on pain of sin, divine retribution, and
condemnation.
Like we say today, we become whom we worship.
What Jesus told him though must’ve shaken him to
the core, something we ourselves today often
forget or take for granted: that God did not send
his Son to us to condemn us, but to save us.
 Reflection
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, member of a
conservative, law-abiding, ultra-fastidious, God-
fearing bunch of white-clad men.
But while their faith seemed healthy,
it was not well.
Because if your obedience to every jot and tittle of
the Law makes you self-righteous, patronizing, and
worst, heartless, then you are not well. You might be
a healthy law-abider, but you might not be well as a
being who is human, or humane.
 Reflection
Unlike the Pharisees, however, Jesus understood that
willful and heavy sinning was underpinned not just
by malice, but also by deep, unresolved brokenness.
‘Yung pinakamadidilim nating kasalanan? Nakaugat
‘yan sa napakalalim na pagkasira, brokenness;
pinsala, damage. That’s why Jesus also healed the
sick, nourished the starving, strengthened the
fatigued, empowered women, hushed personal
demons. He also gathered a barkada, told comforting
stories, played with children.
 Reflection
He also prayed…in the wilderness, up a mountain,
at night, at dawn. So that, coming back from his
solitude, he could again soothe the cheerless, find
the lost, and most fantastic of all, raise the dead.
Salvation, sisters and brothers, is not just all about
sin—although that’s a healthy understanding of
salvation. But salvation is more than that.
Salvation is about fullness of life, wellness, the
whole of persons.
 Reflection
The Lamb of God came not just to take away the
sins of the world, but that we may have life and
have it more fully. As we move towards Holy
Week, how would you answer this question, sisters
and brothers: besides atonement for the sins of the
world, what else do you think our Father and His
Son desire that we see as we walk alongside Jesus
on his Via Dolorosa &and as we look at him up his
cross? It’s too automatic, too easy to say, “He died
for our sins.” But is that all we are to him? Just
sinners?
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
Oh, compassionate God!
You so loved the world that you gave your only
Son, not to condemn the world,
but that we may have eternal life.
Thank you for the abundant riches
of your love.
By your grace we have been saved
and healed.
Help us to be intimately united with Jesus
and walk with him on the path to new life
 Closing Prayer
Totally configured to Christ,
may we embrace a life of good deeds
and care for the poor and vulnerable.
They are the object
of your providential love.
Help us all to live as your children.
May we reach our eternal destiny with you,
and with Jesus your Servant-Son and the Holy
Spirit, now and forever.
Amen.
 Prayer for
International
Women’s Day
2024
 IWD 2024 Prayer
Heavenly Father,
We come together on this vital day to pray for all
the women on this beautiful planet!
Let each man recognize and understand the worth
and value of the woman in their life. May all
woman come to understand their value and the joy
they provide to their families. Bless them, Father,
and grant them good health always.
 IWD 2024 Prayer
We celebrate your love and faithfulness.
We are grateful that millions of women, girls, and
their families worldwide have experienced a
revolutionary change due to Your work. We pray
on this special day that you shower your blessings
on all the women on the earth. Please use Your
words to instill knowledge in the lives of all
women.
 IWD 2024 Prayer
We are grateful for the unprecedented
development in the field of education for girls and
women all over the world. We also want to give
you thanks as very few women today have difficult
or fatal childbirth.
It is your blessing that we can find women of
great courage and initiative around us. Women are
becoming more successful entrepreneurs and have
a more significant say over how money is utilized
within their houses.
 IWD 2024 Prayer
Lord of love and hope, we also know how many girls
and women still face challenges in society today to get
an equal say in their household decision-making or
community.
We pray that life changes for all these women; they
live with men, girls, and boys as equals. We pray that
you lighten the lives of all women on the earth with
freedom of expression, good health, independence, joy,
and self-actualization. May you bring new hope to the
lives of all oppressed women and give them a better
life! 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 8, 2024
For the Fourth Sunday of Lent
(Laetare Sunday)