Lectio Divina with Fr. Lawrence
2 Peter 3:13
Reading
But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Meditation
Jesus died on the cross for us, to give us access to God which Adam had lost by a sin of disobedience. We might find it easy to understand the idea of “new heavens” since access to heaven is the result of Jesus’ death and resurrection. However, the idea of “a new earth” is not as readily understandable. Franciscan spirituality regards the human race as part of God’s creative genius, but we are intrinsically linked to the creation of the world and the universe. Christ’s death renewed not only the human race but all of creation.
Prayer
Lord God, King of the Universe, open our eyes to the beauty of all creation. Help us in our endeavors to create a just world and preserve our own relationship with you. Inspire us to see vestiges of you in all of creation and to preserve our environment for our children and grandchildren.
Contemplation…
Daily Thought from the Saints
"When we appeal to the throne of grace we do so through Mary, honoring God by honoring His Mother, imitating Him by exalting her, touching the most responsive chord in the Sacred Heart of Christ with the sweet name of Mary."
— St. Robert Bellarmine
Daily Scripture Verse
"As you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything."
Ecclesiastes 11:5
Daily Meditation
"No one denies that Jesus Christ is our only mediator of justice, and that he by his merits has obtained our reconciliation with God. But, on the other hand, it is impious to assert that God is not pleased to grant graces at the intercession of his saints, and more especially of Mary his mother, whom Jesus desires so much to see loved and honored by all. Who can pretend that the honor bestowed on a mother doesn't redound to the honor of the son? For this reason St. Bernard says, 'We must not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on the mother; for the more she is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son.'"
— St. Alphonsus Liguori
Daily Catholic Wisdom
We all know that there are certain ways of acting that would destroy any human friendship, such as stealing a friend’s possessions. Similarly, mortal sins are actions that destroy friendship with God.
—John Cuddeback, Ph.D.
from his book, “True Friendship: Where Virtue Becomes Happiness”
A Prayer from Notre Dame University
Dear Lord, Through the Holy Spirit, we are invited into the love of God the Father and the Son so that we may be one as the Trinity is one. On this Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity, we ask to be drawn ever closer to the heart of this relational reality. Open our hearts, calm our minds, and envelope us in your presence. Amen.