"Beads of Joy" by RosaryManJim: Your Joy May Be Full

BEADS OF JOY 05-12-18

“Your Joy May Be Full”

My Friends,

Today’s Gospel: John 16:23-28 (Coming of The Advocate)
“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. "I have said this to you in figures; the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures but tell you plainly of the Father. In that day you will ask in my name; and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

Reflection:
Today’s gospel has me thinking about a method of prayer that I enjoy very much. It’s called Lectio Divina. Today I would like to share this method of prayer with you. I have used this method privately throughout my 35 years of ministry. Lectio Divina is an incredible, blessed slow prayerfully meditative way to spend time in scripture; followed by us spending our time resting in God’s love within His Words. This ancient method of prayer was developed back around 300 A.D. It originally began, to help internalize scripture, creating an intimacy with God. Till this day many still pray in this most blessed simplistic way. Furthermore, listen to the words of Saint Gregory.

“…to know the heart of God through the Word of God.” St. Gregory also said, “Would you enter into the very heart of God? Listen to His words,”

When I say I have used this method of prayer for all these years, simply look at each day’s blog and you will see the title of the blog. Those words or phrase came directly out of scripture, that is my focus. I have been doing this so long, it’s become so natural. I am so glad that I am sharing it with you today. Lectio Divina is literally the divine lesson, a time for us to divinely listen, and it is broken down like this, 5 very easy steps:

Preparation
We should prepare for a time for Lectio in a similar way as to how you prepare for prayer time. Allow all of this to slowly develop within your prayer life. You can easily spend 15 minutes to an hour or more once you begin, it’s completely up to you. I enjoy journaling as I pray this portion of my prayer time.

1. Read / Lectio
(Listening) Read the scripture very slowly, two or three times and notice what word or phrase speaks to you. Say to yourself, what am I hearing? What keeps popping out at me as I read this passage?

2. Meditation / Meditatio
(Repetition) Then repeat the word or phrase over and over, that you feel is speaking to you and allow it to sink into your heart. Are you noticing thoughts or feelings as you continue? Are questions building up inside you, questions that touch your life? Consider this though, how is this word or phrase part of who I am?

3. Prayer / Oratio
(Listening) Listen for what you are feeling that the Lord is saying to you, right now through His Word. Ask God for the grace of this teaching. Embrace this into your heart and make this your prayer.

Consider these questions to ponder:

ü What new spiritual insights are beginning to surface in my Spirit?

ü What am I hearing God say to me?

ü Is this method of prayer affecting how I will pray now?

ü How shall I respond to this?

4. Contemplation / Contemplatio
(Rest in the Word) Quietly sit there and trust fully in God. Embrace what is happening to you. God loves you and only wants the best for you.

5. Action: What to do now?
Continue these thoughts throughout your day, or at least through the balance of your prayer time. Lectio Divina is the nourishment of prayer. Another most blessed way to understand this, is that we are the vessels in Our Lady’s hands; and in her hands we are waiting to receive God’s Mercy and Grace that flows from Jesus’ wounded side to our hearts. Mary is a very significant part of our experience of Lectio Divina.

What is Lectio Divina?
(Very helpful video.)

Pondering these thoughts today: This is hopefully helpful, and I really hope you are able to someone utilize what you have learned today and experience it in your prayer life. There are many ways to pray each day, this is just one more way to enhance your prayer life. God Bless you and enjoy. Keep in mind, you can do this with any scripture.

LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!

Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS

Today is Saturday: We pray the Joyful Mysteries:

The Joyful Mysteries

1. The Annunciation (Humility) – Luke 1:26-28
2. The Visitation (Love of Neighbor) – Luke 1:39-45
3. The Birth of Jesus (Poverty of Spirit) – Luke 2:1-20
4. The Presentation (Purity of Mind and Spirit) – Luke 2:22-38
5. Finding in The Temple (Obedience) –Luke 2:41-50

I simply love Saturday mornings, because Saturday like every other day of the week -begins with the Rosary.