Lectio Divina by Mark Hart

Reading the Bible:
Have a plan.
Start with the Gospel of Mark: the shortest, easiest to read (writing to Christians in Rome).
The Gospel of John is the deepest.
Mark 1: the preaching of John the Baptist, baptism of Jesus, the temptation of Jesus
spend one day in one sub-section
less is more
when it comes to Scripture, you retain it in your brain and in your heart, or else God complex
start with a prayer before reading the Bible
God is not impressed with our language.
The Holy Spirit inspired.
inspiration: breathe in
respiration: breathe out
Invite the Author to the table.
Come Holy Spirit, 3 to 4 times.
There's an ancient art of reading the Scriptures: Lectio Divina.
Mark 1:9
step 1: reading: WWWWWH
pause for footnotes for explanations
step 2: meditacio: meditation, ruminating

Matthew Leonard

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/pray-like-a-saint
life, sacrifice, and suffering
We are all called to a life of self-sacrifice.
Praying is a relationship.
to raise our hearts and minds to God
Prayer gives us life, helps us go through this fallen world, offer up our sufferings, road to holiness
It is THE path.
Prayer comes in several basic forms: blessing, adoration, thanksgiving.
St. Therese: Prayer is where we encounter Christ, turn of the heart, comes from the heart.
We have an interior life.
conversation inside self: revolves around me
Prayer changes narcissistic focus.
inward to upward
a hole that can only be filled with a relationship with God

Sr. Mary Gabriel

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/power-in-prayer

All the deepest yearnings of the human heart can only be met in prayer.
Prayer: The Catechism of the Catholic Church
stillness & silence: The God who loves you is with you.
Prayer: The Lord allures you into the desert to speak to your heart.
Desert: a place where I discover my own limitations, where I see my dependency on God, where I rely on Him so that He can be God

Fr. Larry Richards

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/discerning-god-s-will

the will of God is for us to go to heaven
to be holy & blameless
the general will of God
everything else will be secondary
God made me to know Him, love Him, serve Him in this world
we become great saints
there's a universal call to holiness
It's God's will for you to be holy.
Holiness is real.
Pope John Paul II made people saints: radically in love with God
To be a saint means when God's will and my will become one.
living in a unitive way
It's not God's will for us to go to purgatory.

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/the-mass-explained

Confession

Confession by Fr. Larry Richards
the greatest gift God gave us: His mercy
God's 1st movement is compassion.
Sin is saying no to God.
full knowledge: Eve
If God says you will die, you will die because God is not the liar.
The devil 1st instilled lies.
original sin: I become sin, I become god
sin: I don't think that's wrong; it doesn't matter as long as God does
good, pleasing, desirable
Sin is missing the mark (going the other way).
Sex is good.
sin: something good, something pleasurable, always has a desire
Sin is not hurting other people for the sake of other people.
It is wrong because God says no
ultimately wrong with sin: God says no, I say yes
The center of all sin is I: I determine (my life, will, want).
Sin always brings shame (e.g. Eve).
The 1st verse of salvation: Mary & JC analogy
"The wages of sin is death."
Sin always kills us.
God says I will give you hope.
Just God: must fulfill His justice
eternal penalty to the orig sin
I will become one of you: I will fulfill My justice.
God Himself in JC fulfilled His own justice.
In JC, the justice of God is fulfilled.
Why would you go to Heaven? Why shall I let you in Heaven? only 1 answer: because JC died for my sins
earn way to heaven: heretic
Participate by the way we live in what JC has done for us.
confession: renewed in my heart
I rejected His love.
about breaking laws or rules
God wants us to be whole & go to Heaven.
a relationship with God
God has a right to have 1st place in our life because He bought us at a price.
Matthew 16:18
"I entrust to you Peter the key to Heaven."
John 20:22-23
The priest who forgives your sin, ordinary way of forgiveness.
Sin is like a cancer.
after cancer operation: Did they get it all?
important to get it all out in confession
Know what sin is.
Sin is a spiritual disease.
You have to go to a spiritual doctor.
Give all your sins to a priest.
The one who knows us the most loves us the most.
confession: encounter with JC
We love to condemn people.
God said you shall not judge.
no condemnation in JC, only freedom
JC came to set us free (temper, pride).
Before God gave the commandments in Mt. Sinai, He set the people free 1st.
confession should be a place for freedom
The purpose of our life is to be like JC.
1st commandment: Love God above all things.
fit God into your day: break the 1st commandment
Not one of us can love God above all else (prayer).
mortal sin to miss Mass on Sunday
only 1 mortal sin to go to hell
1 mortal sin is enough to bring you to hell.
mortal sin:
1. serious matter
2. full knowledge
3. full consent of will
confession: intention of never doing it again
intention: I am done with this sin
Forgiveness: You must repent of your sins.
Every sin must be punished.
Do no cling to the sin to receive God's mercy.
Missing Mass on Sunday is a serious sin.
Honor your parents: take care.
the only commandment with a promise: long life
Anger can kill more than any knife into our heart.
6th commandment: sexual sin
All of us are sexual beings. Do it His way.
Sexual temptation is part of who we are (every day).
The body is not evil (what you do with it).
use them for your own pleasure
sex should be outside of ourselves, not inside
Porn is an addiction.
Porn takes the place of God.
Let the priest set you free from the sin.
last chapter of Revelation
Intercourse is not the only way to fornication.
Homosexuality is wrong because no life can come forth out of it.
artificial birth control is wrong
oral sex is always wrong
It's not your body, it's God's.
We all need a Savior.
The priest is also a sinner.
God is a God of mercy.
Repent & believe in the Good News: you are loved.
good examination of conscience
God comes to love you, not to condemn you.

The Truth

"Satan is the great plagiarizer." He has a knack for distorting truths. Lay a solid foundation, remain grounded on your faith, read the Scriptures diligently, protect your sacred half-hour (prayer time), find a support group (who will serve as your spiritual family), discover mentors, and you are on your way to sainthood with Heaven as our final destination. Happy journeying with others! :D

LOVE

Pope John Paul II says, "Life is senseless unless we discover love."

"Every human being is looking for God because every human being is looking for love."

"There is one path to happiness: to learn to love as God loves."

- Marriage and the Eucharist by Christopher West, CD available at catholicity.com)

(Thanks for these profound truths, Papa God. May I learn to love as You do. Prepare me for Your higher calling...)

Marriage and the Eucharist

Marriage and the Eucharist by Christopher West
intimate embrace: the union of the 2 in 1 flesh
Pope JP II: theology of the body - body, sexuality, and marriage
build a culture of true human life
the culture of death: very concrete and real
lived under the Nazi occupation
lived under the tyranny of communism
crucible of death & degradation
How can there be evil?
drink from the dregs of raw evil
root of the prob of evil: our rejection of God's plan for life and love that is stamped in our bodies as male & female
sacrament of the body
Sacrament: physical signs that reveal & communicate spiritual reality; reveals the spiritual mystery of God
sunset, starlit night: reveals the glory of God
contemplate the mystery of God through nature
men created as male & female in the image & likeness of God: the crown of creation
the invisible mystery of God made visible for us
the spiritual & the divine
hum beings are spiritual & phy creatures
physical makes invisible visible
invisible mystery of God: God is Love (bec He loves us and in the very rel of the Father & the Son)
God is an exchange of Love.
mystery of the Trinity: the Father giving Himself to the Son and vice versa (external exchange of love)
We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father & the Son.
We image God as individuals & in the communion of men & women in the intimacy of marital embrace (internal exchange of the Trinity).
a symbol of the very inner life of God
God's eternal plan of love: share in the Trinity
embodied when the Word becomes flesh so that we can become one with Him
Every longing we have for intimacy is simply a foreshadowing of the union of JC with the Church.
turbulent 60s: sexuality in full swing
consummated sex in marriage
This is My Body, given up for You: what marital love should express
The sign of marital love is a sign: one flesh.
what happened on the cross
self-giving love
In no way is God made in man's image: God is neither male nor female.
consummation of a mystical marriage
mysterious stuff we can't pin down
The Eucharist is the Sacrament of the Bridegroom and the bride.
The body reveals the spiritual reality of a person.
A call to holy communion.
The Eucharist was instituted to reveal the meaning of masculinity & femininity, the Sacrament of the Bridegroom & the bride.
As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved You: abide in My love.
call to love as JC loves: to find happiness
Pope JP II: Life is senseless unless we discover love (every human being is looking for God because every human being is looking for love.
You cannot give what you do not have.
Love of God should be abiding in your heart to give that love to others.
The heart is fully alive with the love of the Father.
receptivity: receive the gift
Be in a position of receptivity to conceive the gift of God (e.g. Mary).
Mary: our model & our hope
Abide in JC's love to discover the meaning of life.
The call to love as God loves us
Marriage is not the only way to live this out
Some sacrifice married life for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven
The celibate person is not rejecting his sexuality.
consecrated celibate men
Marriage is only a foreshadowing of a greater marriage to come.
Ephesians 5
We are called in union to one another and in union with God.
JC gives Himself totally to the Church.
No one is excluded from the marriage of the Lamb.
The true joys of married love
Spouses are not one another's ultimate fulfillment, only signs.
Peg your hat on the hook that can bear the weight.
To love with His love, we have to abide in His love.
He who eats My flesh and drinks My cup abides in Me.
There is one path to happiness: to learn to love as God loves (the 2 becomes 1 flesh).
Satan lies about the meaning of our bodies & our path to happiness
Vatican Council II: Man cannot find himself except through the sincere gift of himself.
conjugal union
A man & a woman become a mutual gift to each other.
marital union: the sacramental (a sign to proclaim the mystery of God: God is Love)
symbolizes eternal love of God
The whole of married love is this love.
All of married love is a gift.
participate in the very life of God
Pope: The marital embrace - the consciousness of gratification, participation in life of the Holy Spirit
We have not overcome the lies of the devil.
Satan is the great plagiarizer.
reclaim what satan has plagiarized.
Sex is inherently Catholic.
Marriage is the sacrament of sexual love (consummate expression).
Sex is not something you do.
vestiges of the proper use of the word
sex: male and female
The full meaning of love revealed in the Eucharist.
How does God love?
1. His love is free (w/o any reservation).
I lay down my life for you.
I have loved you to the last: JC.
2. It must be total.
3. It must be faithful.
4. It must be life-giving, fruitful.
having a full life
What the Eucharist is
free, total, faithful, fruitful love: marriage
Deacons ask the questions of the intention to marry: have you come here freely & w/o any reservation to give each other in marriage, do you promise to be faithful until death, do you promise to bear children God gives?
Marriage is a fulfillment of this great commandment.
Sexual union is where the words of the wedding vows become flesh.
The body possesses a language that proclaims the mystery of God's love.
The body speaks w/o opening the mouth.
The spouses are the ministers of the Sacraments of Marriage.
express the mysterious language of the body: Eucharistic
Eucharistic character of the marital embrace
marital union: foundation of the sacramental order, the way God makes Himself known/visible to us
marital union as Eucharistic
The Eucharist if the union of the flesh.
The Eucharist is the sign of the new covenant.
The Eucharist is the living out of our baptismal promises.
The marital embrace is the living out of our wedding vows.
The Eucharist is the source and summit of our union with JC, the Christian life.
Receive the Eucharist worthily
Men & women should receive each other worthily.
The Eucharist is a prayer of thanksgiving.
Marital intercourse is a prayer, the offering of the body.
Offer your bodies as a sacrifice.
How can sex be better if the Source of Love is not there?
Speak with the body the truth.
possible to speak lies with the body: the kiss of Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane
Are you speaking the language of your body truthfully.
A prophet is one who proclaims the mystery of love in human language.
Distinguish a true and false prophet.
Can you think of anything that will make you unfaithful to your marriage vows?
Renew vows on a regular basis.
teaching of the Church on sexual reality
internal problem of every marriage: the effort to renew marriage vows
The father of lies wants us to speak lies with our bodies.
non-marital sex vs marital sex
Even married people can have non-marital sex, not being faithful to marriage vows, blatant contradiction.
Love and the demands of love hurt.
Love involves suffering.
Spend time looking at the crucifix.
Only true love can fulfill you truly.
prefer the momentary pleasure of sterilized orgasm (condom)
What is the loving thing to do?
If today you hear the Lord's voice, harden not your hearts.
Abstaining from sex is not violation of married life.
The loving thing to do: abstain when sick
abstain after childbiirth
principle of natural family planning
Fulfill the being of your existence.
launch you into eternity
Don't live with your engines pointed at the ground.
a piece of God's own joy: to love as He loves
The marriage of the Lamb for all eternity
catholicity.com (OH): donations
The Mass needs to be the summit and source of our life.
nothing more impt than the Mass

Second Desert Day at SoF

SoF's Second Desert Day
God's big messages: There is "truth in love."
                                Life is beautiful.
                                Love is beautiful.
                                God will provide.
I went because God revealed to me that I should go... - Galatians 2:2
In the time of Noah, I promised never again to flood the earth... - Isaiah 54:9 (Parts of the earth na lang po ba ang babaha? Sana wala na po talaga.)
Your days of grief will come to an end... - Isaiah 54:60 (Love this most!)

Thank You, Lord, for the "simple joys" at the desert. Nabusog po kami sa kuwento, tawanan, at sa "divine providence." :D

Transient Life

On the Transience of Life: "Youth is a passing breeze; beauty dissipates like smoke; love ages like a dress in a wardrobe; life expires in one breath. Nothing is left... If you would only taste the height and breadth of the Lord's love... there isn't an ocean that contains as much solace as the Lord... We need a Spouse that knows neither age nor death." - Brother Francis of Assisi by Father Ignacio Larranaga

Everything and everyone come and go... but the love of God remains. Excited for God's BIG message and soft and gentle voice in another Desert Day in a few hours! Praying for a good weather to discern His will more... Where do I go now, Lord? Guide my steps.