Lectio Divina for the Eighteenth Week  in Ordinary Time

We begin our prayer:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Draw near to your servants, O Lord, and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness, that, for those who glory in you as their Creator and guide,

you may restore what you have created and keep safe what you have restored. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

(Collect, Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Reading (Lectio)

Read the following Scripture two or three times.

John 6:24-35

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw  signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:

He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down

from heaven and gives life to the world.”

So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and

whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Meditation (Meditatio)

After the reading, take some time to reflect in silence on one or more of 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?

If practicing lectio divina as a family or in a group, after the reflection time, invite the participants to share their responses.

Prayer (Oratio)

Read the Scripture passage one more time. Bring to the Lord the praise, petition, or thanksgiving that the Word inspires in you.

Contemplation (Contemplatio)

Read the Scripture again, followed by this reflection:

What conversion of mind, heart, and life is the Lord asking of me?

Do not work for food that perishes. What perishable goods occupy my time and attention? What tings should I be working for?

What can we do to accomplish the works of God? What can I do to accomplish the works of God? How can I discern the tasks to which God is calling me?

My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. What spiritual gifts has the Father given me? How do I show gratitude for these gifts?

After a period of silent reflection and/or discussion, all recite the Lord’s Prayer and the following: 

Closing Prayer:

What we have heard and know,          and what our fathers have declared to us, We will declare to the generation to come     the glorious deeds of the LORD                     and his strength           and the wonders that he wrought.

He commanded the skies above          and opened the doors of heaven; he rained manna upon them for food  and gave them heavenly bread.

Man ate the bread of angels,  food he sent them in abundance. And he brought them to his holy land,  to the mountains his right hand had won.

(From Psalm 78)

Living the Word This Week

How can I make my life a gift for others in charity?

Keep a gratitude journal for a week and say a prayer of thanksgiving every night.

Excerpts from the New American Bible, revised edition ©

2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.