Lectio Divina for the Twenty-eighth Week
in Ordinary Time
We begin our prayer:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
May your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined
to carry out good works.
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, Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Reading (Lectio)
Read the following Scripture two or three times.
Mark 10:17-30
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good
teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone. You know the
commandments: You shall not kill;you shall not
commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not
bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor
your father and your mother.” He replied and said
to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from
my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and
said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell
what you have, and give to the poor and you will
have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At
that statement his face fell, and he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How
hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the
kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his
words. So Jesus again said to them in reply,
“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of
God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye
of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the
kingdom of God.” They were exceedingly
astonished and said among themselves, “Then who
can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For
human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All
things are possible for God.” Peter began to say to
him, “We have given up everything and followed
you.” Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no
one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or
mother or father or children or lands for my sake
and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a
hundred times more now in this present age: houses
and brothers and sisters and mothers and children
and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the
age to come.”
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?
Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
How do I come to know what Jesus teaches? What
can I do this week to help me grow closer to God
and to the eternal life to which God calls me?
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and
you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow
me. What do I treasure? What do I do to help the
poor and change their situation?
How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter
the kingdom of God! What obstacles keep me from
embracing God’s kingdom? How can I remove
these obstacles?
After a period of silent reflection and/or discussion,
all recite the Lord’s Prayer and the following:
Closing Prayer:
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness
all our days.
Make us glad, for the days when you afflicted us,
for the years when we saw evil.
Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children;
and may the gracious care of the LORD our God
be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
(From Psalm 90)
Living the Word This Week
How can I make my life a gift for others in charity?
Forego an unnecessary purchase or other
expenditure and give the money to the poor.
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.
Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal ©
2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy
Corporation. All rights reserved.