Patience
Though patience can be a great virtue, we have to be sure that we are waiting for the right thing. Today’s Gospel reading shows us a man who has patiently waited for 38 years to be cured. He believed he could only be cured when the water was stirred up. Jesus comes and immediately cures him. No need to wait for the water to be stirred up.
Sometimes when we are waiting patiently and praying for something to happen, we should keep our eyes open, maybe God is offering us an answer that we are not expecting. For example the Catholic Church has been praying for more clergy to maintain the current system of parishes. God doesn’t seem to be inspiring sufficient young men to follow this vocation. Could the answer to maintaining the Church lie in a totally different solution?
Today’s Prayer
Preparation: Begin by stilling; then dedicating the time of prayer to God and asking God that all you think, feel and imagine are for the glory of God.
Gift: Ask for what you desire. Suggestion: Do I have anything in my life I should like healing?
Setting: A Scripture reading to ponder – Lectio Divina.
Scripture
John 5:2-9 NRSVACE
Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Bethzatha,
which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time,
he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.”
Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.”
At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.
Conversation: Talk to Jesus in your own words as a friend
Final Prayer: End with a formal prayer such as the Lord’s Prayer/Our Father.
Today’s Music
Alleluia Beatus Vit Qui Suffert – Sung by the Choir of the Monks of the Monastery of Silos