CALL TO SILENCE

AUGUSTINIAN LECTIO DIVINA

29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Theme:
THE POWER OF PERSEVERING, FAITH-FILLED
PRAYER
 INTRODUCTION
The prayer of petition is one of the most common among all
human beings. This is the prayer more easily associated
with the poor and those in need. To humbly ask for the
favors and graces we need can be a beautiful way of
professing our faith in God’s generosity, as well as of
practicing charity when we pray for the needs of others. Our
Lord Jesus Christ took this into account and included a
series of important petitions in the prayer he taught his
disciples. He also taught them to present their requests to
 INTRODUCTION
But this type of prayer is also open to many forms of abuse
and exaggeration. It is our duty to align our petitions with the
priorities of the Lord’s Prayer. Concern for God’s glory and
the growth of His Kingdom must come first. We must,
likewise, keep in mind the example of Jesus who subordinated
his petition to the fulfillment of the Father’s will. Once these
conditions are observed, our prayer becomes very powerful,
for it makes us share in God’s omnipotence.
Sign of the cross
OPENING SONG
 OPENING PRAYER
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us
Your holy Gospel and for revealing Your love to us. In
Your boundless mercy, help us hold on to this blessed
light of Your Word, and through Your Holy Spirit
govern and guide our hearts, so that we may never stray
from it, but hold fast to it and finally be saved through
Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 Invitation to Lectio

Relax your muscles and calm your body.

Prepare your heart for the encounter with God.
Place yourself in the presence of Jesus, the
Interior teacher. Let his loving gaze fall upon
your empty heart. Pray that he soak your
dryness in his Grace. Pray that He open your
heart and mind to his message.
THE PROCLAMATION OF THE
GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE
18:1-8
 The Parable of the Persistent Widow
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show
them that they should always pray and not give
up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge
who neither feared God nor cared what people
thought. And there was a widow in that town
who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant
me justice against my adversary.’
 The Parable of the Persistent Widow

“For some time he refused. But finally

he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t
fear God or care what people think, yet
because this widow keeps bothering me,
I will see that she gets justice, so that she
won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
 The Parable of the Persistent Widow

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the

unjust judge says. And will not God bring
about justice for his chosen ones, who cry
out to him day and night? Will he keep
putting them off? I tell you, he will see that
they get justice, and quickly. However,
when the Son of Man comes, will he find
 THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD
PRAISE TO YOU, LORD JESUS
 MEDITATIO
Prayer had a great importance in the life and teaching
of Jesus Christ. The evangelists remark that he often
prayed. He went out to secluded places to pray very
early in the morning; he prayed at night. He prayed on
Mount Tabor he prayed on the Mount of Olives and
on the hill of Calvary where he recited Psalm 22 as he
agonized on the cross, and when he prayed, “Father,
into your hands I commend my spirit!”
 MEDITATIO
Prayer was for Jesus a customary way of “keeping in
touch” with the Father and asking for His
enlightenment and help for his disciples. It was Jesus’
habit of praying that prompted his disciples to ask
him to teach them how to pray. And, in response to
such a request, he taught them what is commonly
known as “The Lord’s Prayer” or “The Our Father” –
the prayer that is the sublime model of all prayers.
 MEDITATIO
From it, we learn that the first thing that we
should do when we pray is to give God the
adoration, praise and submission that He
deserves. Our needs, both material and
spiritual, come next as we humbly and
trustingly request that He may grant us all the
graces that we yearn for.
 MEDITATIO
Prayer must be rooted in a firm but also humble
faith in God. Such faith implies to “let God be
God,” and the believers’ determination that
God’s will “be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Without such premise, there can be no authentic
prayer, but only a travesty of piety/devotion
which is rooted in arrogance and pride.
 MEDITATIO
When reflecting on the prayer of petition, we should
not forget that a real disciple of Jesus asks God’s
blessings not only for himself/herself but also for
others – indeed, for all human beings, including the
souls in purgatory. The prayer of intercession for our
neighbor is a privileged way of showing love for
them. To pray for others is also a wonderful means to
become rich in God’s sight.
 ORATIO

“Come down, to labor in the earth; In the

earth to serve, to be despised and crucified
in the earth. The Life came down, that He
might be slain; The Bread came down, that
He might hunger; The Way came down,
that life might be wearied on the way; The
Fountain came down, that He might thirst;
 ORATIO

And do you refuse to labor? ‘Seek

not your own.’ Have charity,
preach the truth; so you shall
come to eternity, where you shall
find security.” Amen.(Sol. 78,6)
 CONTEMPLATIO

Imagine yourself being one of the crowd

listening to Jesus. See, hear, feel the words
that come from his lips. Listen attentively
and allow his words to pierce your heart.
 COMMUNICATIO
1. Do you confine your prayer to the last minutes of
the day? Do you reduce your prayer to just asking
for material favors? Is your prayer constant and
persevering, even if you don’t immediately get
what you are asking for? What do these indicate?
2. How can you show the depth of your faith in your
prayer today?
 CLOSING PRAYER
Everlasting God, when our Lord Jesus prayed in the
garden, He accepted the suffering that awaited Him,
according to Your will. Although Your will is good,
we know that it is sometimes necessary to suffer for
the sake of others. O Lord, give us the courage and
fortitude to accept Your will in our life – even when
doing so will demand dearly of us. To follow Your
Son is to carry our cross. Amen.
CLOSING SONG
Our Lady of Consolation,
pray for us.

Saint Augustine,
pray for us.
Sign of the cross
Sign of peace