Welcome to Lectio Divina written with young adults in mind.  It is good to have you with us, no matter what your age.

We will use Sunday after Sunday the gospel text which is being used at Mass.  Most Sundays this text is taken from St. Luke with St. John’s Gospel occasionally used.  Our Lucan texts are taken from the “Gospel of Luke: celebrating the year of Evangelisation” which was launched by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Bishop John Neill during Church Unity week 2010 in Trinity College Dublin.  Copies of this Gospel are available from the Office of Evangelisation in the Archdiocese of Dublin. -   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

May the Lord bless you as you read His word.

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Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.  He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished.  The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.”’ Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.  If you, then will worship me, it will all be yours.’  Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”’

Then the devil led him up to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you to protect you”, and“On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’  Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’  When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.  And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly  saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.  They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.  Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’ – not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.  Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘this is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’  When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.  And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.  Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them – do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’  Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.  So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on it and found none.  So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none.  Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” “Sir, let it alone for one more year until I dig round it and put manure on it.  If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.

Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons.  The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.”  So he divided his property between them.  A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.  When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.  So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.  He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.  But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!  I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.  Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”  But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe – the best one – and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!”  And they began to celebrate.

Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.  He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.  He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.”  Then he became angry and refused to go in.  His father came out and began to plead with him.  But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.  But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes; you killed the fatted calf for him!”  Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.  But we have to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”’

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and Moses had ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning.  What have you to say?’  They asked him this as a test and started writing on the ground with his finger.  As they persisted with the question, he looked up and said, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’  Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again.

When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there.  He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they?’ Has no one condemned you?’  ‘No one, sir,’ she replied.  ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus’ go away, and don’t sin anymore.’

After he had said this, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden.  Untie it and bring it here.  If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” just say this: “The Lord needs it.”  So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’  They said, ‘the Lord needs it.’  Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.  As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.  As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven! Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away for the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’ So Peter set out with the other disciple to go other tomb.  They ran together, but the other disciple, running father than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in.  Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself.  Then the other disciple who had reached  the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.  Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

EASTER