Rest, worship, and celebration are not luxury, they are spiritual discipline. Our liturgical feasts help us re-participate in the saving action of God in Christ by making the past events of His life present to us through our observance, by interrupting and ordering all our doing, and by inherently connecting us to all past, present, and future saints. Whose great idea was the liturgical year? It was God’s!
Welcome Lisa H, Wendy, Sarah, and Scott, Bible Study Evangelista’s newest friends of the show! Thank you for loving and lifting me :)
LOVE the Word™ is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice: lectio without the Latin.
L – Listen (Receive the Word.)
O – Observe (Choose one or more of the following personality approaches to connect the passage to your life and recent events.)
F | Franciscan – What’s one thing you can do right now, to make your next Sunday more restful for you and your family? Do it or plan it; right now!
I | Ignatian – What is the most restful scenario you can imagine? Use all your senses in imagining you are there. What happens when Jesus appears?
A | Augustinian – Did anything about today’s show convict you about how you treat your Sundays? Do you neglect either worship or rest?
T | Thomistic – Practice connecting the Old Testament feast days with their corresponding Church celebrations. (Hint: They’re listed on the show pic.)
V – Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)
Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word journal. Or get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin.
E – Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)
Holy Spirit, Thank you for being Lord of both time and history. Inspire me with ideas for how to make my Sundays with you more worshipful and restful for me and my family. Help me become more deliberate in observing the “sacrament of the present moment.” + Amen.
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*LOVE the Word™ exercises are offered according to FIAT: the four personalities, or “prayer forms,” explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Franciscan, Ignatian, Augustinian, and Thomistic: FIAT! These prayer forms correspond to the Myers-Briggs personality types.
Notes and References
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: The following are the festivals of the LORD, my feast days, which you shall celebrate with a sacred assembly” (Lev. 23:2).
Leviticus 23, List of the major Old Testament liturgical feasts:
- Sabbath remembers creation & rest
- Passover & Unleavened Bread remembers redemption from Egypt
- First Fruits & Weeks celebration of first harvest
- Trumpets celebration of New Year
- Day of Atonement remembers God’s promise of forgiveness
- Booths God’s remembers provision in the wilderness
Episode Resources
Fulfilled, Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism, Chapter 3, Keeping Time with God
Ignite, Chapters 5, The When of the Bible
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Courtesy of Kristie Hynniman who does our transcriptions for you.
Image Credit
Image: https://unsplash.com/@heatherz | @hthrzbrsk