Lectio Divina

1. AUGUSTINIAN LECTIO DIVINA
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
August 9, 2020
“Called to a Deeper Faith in Jesus”
Gospel – Matthew 14:22-33
OPENING PRAYER
“Let your Scriptures be my chaste delights!
Perfect me, O Lord
And open for me the pages of Your Scriptures.
Behold, Your voice is my joy,
A joy that is above every delight.
Give me what I love because I truly love it.
You gave me this love,
Do not forsake this gift of Yours
Nor despise your thirsty grass.
Let me confess to You everything that I shall have found
In Your Books.” (Confessions, II)
A. LECTIO
Invitation to Lectio:
Return to yourself.
I prepare myself to encounter the Lord. I empty my mind of all worries and anxieties. I focus
on God’s blessings of love and life, sun and warmth, wind, and air. I focus on my breathing as
I inhale surrender and trust … and exhale anxieties and fears. I prepare myself to listen to the
Lord speaking to me through the Sacred Scriptures.
“O God, Founder of the Universe, help me, that, first of all, I may pray aright: and next, that I
may act as one worthy to be heard by Thee: and, finally, set me free.” (Soliloquies, Bk. I.1)
Take and Read:
TEXT: Matthew 14:22-33
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the
mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time
the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25
And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples
saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in
fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."
28 Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He
said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward
Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind,he became frightened, and beginning to sink,

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he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him,
saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 When they got into the boat, the
wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of
God." (Mt 14:22-33 NRSV)
(Moments for reflection)
B. COMPREHENSIO: Biblical Interpretation
In last Sunday’s Gospel, we heard the story of the feeding of the multitude. More than five
thousand people were filled and satisfied with only five loaves and two fish. Some
commentators call this event a Christophany – a revelation of the identity of Jesus as the
Son of God. The disciples witnessed the miracle. Although the Gospel is silent about their
feelings or reactions during and after the event, for certain, the disciples already realized
that the man Jesus is no ordinary being.
After that event, Jesus asked the disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of him while he
went up to the mountain to pray alone. What was denied him in Mt 14:13, i.e., a desire to
be alone, is now finally realized. And while he was alone in prayer, the disciples sailing on
the boat were rocked by the waves. Had the disciples wished for Jesus to be with them
while this was happening? The time elements mentioned in the story are worth noting.
When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the
waves […] (Mt 14:23)
And early in the morning, he came walking toward them on the sea. (Mt 14:25)
The disciples were tossed and rocked by the waves for hours. They did not get any sleep.
Thus, when Jesus came walking toward them, they must have been tired and weary. Thus,
they thought they were seeing a ghost. Cohen and Basser find the basis for the disciples’
fear in the Jews’ seeming belief that ghosts and specters attack people during this same
time (cf. the story of Gideon and his army in Judg 7:19-21). Seeing their fear, Jesus spoke to
them with the reassuring words:
Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." (Mt. 14:27)
Jesus’ words of encouragement echo Moses’ words in Deut 31:6.
Be strongand bold;have nofear or dreadof them, because itisthe LORD yourGod who
goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you." (Deut 31:6)
When Jesus announced “it is I”, he echoes God’s words to Moses in Ex. 3:14:
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."1
He said further, "Thus you shall say to the
Israelites, 'I AMhas sent me to you.'" (Ex 3:14)
Truly the scene is one of divine revelation – a Christophany. The one who healed the sick
and fed the multitude now walks on the stormy seas and enjoins the disciples to be strong
and brave and not to fear. But more than this, Jesus’ words are a call to faith in him - a faith
that should not be shaken by beliefs in ghosts and specters; a faith that ought not to be
shaken even by stormy waves. This call to faith is elucidated further in the narrative when

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Peter asked Jesus to let him walk on the water with him – a request that Jesus granted. And
when he started to sink, Peter manifested fear even when Jesus was right in front of him.
Instead of focusing on the person of Jesus, Peter saw the strong wind. Instead of moving
towards the world of belief and faith in Jesus, Peter remained in the natural world (cf.
Cohen and Basser, 352).
(Silently read the Gospel again)
C. MEDITATIO
The experience of the disciples seems to be a test of their faith. Tossed by the waves just
after Jesus left them, they were invited to call on him. And when Jesus did come to their
rescue, they did not recognize him. They were perhaps even more afraid the so-called ghost
than by the waves. By asking to walk on the water with Jesus even if he too did not fully
believe that it was Jesus, Peter showed some courage and faith. But it was not the kind of
faith Jesus expected from his disciples. Jesus had to admonish Peter: “You of little faith, why
did you doubt?"
How often have I doubted God? How often have I felt alone and abandoned in my distress?
D. ORATIO (Personal Prayer with Augustine’s Prayer)
I speak to Jesus about the word or image in the Gospel which has touched me. I express to
him in prayer the thoughts and longings which this word or image evoked in me.
Oh! that I might repose on Thee! Oh! that Thou would enter into my heart, and
inebriate it, that I may forget my ills, and embrace Thee, my sole good! What art Thou
to me? In Thy pity, teach me to utter it. Or what am I to Thee that Thou demands my
love, and, if I give it not, art wroth with me, and threatens me with grievous woes? Is it
then a slight woe to love Thee not? Oh! for Thy mercies’ sake, tell me, O Lord my God,
what Thou art unto me. Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. So speak, that I may
hear. Behold, Lord, my heart is before Thee; open Thou the ears thereof, and say unto
my soul, I am thy salvation. After this voice let me haste, and take hold on Thee. Hide
not Thy face from me. Let me die—lest I die—only let me see Thy face. Narrow is the
mansion of my soul; enlarge Thou it, that Thou may enter in. – St. Augustine,
Confessions, 1.5
E. CONTEMPLATIO (Personal Prayer)
How often have I prayed for long hours, recited lengthy prayers, and still acted as if
everything depends on my efforts?
How often have I honored and praised God to be almighty and all-powerful, yet still use
amulets against ghosts and specters?
How much faith do I have in Jesus? Do I truly believe him to be my savior?
What is Jesus challenging me to do through this Gospel?

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F. COMMUNICATIO (Sharing of Prayer Experiences in Community)
[Read the Gospel Again]
I will share with my community
… the word, phrase or image from the Gospel which has touched me the most
… the invitation of the Gospel for my on-going conversion
CLOSING PRAYER – SPONTANEOUS/Augustinian Prayer
“Lord, have mercy on me, and hear my desire. For it is not, I deem, of the earth, not of gold
and silver, and precious stones, or gorgeous apparel, or honours and offices, or the
pleasures of the flesh, or necessaries for the body and for this life of our pilgrimage: all
which shall be added unto those that seek Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness. Behold, O
Lord my God, wherein is my desire. The wicked have told me of delights, but not such as Thy
law, O Lord. Behold, wherein is my desire. Behold, Father, behold, and see and approve; and
be it pleasing in the sight of Thy mercy, that I may find grace before Thee, that the inward
parts of Thy words be opened to me knocking […].” Amen. (Confessions 11.2)
/jbcInfante
07/08/2020