Lectio Divina

Margaret-Mary McFadyen, a member of the Spirituality Committee  of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, leads us in the prayerful reading of The Bible. Lectio Divina is a traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's word. In the view of one commentator, it does not treat scripture as texts to be studied, but as the living word.

You can find out more about Margaret-Mary McFadyen at https://www.rcdea.org.uk/new-role-for-spiritual-director-margaret-mary/. Margaret-Mary writes below about the programmes.

Lectio Divina will be broadcast on Fridays at 13:30 and 20:00, Saturdays at 07:00, Mondays at 05:30 and Tuesdays at 01:00,.

5 – 10 October 2020

1:  Assurance of God’s Protection  Psalm 90(91):1–8

Psalm 91 is my favourite Psalm and I pray with it often. Whenever things are difficult or stressful, when I find myself feeling afraid, when I can’t see a way through a problem, it is my go-to prayer. It reminds me that I can trust God, that He has promised me His protection. It has been particularly helpful during this time of the pandemic. In the First Principle and Foundation of The Spiritual Exercises, St Ignatius encourages us to make ourselves indifferent, that we should not prefer health to sickness, that our one choice and desire should be for what is more conducive to the greater glory of God. Looking around at the world, I surmise that indifference in this context might lie somewhere between the extremes of reckless denial and paralysing fear. For me, the issue has occasionally been a sense of rising panic and a feeling of not being in control of my situation. When I have become aware of those feelings, this psalm has helped me to find the words: my refuge, my fortress, my God. I trust you. The serenity that follows this prayer is His grace received and spiritual consolation.

12 – 17 October

2:  The Inescapable God  Psalm 138(139):7–12

Psalm 139 is high on my list of favourites, and the section of it that I have chosen for prayer today is about how we cannot outrun God, no matter how much we may try. We might react to this idea with indignation, that somehow our right to privacy has been violated; we might react with fear because we see the very worst in ourselves, maybe we are ashamed and feel guilty and we expect harsh judgement from a vengeful and angry God. He is coming to get us, so to speak. Julian of Norwich writes that God does not wish us to flee away, that He wants us to behave like a child: “For when it is distressed and frightened, it runs quickly to its mother...” From this perspective and in the context of the whole psalm, this part of it is deeply reassuring. Like a mother carefully following and watching her little child, God is always there, allowing us to explore our independence and free will and still, keeping us safe. He is quick to scoop us up and hold us close, no matter how naughty and disobedient we have been. Love is His only agenda.

19 – 24 October

3:  Comfort and Assurance in God’s presence  Psalm 62(63):1–8

This Psalm is another of my favourites that I pray with often. The Psalm is presented as comfort and assurance in God’s protection, and indeed, the second part of it is all about that. The first part, however, speaks to me about a feverish desire for God, a sense of never being able to get close enough, of never having enough of God, so much so that the wanting of God is physical and painful. When prayer has brought us into deep intimacy with God, and in that eternal moment our soul is indeed satisfied, it is all at once enough, too much and not enough of God. This psalm, for me, speaks of the sense of the desire for God being satisfied, overwhelming and continually perpetuated through our prayer and constantly invites us into a deeper personal relationship with God. Laurence Freeman once said at a talk I attended:  “When we pray, we participate in God’s infinite expansion.”  In our desiring of God and engagement in prayer, we are also expanded and become more capacious, more able to receive His gifts and to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in the world in which we live.

26 – 31 October

4:  Restoration and Protection Promised  Isaiah 43:10–13

Some years ago, I was studying some scripture modules for the Certificate of Religious Education I was working towards on a correspondence course with Strawberry Hill College, as it was then. While I learned a lot on that course, it was the modules on the Old and New Testament that I really took my time with and studied deeply and hungrily. Isaiah was the one Old Testament prophet who moved me the most profoundly, especially the one referred to as the second Isaiah to whom this passage is attributed.  I could have picked out any part of chapter 43 to pray with in this Lectio Divina; it is all beautiful and poetic, and I did struggle to decide. This section I hear as a love letter from God: a confident testament of who He is to me, and of who I am to Him. St Augustine said: “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”  The scripture here affirms it to my mind, heart and soul. It is God effectively saying:  “I have chosen you, and you know that I am the only one for you.”  I am not going to argue with that.

2 – 7 November

5:  The Magnificat  Luke 1:46b–55

There are two images that come immediately to my mind when I read or pray with this passage, The Magnificat. One is from a poster I saw at Loyola Hall on my first retreat, which portrayed Jesus in the style of Che Guevara and had the words underneath:  “Meek Mild As If.”  And the other I received at a Spiritual Directors training session just over a year ago called Che Maria. The words that come to mind from these images, and to me they are inextricably linked to this piece of scripture, are radical, revolutionary: they tell of a God who turns the world upside down, and not just with words. It is in the very being, concrete, bodily. Mary is no porcelain statue, clean and untouched by the world, supporting in a detached sort of way. She is a fierce prophet of God, worshipping Him with her words and her whole body and life; literally bringing God into being in the world amidst the dirt, blood, guts and gore. It is a prayer to inspire the world, a prayer we need now as much as we have ever done..

9 – 14 November

6:  Longing for God  Psalm 41(42):1–3

I have been talking to my spiritual director in life for years now, and I remember a discussion with him in the early days, when I was struggling to express myself. My split spirituality, as Gerry W. Hughes describes it in God of Surprises had become evident. He suggests it is where we are not living according what we believe in the deepest depths of our souls: we experience a cognitive dissonance. At that time, I was haunted by the first part of Psalm 42. It was the closest I had to explain what was going on within me, and it was painful. I find that the psalms, somewhere, will have the words we need. I left feeling frustrated that even invoking this psalm had not adequately expressed the painful yearning within me. When I returned home however, he had sent me a poem by email: Love Dogs, by Rumi. When I read the words:  ‘This longing you express is the return message. The grief you cry out from draws you toward union.  Your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup.’  I cried with relief, because I knew that he had understood what I was trying to say.

16 – 21 November

7:  Song of Quiet Trust  Psalm 130(131)

It seems such a long time ago when my children were babies, yet, I remember the feeling of absolute bliss when they were replete. This year, I have been praying weekly with the ’40-day journey with Julian of Norwich’, taking a week for a day, like in the 19th Annotation of The Spiritual Exercises. I found the image that Julian uses of Mother God quite challenging to begin with. Psalm 131 was the offered scripture with the reading from Julian. As I prayed with this idea of the Motherhood of God, and this psalm, I realised that when we are as dependent on God as a baby is on the mother who feeds her; when our world revolves around Him in absolute, unquestioning trust; when we drink fully of the nourishment and protection He gives freely and generously, we become blissed out in Him. My contemplations on the Motherhood of God distilled into one idea that despite all the suffering and gore that goes into creation: God is blissed out by our bliss in Him. As Julian said:  ‘And when He had finished, and had so borne us for bliss, still all this could not satisfy His wonderful love…’

23 – 28 November

8:  Praise for Deliverance from Trouble  Psalm 33(34):4–8

The beginning of Psalm 34 says: ‘I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ And I frequently find myself singing this part to myself in head, and even out loud when no-one is around. I have chosen the next part of this psalm for the Lectio Divina prayer this week because it is a song of gratitude, and the chosen verses remind me of the reasons for my grateful song. In the Examen prayer, which St. Ignatius encourages us to make daily even if it is the only prayer we make, the first step is to offer thanks to God for all we have received in the day, or the time period we are focusing on in our Examen of consciousness. Practicing this prayer regularly helps us to live reflectively with God and to become ever more sensitive to His calling in the here and now as we go about our lives. Gratitude for all we have received is the first step.

30 November – 5 December

9:  Advent 1: Isaiah 64:4–7

From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.  You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.

7 – 12 December

10:  Advent 2: Isaiah 40:1–5,9–11

14 – 19 December

11:  Advent 3: Isaiah 61:1–2,10–11

21 – 26 December

12:  Advent 4: Psalm 88(89)

28 December – 2 January 2021

13:  Assurance of God’s Protection  Psalm 90(91):1–8 
(rebroadcast of Episode 1)

Psalm 91 is my favourite Psalm and I pray with it often. Whenever things are difficult or stressful, when I find myself feeling afraid, when I can’t see a way through a problem, it is my go-to prayer. It reminds me that I can trust God, that He has promised me His protection. It has been particularly helpful during this time of the pandemic. In the First Principle and Foundation of The Spiritual Exercises, St Ignatius encourages us to make ourselves indifferent, that we should not prefer health to sickness, that our one choice and desire should be for what is more conducive to the greater glory of God. Looking around at the world, I surmise that indifference in this context might lie somewhere between the extremes of reckless denial and paralysing fear. For me, the issue has occasionally been a sense of rising panic and a feeling of not being in control of my situation. When I have become aware of those feelings, this psalm has helped me to find the words: my refuge, my fortress, my God. I trust you. The serenity that follows this prayer is His grace received and spiritual consolation.

4 – 9 January

14:  The Inescapable God  Psalm 138(139):7–12 
(rebroadcast of episode 2)

Psalm 139 is high on my list of favourites, and the section of it that I have chosen for prayer today is about how we cannot outrun God, no matter how much we may try. We might react to this idea with indignation, that somehow our right to privacy has been violated; we might react with fear because we see the very worst in ourselves, maybe we are ashamed and feel guilty and we expect harsh judgement from a vengeful and angry God. He is coming to get us, so to speak. Julian of Norwich writes that God does not wish us to flee away, that He wants us to behave like a child: “For when it is distressed and frightened, it runs quickly to its mother...” From this perspective and in the context of the whole psalm, this part of it is deeply reassuring. Like a mother carefully following and watching her little child, God is always there, allowing us to explore our independence and free will and still, keeping us safe. He is quick to scoop us up and hold us close, no matter how naughty and disobedient we have been. Love is His only agenda.

12 – 16 January
(revised schedule)

15:  Comfort and Assurance in God’s presence  Psalm 62(63):1–8
(rebroadcast of episode 3)

This Psalm is another of my favourites that I pray with often. The Psalm is presented as comfort and assurance in God’s protection, and indeed, the second part of it is all about that. The first part, however, speaks to me about a feverish desire for God, a sense of never being able to get close enough, of never having enough of God, so much so that the wanting of God is physical and painful. When prayer has brought us into deep intimacy with God, and in that eternal moment our soul is indeed satisfied, it is all at once enough, too much and not enough of God. This psalm, for me, speaks of the sense of the desire for God being satisfied, overwhelming and continually perpetuated through our prayer and constantly invites us into a deeper personal relationship with God. Laurence Freeman once said at a talk I attended:  “When we pray, we participate in God’s infinite expansion.”  In our desiring of God and engagement in prayer, we are also expanded and become more capacious, more able to receive His gifts and to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in the world in which we live.

19 – 23 January

16:  Waiting for Divine Redemption  Psalm 129(130)

26 – 30 January

17:  Trust and Security in God  Psalm 15(16):7–11

2 – 6 February

18:  God’s faithfulness  Psalm 104(105):1–5

9 – 13 February

19:  The Glories of God’s law  Psalm 118(119):10–16

16 – 20 February

20:  You are my refuge, O Lord; you fill me with the joy of salvation Psalm 31(32):1–2,5,11

23 – 27 February

21: Lent 1: Psalm 24(25)

2 – 6 March

22: Lent 2: Psalm 115(116):10,15–19

9 – 13 March

23: Lent 3: Psalm 18(19):8–11

16 – 20 March

24: Lent 4: Ephesians 2:4–10

23 – 27 March

25: Lent 5: Psalm 50(51):3–4,12–15

30 March – 3 April

26: Holy Week: Isaiah 50:4–7

6 – 10 April

27: Easter 1: Psalm 117(118):1–2,16–17,22–23

13 – 17 April

28: God’s faithfulness  Psalm 104(105):1–5 (rebroadcast of episode 18)

20 – 24 April

29: Easter 3: Psalm 4:2,4,7,9

27 April – 1 May

30: Easter 4: Psalm 117(118):1,8–9,21–23,26,28–29

4 – 8 May

31: Easter 5: 1 John 3:18–24

11 – 15 May

32: Easter 6: Psalm 97(98):1–4

18 – 22 May

33: Ascension of the Lord: Psalm 46(47):2,3,6–9

24 – 29 May

34: Pentecost: Ps 103(104):1,24,29–31,34

31 May – 5 June

35: The Magnificat  Luke 1:46b–55 (rebroadcast of episode 5)

7 –12 June

36: Corpus Christi: Psalm 115(116):12–13,15–18

14 – 19 June

37: Ordinary Time 11: Psalm 91(92):2–3,13–16

21 – 26 June

38: Ordinary Time 12: Psalm 106(107):23–26,28–31

28 June – 3 July

39: Ordinary Time 13: Psalm 29(30):2,4–6,11–13

5 – 10 July

40: Ordinary Time 14: Psalm 122(123)

12 – 17 July

41: Ordinary Time 15: Psalm 84(85):9–14

19 – 24 July

42: Ordinary Time 16: Psalm 22(23)

26 – 31 July

43: Longing for God  Psalm 41(42):1–3 (rebroadcast of episode 6)

I have been talking to my spiritual director in life for years now, and I remember a discussion with him in the early days, when I was struggling to express myself. My split spirituality, as Gerry W. Hughes describes it in God of Surprises had become evident. He suggests it is where we are not living according what we believe in the deepest depths of our souls: we experience a cognitive dissonance. At that time, I was haunted by the first part of Psalm 42. It was the closest I had to explain what was going on within me, and it was painful. I find that the psalms, somewhere, will have the words we need. I left feeling frustrated that even invoking this psalm had not adequately expressed the painful yearning within me. When I returned home however, he had sent me a poem by email: Love Dogs, by Rumi. When I read the words:  ‘This longing you express is the return message. The grief you cry out from draws you toward union.  Your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup.’  I cried with relief, because I knew that he had understood what I was trying to say.

2 – 7 August

44: Song of Quiet Trust  Psalm 130(131) (rebroadcast of episode 7)

It seems such a long time ago when my children were babies, yet, I remember the feeling of absolute bliss when they were replete. This year, I have been praying weekly with the ’40-day journey with Julian of Norwich’, taking a week for a day, like in the 19th Annotation of The Spiritual Exercises. I found the image that Julian uses of Mother God quite challenging to begin with. Psalm 131 was the offered scripture with the reading from Julian. As I prayed with this idea of the Motherhood of God, and this psalm, I realised that when we are as dependent on God as a baby is on the mother who feeds her; when our world revolves around Him in absolute, unquestioning trust; when we drink fully of the nourishment and protection He gives freely and generously, we become blissed out in Him. My contemplations on the Motherhood of God distilled into one idea that despite all the suffering and gore that goes into creation: God is blissed out by our bliss in Him. As Julian said:  ‘And when He had finished, and had so borne us for bliss, still all this could not satisfy His wonderful love…’

9 – 14 August

45: Ordinary Time 19: Psalm 33(34):2–9

16 – 21 August

46: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Psalm 44(45):10–12,16

23 – 28 August

47: Ordinary Time 21: Psalm 33(34):2–3,16–21

30 August – 4 September

48: Ordinary Time 22: James 1:17–18,21–22,27

6 – 11 September

49: Ordinary Time 23: Isaiah 35:4–7

13 – 18 September

50: Ordinary Time 24: Isaiah 50:5–9a

20 – 25 September

51: Ordinary Time 25: Wisdom 2:12,17–20

27 September – 2 October

52: Ordinary Time 26: Psalm 18(19):8,10,12–14

4 – 9 October

53: Ordinary Time 27: Hebrews 2:9–11

11 – 16 October

54: Ordinary Time 24: Isaiah 50:5–9a

18 – 23 October

55: Ordinary Time 29: Psalm 32(33):4–5,18–20,22

25 – 30 October

56: Ordinary Time 30: Psalm 125(126)

1 – 6 November

57: Ordinary Time 31: Psalm 17(18):2–4,47–49

8 – 13 November

58: Ordinary Time 32: Psalm 145(146):7–10

15 – 20 November

59: Ordinary Time 33: Psalm 15(16):5,8–11

22 – 27 November

60: Christ the King: Psalm 92(93):1–2,5

29 November – 4 December

61: Advent 1: Isaiah 64:4–7 (rebroadcast of Episode 9)

From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.  You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.

6 – 11 December

62: Advent 2: Baruch 5:1-9

13 – 18 December

63: Advent 3: Isaiah 12:2–6

20 – 25 December

64: Advent 4: Psalm 79(80):2–3,15–16,18–19

27 December – 1 January 2022

65: Christmas Day (Mass at Dawn): Psalm 96(97):1–6,11–12
This day new light will shine upon the earth: the Lord is born for us.

3 – 8 January

66: Epiphany: Isaiah 60:1–6
Above you the glory of the Lord appears.

10 – 15 January

67: Baptism of the Lord: Psalm 103(104):1–4,24–25,27­–30
Bless the Lord, my soul! Lord God, how great you are.

17 – 22 January

68: Ordinary Time 2: 1 Corinthians 12:4–11
One and the same Spirit, who distributes gifts to different people just as he chooses.

24 – 29 January

69: Ordinary Time 3: Psalm 18(19):8–10,15
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life.

31 January – 5 February

70: Ordinary Time 4: Jeremiah 1:4–5,17–19
I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.

7 – 12 February

71: The Presentation of the Lord: Psalm 23(24):7–10
Who is the king of glory? It is the Lord.

14 – 19 February

72: Ordinary Time 5: Psalm 137(138):1–5,7–8
Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

21 – 26 February

73: Ordinary Time 7: Psalm 102(103):1–4,8,10,12–13
The Lord is compassion and love.

28 February – 5 March

74: Ordinary Time 8: Psalm 91(92):2,3,13–16
It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.

7 – 12 March

75: Lent 1: Psalm 90(91):1–2,10–15
Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

14 – 19 March

76: Lent 2: Psalm 26(27):1,7–9,13–14
The Lord is my light and my help.

21 – 26 March

77: Lent 3: Psalm 102(103):1–4,6–8,11
The Lord is compassion and love.

28 March – 2 April

78: Lent 4: Psalm 33(34):2–7
Taste and see that the Lord is good.

4 – 9 April

79: Lent 5: Isaiah 43:16–21
See, I am doing a new deed, and I will give my chosen people drink.

11 – 16 April

80: Palm Sunday of the Passion of The Lord: Psalm 21(22):8–9,17–20,23–24
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

18 – 23 April

81: Easter Sunday: Psalm 117(118):1–2,16–17,22–23
This day was made by the Lord; we rejoice and are glad.

25 – 30 April

82: Easter 2: Psalm 117(118):2–4,13–15,22–24
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.

2 – 7 May

83: Easter 3: Psalm 29(30):2,4–6,11–13
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

9 – 14 May

84: Psalm 117(118):1,8–9,21–23,26,28–29
(rebroadcast of Episode 30)

16 – 21 May

85: Easter 5: Psalm 144(145):8–13
I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

23 – 28 May

86: Easter 6: Psalm 66(67):2–3,5–6,8
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

30 May – 4 June

87: The Ascension of the Lord: Psalm 46(47):2–3,6–7,8–9
God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

6 – 7 June

88: Pentecost: Psalm 103(104):1,24,29–31,31
Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

10 – 14 June

89: The Most Holy Trinity: Proverbs 8:22–31
Before the earth came into being, Wisdom was born.

17 – 21 June

90: Corpus Christi: 1 Corinthians 11:23–26
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death.

24 – 28 June

91: The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist: Isaiah 49:1–6
I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

1 – 5 July

92: Psalm 91(92):2,3,13–16
It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.
(rebroadcast of Episode 74)

8 – 12 July

93: Ordinary Time 15: Psalm 68(69):14,17,30–31,36–37
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.

15 – 19 July

94: Ordinary Time 16: Palm 14(15):2–5
The jut will live in the presence of the Lord.

22 – 26 July

95: Ordinary Time 17: Psalm 137(138):1–3,6–8
On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.

29 July – 2 August

96: Ordinary Time 18: Colossians 3:1–5,9–11
You must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is.

5 – 9 August

97: Ordinary Time 5: Psalm 137(138):1–5,7–8
Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

12 – 16 August

98: Ordinary Time 20: Psalm 39(40):2–4
Lord, come to my aid!

19 – 23 August

99: Ordinary Time 21: Isaiah 66:18–21
They will bring all your brothers from all the nations.

26 – 30 August

100: James 1:17–18,21–22,27
You must do what the word tells you.
(rebroadcast of Episode 48)

2 – 6 September

101: Ordinary Time 23: Psalm 89(90):3–6,12–17
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

9 – 13 September

102: Ordinary Time 24: Psalm 50(51):3–4,12–13,17,19
I will leave this place and go to my father.

16 – 20 September

103: Ordinary Time 25: Amos 8:4–7
Against those who ‘buy up the poor for money’.

23 – 27 September

104: Ordinary Time 26: Amos 6:1,4–7
Those who sprawl and those who bawl will be exiled.

30 September – 4 October

105: Ordinary Time 27: Psalm 94(95):1–2,6–9
O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.

7 – 11 October

106: Ordinary Time 28: Psalm 97(98):1–4
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

14 – 18 October

107: Psalm 32(33):4–5,18–20,22
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
(rebroadcast of Episode 55)

21 – 25 October

108: Psalm 125(126)
What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
(rebroadcast of Episode 56)

28 October – 1 November

109: Psalm 17(18):2–4,47–49
I love you, Lord, my strength.
(rebroadcast of Episode 57)

4 – 8 November

110: Psalm 145(146):7–10
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
(rebroadcast of Episode 58)

11 – 15 November

111: Psalm 15(16):5,8–11
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
(rebroadcast of Episode 59)

18 – 22 November

112: Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe: Psalm 121(122):1–5
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s House.’

25 – 29 November

113: Advent 1: Isaiah 2:1–5
The Lord gathers all nations together into the eternal peace of God’s kingdom.

2 – 6 December

114: Advent 2: Psalm 71(72):1–2,7–8,12–13,17
In his days justice shall flourish and peace till the moon fails.

9 – 13 December

115: Advent 3: Isaiah 35:1–6,10
God himself is coming to save you.

16 – 20 December

116: Advent 4: Psalm 23(24):1–6
Let the Lord enter! He is the king of glory.

23 – 27 December

117: Christmas Day (Mass at Dawn): Psalm 96(97):1–6,11–12
This day new light will shine upon the earth: the Lord is born for us.
(rebroadcast of episode 65)

30 December – 3 January 2023

118: Epiphany: Isaiah 60:1–6
Above you the glory of the Lord appears.
(rebroadcast of episode 66)

6 – 10 January

119: Epiphany: Isaiah 60:1–6
Above you the glory of the Lord appears.

13 – 17 January

120: Ordinary Time 2: Psalm 39(40):2,4,7–10
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

20 – 24 January

121: Ordinary Time 3: Psalm 26(27):1,4,13–14
The Lord is my light and my help.

27 – 31 January

122: Ordinary Time 4: Psalm 145(146):7–10
How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

3 – 7 February

123: Ordinary Time 5: Psalm 111(112):4–9
The good man is a light in the darkness for the upright.

10 – 14 February

124: Ordinary Time 6: Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 15:15–20
He never commanded anyone to be godless.

17 – 21 February

125: Psalm 102(103):1–4,8,10,12–13
The Lord is compassion and love.
(rebroadcast of Episode 73)

24 – 28 February

126: Psalm 90(91):1–2,10–15
Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.
(rebroadcast of Episode 75)

3 – 7 March

127: Psalm 26(27):1,7–9,13–14
The Lord is my light and my help.
(rebroadcast of Episode 76)

10 – 14 March

128: Psalm 102(103):1–4,6–8,11
The Lord is compassion and love.
(rebroadcast of Episode 77)

17 – 21 March

129: Lent 4 (Year A): Ephesians 5:8–14
Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

24 – 28 March

130: Lent 5: Psalm 129(130)
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

31 March – 4 April

131: Psalm 21(22):8–9,17–20,23–24
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
(rebroadcast of Episode 80)

7 – 11 April

132: Easter Vigil (after Second Reading): Psalm 15(16):5,8–11
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.

14 – 18 April

133: Easter 2: Psalm 117(118):2–4,13–15,22–24
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.

21 – 25 April

134: Psalm 4:2,4,7,9
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
(rebroadcast of Episode 29)

28 April – 2 May

135: Psalm 117(118):1,8–9,21–23,26,28–29
The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
(rebroadcast of Episode 30)

5 – 9 May

136: 1 John 3:18–24
His commandments are these: that we believe in his Son and that we love one another.
(rebroadcast of Episode 31)

12 ­– 16 May

137: Easter 6: Psalm 65(66):1–7
Cry out with joy to God all the earth.

19 – 23 May

138: The Ascension of the Lord: Psalm 46(47):2–3,6–9
God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

26 – 30 May

139: Pentecost Sunday: 1 Cor 12:3–7,12–13
In the one Spirit we were all baptised.

2 – 6 June

140: Proverbs 8:22–31
Before the earth came into being, Wisdom was born.
(rebroadcast of Episode 89)

  

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