During this fall season, let’s continue to share these Daily Bible Readings from Sacred Space as we continue our spiritual journey together.
Oct. 1: Luke 10: 13-16
Jesus reminds us here of our responsibility to respond to God’s many gifts to us, to repent and live a new life of love.
Oct 2: Matthew 18: 1-5, 10
Jesus says we must change and become like little children. Where do I need to change most? I ask for light and wisdom to see where and how I can become like a little child.
Oct. 3: Mark 10: 2-16
The child’s receptiveness to love is the “key” to the kingdom of God. Let us pray not to be hard-hearted.
Oct. 4: Luke 10: 25-37
Jesus championing of the Samaritan traveler makes it clear that God’s command to love includes even those considered to be outsiders. It is the Samaritan who shows what it means to love your neighbor.
Oct. 5: Luke 10: 38-42
This story of Mary and Martha reminds us that both the active and the contemplative dimensions of Christian life are necessary.
Oct. 6: Luke 11: 1-4
To call God “Father,” as Jesus does in his prayer, is to recognize where my life comes from and establishes me in relation to others.
Oct. 7: Luke 11: 5-13
This parable urges us to keep trying, keep persisting to receive the blessing. How often do I pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit in my heart and life?
Oct. 8: Luke 11; 15-26
How can we be unmoved by the human suffering all around. I pray for an open heart and for light to see the hardness in me.
Oct. 9: Luke 11: 27-28
I pray to be open and obedient to God’s word.
Oct. 10: Mark 10: 17-30
We can trust that God’s Spirit is at work in and among us and will fulfill God’s purposes.
We are invited to participate in what God is doing.
Oct. 11: Luke 11: 29-32
For Jesus, it is the repentance of the people of Nineveh that is significant here. If they have wisdom to recognize the authority of the prophet Jonah and repent, then surely we should be able to do the same in response to Jesus.
Oct. 12: Luke 11: 37-41
When Jesus and his followers eat and drink with those declared sinners and outcasts, God’s kingdom comes about: a moment of liberation. Jews and Gentiles eat together at the same table, without fear, reconciled.
Oct. 13: Luke 11: 42-46
Jesus unmasked the lack of heart in people. He focused on what is inside a person, in the human heart. Help me not to neglect justice and the love of God.
Oct. 14: Luke 11: 47-54
Jesus was a victim of religiously inspired violence. Justifying violence by reference to God ranks as one of the most serious forms of blasphemy. I pray for peace wherever there is conflict today.
Oct. 15: Luke 12: 1-7
A hypocrite was a person whose life was not in tune with the ways of God. A simple way to be part of God’s music is to trust God and not be afraid. I ask that I may not live out of fear but out of trust that I am limitlessly valued and loved by God.
Oct. 16: Luke 12: 8-12
I pray for the gift of light and fortitude, to be able to live in integrity before Jesus and before others. I pray for the grace to keep an open heart, ready to listen and trust.
Oct. 17: Mark 10: 35-45
Jesus leads James and John into the implications of what they are asking. He invites them to share his cup. I am invited, too.
Oct. 18: Luke 10: 1-9
What does my own spiritual journey look life? Does it have a sense of urgency and focus. What do Jesus’ words mean to me: “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”
Oct. 19: Luke 12: 35-38
We are called to live a life of conscious choice, of being awake and alert. We are to be mindful of our loving Father, just as God is mindful of his beloved children.
Oct. 20: Luke 12: 39-48
In this parable, Jesus teaches about the importance of being ready. I think about the responsibilities I have and whether I fulfill them in a loving and committed way.
Oct. 21: Luke 12: 49-53
Jesus is passionate abut his mission. He knows what it is and the suffering it entails, and also embraces it enthusiastically. I ask for the grace to have more clarity about what God is calling me to do, and do it with Jesus, with passion and energy.
Oct. 22: Luke 12:54-59
I remember how the merciful Father deals with me, and I feel called to be compassionate toward myself and to others.
Oct. 23: Luke 13: 1-9
This story about the fig tree is about God’s patience and our need for time to repent and grow in our faith. It is about the God of the many chances. God never lets us go and always believes in our future. Prayer helps us believe in ourselves as God believes in us.
Oct. 24: Mark 10: 46-52
I ask to be like Bartimaeus, trustingly expressing my need, knowing that God hears my plea and will cure me.
Oct. 25: Luke 13: 10-17
For Jesus, mercy and compassion are paramount. I ask for a heart that is like the heart of Jesus, always compassionate and ready to defend the poor and suffering. I ask for light to be aware of my prejudices and of the rationalizations that justify them.
Oct. 26: Luke 13: 18-21
Jesus was so optimistic when he spoke of the kingdom! For him, even a small beginning was sufficient, for he was convinced that it shared his power and dynamism. Do I share this conviction?
Oct. 27: Luke 13: 22-30
I ask for humility and inner freedom to do what is right, even when it costs.
Oct. 28: Luke 6: 12-16
Jesus made his decision following a night spent in prayer. Do I pray before making a decision? Do I refer all my decisions to God as a wise and loving parent?
Oct. 29: Luke 14: 1-6
Jesus puts compassion before the law. We are stronger when we find compassion between us and another, and the other is stronger, too.
Oct. 30: Luke 14: 1, 7-11
Let us pray for the grace to be able to make the same choices Jesus made and ask for the freedom to accept humiliations calmly and gracefully when they come.
Oct. 31: Mark 12: 28b-34
The first commandment is to love God with all we have and the second is to love our neighbor as being part of ourselves. The most important thing in life is to have a loving heart.