A little Lectio Divina: from creation to the Creator

Today’s Mass readings show us the great influence of creation within Holy Scripture. From the first reading’s intertwined use of the natural world and agriculture—that which is physical, which allows us physical life—to the Psalm’s imagery of all creation rightly giving Him praise, we hear that ancient refrain of our relation with creation speaking of our relation with God.

But wait, there's more: Both in the reading from Joel and the Psalm we hear of a connection between the ordered beauty of the cosmos and the characteristic of being just.

This prepares us for the Gospel, which points us beyond the natural world. A woman praises Jesus’ mother, the natural, human mother of the Christ. But Our Lord reminds the woman, and us, that what is ultimately more important is the Word that brought creation into existence and the invitation it offers—which, of course, asks for a response.

Read through these readings and ponder their stunning imagery and their momentum. Allow them to lift you from the known world to a conversation with a higher, greater glory.

Reading 1 (Joel 4:12-21)
Thus says the LORD:
Let the nations bestir themselves and come up
to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there will I sit in judgment
upon all the neighboring nations.

Apply the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe;
Come and tread,
for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow,
for great is their malice.
Crowd upon crowd
in the valley of decision;
For near is the day of the LORD
in the valley of decision.
Sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars withhold their brightness.The LORD roars from Zion,
and from Jerusalem raises his voice;The heavens and the earth quake,
but the LORD is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the children of Israel.

Then shall you know that I, the LORD, am your God,
dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain;
Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall pass through her no more.
And then, on that day,
the mountains shall drip new wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk;
And the channels of Judah
shall flow with water:
A fountain shall issue from the house of the LORD,
to water the Valley of Shittim.
Egypt shall be a waste,
and Edom a desert waste,
Because of violence done to the people of Judah,
because they shed innocent blood in their land.
But Judah shall abide forever,
and Jerusalem for all generations.
I will avenge their blood,
and not leave it unpunished.
The LORD dwells in Zion.

Responsorial Psalm (97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12)
R. (12a) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

Gospel (Luke 11:27-28)
While Jesus was speaking,
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
"Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed."
He replied, "Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it."

Catholic Ecology Home