Lectio Divina – Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Camillus de Lellis
Theme: “Place”
1. Lectio
Gospel – Matthew 12:14–21
“When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place.” (Mt 12:15)
The Pharisees had made that place one of hostility rather than healing. Jesus did not withdraw out of fear, but because the Father’s timing and mission were guiding Him. He left one place so that the Kingdom could flourish in another.
Reflection:
When Jesus calls me to leave one place, am I willing to trust that He is already preparing another place where His will can be accomplished?
2. Meditatio
For today’s Lectio Divina I will withdraw from The Glenn and move, at least in my heart, to another place: Clarendon, Texas.
Today, for only the second time in its 134-year history, a new church building is being dedicated for the parishioners of St. Mary’s Church. His Eminence, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Apostolic Administrator sede vacante, will preside at the Mass of Blessing and Dedication, joined by Bishop Emeritus Patrick J. Zurek and the priests of the Diocese of Amarillo.
Although I will not be there physically, I want to unite myself spiritually with that celebration by dedicating today’s Lectio Divina to that place, because it is a place that ultimately led to the place I now call home.
Kim’s paternal grandparents came to Clarendon and worshiped in the first Catholic church built in the Texas Panhandle in June of 1892. The original St. Mary’s Academy, operated by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, later moved to Amarillo in 1913. That same school became the place where Kim’s parents studied, where I was educated, and where our children and grandchildren would also receive their Catholic education.
I realize that salvation history is always rooted in places. Abraham was called from one land to another. Moses encountered God on a mountain. Elijah heard the still, small voice in a cave. Jesus taught from boats, hillsides, synagogues, homes, and ultimately from the Cross.
Pope Francis wrote that “The history of our friendship with God is always linked to particular places which take on an intensely personal meaning.” I understand that now more deeply. Certain places become sacramental memories where grace quietly changed the direction of my life.
The Glenn is one of those places.
Clarendon is another.
St. Mary’s Cathedral is another.
As I attend the 7:00 a.m. Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral this morning, while another congregation gathers two hours away to dedicate a new church, I realize we are all being gathered into the same dwelling place—the Body of Christ. Buildings matter because they become places where ordinary people repeatedly encounter an extraordinary God.
3. Oratio
Blessed Mother, who made your home wherever your Son called you, teach me to treasure the holy places where God has formed my faith without ever clinging to them more than I cling to Christ.
Saint Camillus de Lellis, who transformed hospitals into places of compassion and dignity, pray that every place I enter may become a place where Christ is recognized in those who suffer.
Lord Jesus, whether You call me to remain where I am or to withdraw to another place, let me always follow You. Consecrate my heart as Your dwelling place so that wherever I go, others may encounter Your peace. Amen.
4. Contemplatio
Jesus withdrew from one place because His mission was never confined to geography. The Kingdom is carried wherever hearts are open to receive it.
As I reflect on the dedication of a new church in Clarendon, I recognize that sacred buildings are not holy because of stone, brick, or stained glass. They are holy because they proclaim something deeper: every human person possesses an inviolable dignity that deserves a place where it can encounter God.
Magnifica Humanitas reminds me that human rights are not granted from the outside but arise from the intrinsic dignity placed within every person by God. If that is true, then every parish, every farm, every home, every classroom, every hospital, and every field can become holy ground whenever that dignity is protected and honored.
The places that have shaped my life are gifts, but they are not my destination. They have always existed to point me toward the One who prepares an eternal place for me.
Today I pray not only for the dedication of a church building in Clarendon, but for the continual dedication of my own heart, so that wherever Christ leads me—even when He asks me to withdraw from one place into another—I may always become a living stone in the house He is building.