We begin our prayer…
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Enlighten, O God of compassion, the hearts of your children, sanctified by penance, and in your kindness grant those you stir to a sense of devotion a gracious hearing when they cry out to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Reading (Lectio)
Read the following Scripture two or three times. Ecclesiastes 2:21-26
21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? 23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.
24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Meditation (Meditatio)
After the reading, take some time to reflect in silence on one or more of the following questions:
- What word or words in this passage caught your attention?
- What in this passage comforted you?
- What in this passage challenged you?
Contemplation (Contemplatio)
Read the scripture passage again, followed by this reflection:
How does this passage connect with the experience of your daily life?
“then they must leave all they own to another.”
Have you thought about to whom or what you will leave all you own?
“A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil.”
Are you satisfied in your toil? What is it that you currently toil at? What or who do you toil for?
Prayer (Oratio)
Read the scripture passage one more time. Bring to the Lord the praise, petition, or thanksgiving that the Word inspires in you.
Complete this time by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and the following:
Closing Prayer:
“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn”
Psalm 37:4-6