"Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls" (Mother Teresa of Calcutta).

Welcome Ginny, Grace, Jo, Allyson, and Jade, Bible Study Evangelista's newest friends of the show! Some are first-time supporters, and some have added to their support. In both cases, I thank you deeply for loving and lifting me!

LOVE the Word™ is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin.

Listen (Receive the Word.)

Observe (Choose one or more of the following personality approaches to connect the passage to your life and recent events.)

Augustinian - Proclaim Nehemiah 8:10 aloud, emphasizing each word in turn, like this, until you have emphasized them all:

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

What comes to mind?

Franciscan - This week, sing your favorite praise song every day, especially when you feel sad or down. Ask your guardian angel to remind you.

Ignatian - I wonder how it felt, sitting on the grass with the wildflowers nodding in the breeze, watching the ripples glinting on the lake in the distance, the human race hearing such radical things for the first time.

“Go the extra mile. . . . Love your enemy. . . . Don’t worry. . . . Stockpile treasure . . . in heaven. . . . Blessed are the poor, the depressed, those who let others go first, the hungry and thirsty, the martyred and persecuted. . . .  Adultery is also a matter of the heart. We are judged in the measure we ourselves judge.”

What would it have been like, to be part of that crowd? Did the grass sing? Did the earth pound with the new truths, the new order he unleashed with every word?

Thomistic - Write down and memorize the eight Beatitudes from Matthew 5.

    Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 3)
    Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. (Verse 4)
    Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Verse 5)
    Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. (Verse 6)
    Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (Verse 7)
    Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. (Verse 8)
    Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Verse 9)
    Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 10)

Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)

In your journal or on your journal page (get a free page and user guide to the right), write down the most significant idea or scripture from the show. What are your thoughts and feelings regarding your Observe step (above), this verse, the video, and the Word you heard and observed in this episode? What have you learned or remembered about joy? What do you sense God wants you to do this week about what you've heard and observed with Him? Take some time to talk to Him about that.

Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)

Holy Spirit, this week, help me to remember and celebrate the joy of my salvation, and to express in my life the love I celebrate. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, + Amen.

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*LOVE the Word™ exercises are offered according to the four personalities, or "prayer forms," explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Ignatian, Augustinian,