Summary: “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed, her iniquity has been pardoned; for she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.<br> "A voice of one calling: 'Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.…'" (Isaiah 40:1-4).<br> <br> Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Jerinel M; Eileen T; Mary E.; Bev H; Jennifer H; Patricia M; and Thomas F. Thank you for loving and lifting me!<br> Bible Study Evangelista is now available on the Laudate app!<br> <br> <br> LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin.<br> L - Listen (Receive the Word.)<br> <br> O - Observe (Choose one or more of the following personality approaches to connect the passage to your life and recent events.)<br> F | Franciscan - On your next drive, pay attention to the terrain and how the road is built. What can you discern about what Isaiah 40:1-4, above, means? What is God saying to you about what the Lenten "desert" is meant to accomplish?<br> I | Ignatian - I find it interesting that Isaiah 40:1-4, above, speaks about the highway being in the desert, or the wilderness. What is your current desert? Using all your senses, try to imagine a highway through this desert. What is the scenery around you? Where does the highway lead?<br> A | Augustinian - Imagine the Lord sitting knee-to-knee across from you, looking at you intently, saying to you the words from Isaiah 40:1-4, above.<br> T | Thomistic -Research road construction here. <br> What does the process tell you about the meaning of Isaiah 40:1-4, above?<br> V - Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)<br> Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O - Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin.<br> E - Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)<br> <br> Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love only what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me so, O Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy. + Amen.<br> .<br> *LOVE the Word® exercises are offered according to FIAT: the four personalities, or "prayer forms," explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Franciscan, Ignatian, Augustinian, and Thomistic: FIAT! These prayer forms correspond to the Myers-Briggs personality types.<br> Series Preview<br> I. The Summons - History<br> A. Isaiah’s call<br> B. History of the Book of Isaiah<br> C. History of God’s people’s corruption<br> D. Corruption causes disunity<br> II. The Separating – First Isaiah<br> A. Public scandal and corruption<br> B. Idolatry<br> C. Corruption causes public disunity<br> D. Assyria and Samaria<br> E. Samaritans and Protestants<br> F. Protestants and Catholics<br> G. The “unclean” (Is 35:8)<br> H. Judas<br> III. The Sifting – Second Isaiah<br> A. Private scandal and corruption<br> B. Hypocrisy<br> C. Corruption causes private disunity<br> D. Babylon and Judah/Jerusalem<br> E. Two types of Catholic<br> F. The “fool” (Is 35:8)<br> G. David<br> H. Peter 1<br> IV. The Straightening – Third Isaiah 1<br> A. Survival<br> B. Sorrow<br> C. Solution<br> D. Salvage<br> E. Strengthen<br> F. Safety (Is 35:9)<br> V. The Sending – Third Isaiah 2<br> A. Salvation (Is 35:9)<br> B. Celebration (Is 35:10)<br> C. Stages<br> Pray for Us<br>
