Lectio Divina

As I mentioned in my May book report, I have been reading some about Lectio Divina (thanks entirely to the Holy Spirit's promptings) and wow.  What a blessing.  Good, good stuff.  Why am I just discovering this now instead of 10-15 years ago??  But alas, here I am.  I am currently reading Conversing with God in Scripture by Stephen J. Binz and wanted to takes the opportunity to share some of the treasures from this book on my blog.

We should always keep in mind that lectio is not just ordinary reading.  It might best be described as listening deeply - what Benedict (sixth century) described in his community rule as hearing "with the ear of our hearts."  In lectio, God speaks and I listen.

On our part, this listening requires that we do our best to receive God's word with as little prejudgment as possible, as if we were hearing it for the first time.  Though we may find it difficult to step out of our "comfort zone," we cannot listen fully to God if we think we already know what the text is going to tell us.  We don't want to reduce divine communication to the narrow confines of our own ideas and expectations.  Rather, lectio requires that we create a space within us for for the new wisdom and understanding God wants to give us through the sacred page.

I thought that second paragraph was so great.  I can't tell you how many times I am reading the daily readings or some other Scripture-containing item, and see that it is a verse/passage with which I am very familiar so I just gloss over it because "heaven knows I've heard this before."  So that part really hit home.  Continuing...

This kind of hearing requires fully attentive reading.  However, one of the consequences of this information age is that our culture is drowned in written words.  We tend to read in a hurry, curious to learn more and more. But lectio cannot be hasty.  We must read for understanding and assimilation.  Ambrose (fourth century) reached out to our modern era when he wrote, "We should read not in agitation, but in calm; not hurriedly, but slowly, a few words at a time, pausing in attentive reflection....Then the reader will experience their ability to enkindle the ardor of prayer."

This was really great for me as well.  Again, I can totally identify with the whole "read with haste" bit as often, when it comes to articles, blogs etc., I am of the mindset that I need to consume as much as I can in as little time possible.  It's almost like some kind of race or contest or something.  And of course, this has inevitably carried over into my Spiritual reading.  This was a nice reminder to just. slow. down.  Across the board.  Moving on... 

In order to instill in ourselves the sense that reading Scripture is a deep listening, we might consider returning to the practice of reading it aloud.  In the ancient world, where books were precious and rare, people listened to their sacred texts by hearing them read aloud.  This type of hearing required full attention and careful listening.  But even when reading was done in private, reading aloud was the usual practice.  The words were always pronounced vocally; thus, the text was seen with the eyes and heard with the ear.  Both the sight and the sound of the words allowed for easier comprehension and memorization.  This traditional practice is continued in synagogues today, as Jewish believers not only read their Scriptures but pronounce them aloud and often move their bodies rhythmically as they take them to heart.

I loved the idea of reading Scripture aloud.  So simple, yet very profound.  I think I read that previous paragraph 2-3 times to really let it sink in.  There is something about the senses...the more of them we engage the easier it is to internalize, to assimilate. 

For us as well as for our ancestors in the faith, the eyes and ears and even the mind are not the word's final destination.  We listen to the sacred text so that the words of Scripture might finally reside in our hearts.  There we are capable of reflecting on their insights, messages, and inspirations in a way that can radically transform our lives.

I'll end there.  I'm probably bordering on plagiarizing, but I just had to share.  I linked the book on Amazon, but I picked it up at our local Catholic bookstore (I like to support them when I can).  It has been a real insight and a huge blessing to me.  I always wanted to read the Bible, but never really knew how or where to start.  So I just didn't.  Lame, I know.  I used the excuse that I read the daily readings and the canticles and Psalms and such in Christian Prayer, so that was enough.  And while that is certainly good, don't get me wrong, there is so much more out there and I am just now slowly discovering that.  Faith is such a journey, that's for sure, and I have found Conversing with God in Scripture to be incredibly helpful for me on this leg of my journey.  I pray that the profound beauty of God's Word in the Scriptures may radically transform all our lives as we journey towards our one Eternal Goal.

Every Day is a Gift I

When I started this blog, it took me a long time to decide a name. I probably would have started it months sooner had I been inspired with a name. Silly I know, but that's how I roll. I finally came up with Every Day is a Gift (living each day as a gift as my URL) because I liked the reminder of viewing each day as a gift from God. As I've grown as a parent, I have found the "living each day as a gift" part to kind of have a dual meaning when looked at in the light of John Paul II's concept of self-donative love. But anyways, recently a friend gave me a daily prayer book entitled Every Day is a Gift. I was so excited, and thought it would be fun to share some of its meditations on my blog once in awhile. They are short but powerful.

This one is based on Colossians 1:24 "I find my joy in my sufferings for your sake. In my flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His body, the Church."

REFLECTION: Christ made me understand that I could save souls through the cross. The greater the crosses I encountered, the more ardent became my desire to endure them. -St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

PRAYER: Lord, in Your wisdom, You have given us the opportunity to suffer with Jesus. Help me to offer my sufferings for the salvation of souls.

Jesus is coming

I really like the Advent season. A lot. It's the beginning of a new (Church) year and a time to renew ourselves as we are filled with the anticipation and hope of the Christmas season. Looking at this season through the eyes of a (my) child makes it all the more meaningful. I've mentioned a few times previously (here and on my Facebook page) how I was looking forward to celebrating the Advent and Christmas season with Gemma (Kolbe too, but he's still just a baby) so I thought I'd try and keep a record here of some of the special things we are doing.

The Advent Wreath
A really great "outward sign" I think. We keep ours on the kitchen table and have a special prayer time around the wreath each morning. We sing a few Advent songs and I've been just using the closing prayer from Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours for lack of a better daily prayer. I really had trouble finding a book out there of daily Advent meditations/prayers for young children. Anyone have any recommendations? We also have an Advent Calendar with little doors that open and each one has a different Scripture verse behind it for every day. I picked up a book for Aaron and I that has some daily Scripture/reflections/meditations that hopefully we can do together each night after children are asleep. The white candle in the center of our wreath is Jesus' birthday candle, and I found a nice small wreath with greenery, pine cones and berries to put around it come Christmas day.

Our paper chain
This is a great visual for Gemma to help her count down the days until Christmas. The colors coordinate with the candles on the Wreath (purple for weeks 1, 2 and 4, rose for week 3 and white for Christmas day), and each link has something special for Gemma to do for the day. For example: share a special toy with your brother, paint a picture for your cousin, say a prayer for your godmother, etc. Simple, but something nevertheless.
Weekly Scripture verse
I've been really bad lately about a.) keeping our weekly verse up-to-date, and b.) actually remembering to say it repetitively enough for Gemma (and I) to learn it. I thought Advent would be a good time to get back on board with that. I decided to start using Sunday's responsorial psalm for our verse. It's something Gemma has already/will hear, and I just think the Psalms are a great place to go for Scripture memorization. I also color-coordinated our Scripture paper with the Advent candles. Here's this week's.
Nativity scenes
On our prayer table we have the violet candle, a book about the kings' journey to Bethlehem, and a Nativity that we will add pieces to as we go (Jesus on Christmas, kings on Epiphany, etc.)
This is our 'fancier' Nativity. Since we have the "add the pieces as you go" one at eye level for Gemma, I went ahead and put all the pieces out (save baby Jesus) for this one so it would look complete.
And of course we have our Fisher Price Nativity that I just absolutely adore. What a cool toy for kids.
Currently I believe the entire population is sitting in a pile on our sofa (after being toted around in a laundry basket that was apparently a swimming pool for part of the morning); and Kolbe likes to chew on baby Jesus. But it works.

I have some special activities planned for some of the Advent saints and feasts (Nicholas primarily, plus Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lucy, Immaculate Conception, etc.) and as we near Christmas I hope to help Gemma make some homemade Christmas gifts for family and loved ones.

If you're looking for good resources when it comes to Advent, I would highly recommend this book. This blog also has some really neat ideas.

So now it's your turn...I'd love to hear others' ideas when it comes to celebrating the season. Please share, and may God bless us everyone as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Some food for thought...

My husband casually mentioned over lunch today that Gemma apparently unknowingly called my father-in-law on my cell phone while she and I were going about our morning around the house. I will typically let her play with my cell phone for a bit if she asks. Usually she just pretends she's taking a picture or talking to someone, and she's pretty good about "pushing the red button" if it goes to a different screen than my regular background. She had never (to my knowledge) called anyone. Anyways, so I checked it out and sure enough, there was the call, two minutes and change long. Oh heavens, I thought, what did I say during the duration of that call? What were we doing? Was I upset? Pathetic? Rude? Angry? A whole laundry list of "wonderings" went through my head, and quite honestly, it really stressed me out (probably more than it should have). And not that we had a bad morning or anything, but knowing that someone was essentially a "fly on the wall" for a small slice of our day really freaked me out. And then, this small yet profound voice in my heart said, "Monica, I am always listening, and you never seem incredibly bothered by that." And that really gave me pause. Wow. God is always listening. Night and day. Whether I'm happy or angry. Rational or crazy. Kind or cross. He listens, He hears. And he judges. I'm living my salvation, not just in the big things, but in the mundane everyday activities. Our omnipotent, all-seeing, all-hearing God knows the smallest details of my day-to-day life. He hears my words, my tone of voice, everything. And I seldom give it a second thought. And I should, because what God thinks of me matters a whole lot more than what my father-in-law thinks (no offense to him, of course). So even though I'm still a bit ruffled over the whole event, it really spoke to me. Now hopefully I can remember the lesson...

Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24
Lord, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My travels and my rest you mark;
with all my ways you are familiar.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
Lord, you know it all.
Behind and before you encircle me
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is beyond me,
far too lofty for me to reach.

Where can I hide from your spirit?
From your presence, where can I flee?
If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;
if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too.
If I fly with the wings of dawn
and alight beyond the sea,
Even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light" --
Darkness is not dark for you,
and night shines as day.
Darkness and light are but one.

Probe me, God, know my heart;
try me, know my concerns.
See if my way is crooked,
then lead me in the ancient paths.