Thursday – Lectio Divina
“The Lord gave me the scroll to eat and said, ‘Feed on this scroll which I am giving you and eat your fill.’ I ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey.” Ezekiel 3:2-3
Reading – Meditating – Praying – Living
In this method of ‘sacred reading’ we approach the scripture passage as we would a love letter. It is God’s word of love to us.
+ Take time to relax. Be aware that God loves you just as you are. And trust that, whatever your mood or feeling, it is okay to come as you are.
+ Ask for what you most desire. What do you want to ask God for? How would you like God to be for you? How do you want to relate to God?
+ Take time to read the passage. Try not to think about it or make judgements. Do not strive for meanings. Simply let its mood meet you, be with it, be open to what God might want to touch in you.
+ Take just a few words at a time, maybe only one word. Allow the words to wash over you, savour them.
+ Stay with the word or phrase which seems to hold your attention. Rock it and hold it deep within you. Relish it – rather like sucking a boiled sweet. Absorb it the way the thirsty earth receives the rain.
+ Be aware of any feelings that are evoked in you. There may be images, pictures from your own life experience, or simple stillness within the mystery. + If ‘distractions’ from everyday life come in, let them! Let the word of God enter into your everyday experience – your worries, anxieties, hopes and longings – and pray out of the mixture of your life experience and God’s word.
+ Read and re-read the passage, lovingly, as you would a letter from a dear friend or lover (constantly returning to those words and phrases which move you); or as you would softly sing the chorus of a love song.
+ At the end take a few minutes to be with Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit – as one good friend is with another. Take note of feelings, striking thoughts, images… Let a conversation develop.
+ Given how you were at the beginning of the reflection and what you asked for, how do you feel now? There is no place you should have arrived at – wherever your prayer has taken you is okay. Whatever has happened will reveal something to you of how God is at work in you, touching your own story. Do not be anxious, God will speak to you. Do not try to figure things out. Do not look for lessons or answers.
Let God pray in you!
Lectio Davina
Some scripture passages for prayer, well suited to being read slowly, relished, and savoured.
Psalms 8, 23, 46, 63, 91, 131, 136, 139, 145
Isaiah 43:1-7, 45:9-13, 49:14-16, 54:4-10, 55:1-11
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Ezekiel 36:22-26
Hosea 11:1-9
Zephaniah 3:14-18
John 15:1-17
Romans 5:1-11, 8:31-39
2 Corinthians 4:7-16 5:16-21
Ephesians 1:3-14, 2:1-10, 3:14-21
Philippians 2:1-11 3:7-16 4:8-13
Colossians 1:14-20