Lectio Time

I'm having difficulty taking the time to actually study the commentary this week. The best I've been able to do most days is have a sub-vocal "Jesus Prayer" going through my mind, and to occasionally think of the vine and the branches. The connection between this little branch and the vine could be much stronger.

I want to feel the life-blood flowing through my veins! I want to feel the energy of the vine bursting through my shyness and reserve, reaching out in love for each person I encounter. My soul longs to experience the sense of being loved so completely that I am aware of the Presence overflowing within me and through me. May it be so!

Voices of Lectio

S. Meg taught us the four 'voices' of Lectio, which she identified as the literal, the symbolic, the moral and the mystical. She said that in the literal voice we are working to understand what the revelatory text says.

A revelatory text can be a part of scripture, something in nature or an experience in one's life. God is present in each moment, and reveals Godself in scripture, nature and in our lives. One of the first decisions to make in practicing Lectio is to choose a revelatory text. And, that choice is made with discernment. Our instructions were to make the choice of revelatory text using the same pattern of discernment we had used to decide whether to keep silence during the School.

I had arrived at the School with two texts in mind, but had as yet chosen neither. In reading through each text and the surrounding scriptures, I focused on the issue of "what is my question here?" It seemed to me that my purpose was and is to learn what it is to be 'in Christ' and to grow 'in Christ' and to be increasingly 'Christed.' With that in mind, it was clear that the text I would choose would be the 15th, 16th and 17th chapters of the Gospel of John. 

We were instructed to first focus on the literal voice of our chosen text. What that has meant for me so far is to read the entire Gospel of John several times, and chapters 15-17 more frequently. I often think of and try to recall how the first few verses read and what they mean. 

1. I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. 2. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit. 3. You are already made clean by the word that I have spoken to you. 4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5a. I am the vine, you are the branches.  (translation is the Revised Standard Version, The Gospel of John, by Francis J. Moloney, a commentary in the Sacra Pagina Series.)

Because it is important to know how the revelatory text fits within the whole book, I have been reading the commentary named above to understand more of the context and a better understanding of how the narrative is constructed. Yet, I keep slipping into the other voices as well. The symbolism of the vine and branches is so very present. I find myself praying to be a fruitful branch securely attached to the vine.

At the School of Lectio Divina

Once at the School of Lectio Divina, I was deeply impressed with the organization of the School, the quality of the faculty, including the companions with whom we would meet several times during the School, and the amount of quiet time we would have.

One of the first intriguing issues that arose was the issue of whether or not to keep silence outside of the actual teaching times. S. Meg Funk led us through a discernment process to find what was the will of the Holy Spirit about keeping silence or being free to talk and discuss between the teaching sessions. One of the aspects of discernment that I appreciated was the practice of looking for a confirming sign for any provisional decision. If there would be no confirming sign, the (an) other alternative would be explored and then a confirming sign sought for that also.

This issue of keeping silence was important, at least in part because this was the first School of Lectio Divina offered in this way and open to both monastic and lay participants. This decision would create a pattern that would in all likelihood be followed in subsequent Schools.  We decided to keep silence, which we did until the evening before the last day and our leave-taking.

Lectio Divina

For almost a year, I've been exploring more in the areas of spiritual direction, centering prayer and lectio divina. In the summer of 2009 I attended a five-day intensive retreat for Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina at the Benedictine Center of St. Paul's Monastery in St. Paul, Minnesota. The leader of that retreat, Sr. Virginia Matter, provided clear instruction, a calm spirit and modeled a contemplative approach. After five days in Silence, with much time to focus, two periods of Centering Prayer a day, and several opportunities to practice Lectio, I was hooked.  However, until recently, I have not managed to sustain what I would consider a solid practice of Lectio in my daily life. From that retreat in 2009 to the summer of 2010, my practice of Lectio was infrequent and unfocused.

Early this summer, I learned that St. Paul's Monastery might be holding a School of Lectio Divina. An email exchange with the then Associate Director (now Director) confirmed that this was a serious possibility and that I would receive information about it if it came to fruition. Later, another email provided me with information needed to make an application to attend the School, which would be held from September 14-19, and would be taught by Sr. Mary Margaret (Meg) Funk. Needless to say, I applied. It was clear to me that this was something important to me in my life, and that I would require much more training and practice, as well as some more guidance to incorporate Lectio as part of my everyday life. By the beginning of August, I learned that I had been accepted. After ordering Meg Funk's books, I began to read in preparation for being able to absorb everything I could at the School.