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The third dimension of Lectio Divina is an
encounter. The dynamic voice of the text meets the moral senses of
the reader. The Word pierces the heart. As he was walking along,
he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said
to him. ‘Follow me’. And he got up and followed him. (Mark 2:13).
It seems to me this is what is meant by the technical term of
inspiration. The Holy Spirit puts energy into the word of the
text. This dynamic motion inspires the reader with the compatible
grace to heed the word, to act upon it to respond according to the
measure given. The prayers happen to each and all of us when we
“read” the text.
There are several parts to the moral senses that quicken the
hearer. These are also called ascetic (training) because there is
work to be done, strenuous effort to remove the obstacles that
prevent us from acting upon the Word. This effort, sometimes known
as the purgative way, is to strive and do the necessary work to
follow the way of Christ Jesus and renounce all that pulls us in
another direction, be it our self or other goods that are not God,
and certainly to resist evil. On the other side of the afflictions
is Purity of Heart. One who reads the revelatory text (Scripture,
Nature or Experience) with Purity of Heart sees God!
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The ascetical work is a lifetime of conversion
over and over again. We enter into the mercy of God with a
disposition of willingness to repent and start over. We embrace a
way of life that keeps our desires oriented toward God and God’s
way.
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The classic afflictions that I’ve outlined from
the teachings of John Cassian in the book, Thoughts Matter,
teaches the eight thoughts that when acted upon become patterns
that become either toward God or away from our best self and God:
food, sex, things, anger, dejection, acedia, vainglory and pride.
These thoughts can be caught upon noticing them and replaced with
ceaseless prayer.
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The options to deal with the afflictions are
these:
Prayer, as in oratio, belongs to this third
dimension and there are many ways of prayer and the Holy Spirit
teaches us how to pray, as we ought. There seems to be a unique
imprint in the individual and collective soul to determine the
ways of prayer. For us Benedictine monastic we do lectio divina,
divine office and Eucharist on a daily basis. Most Christians have
Eucharistic liturgy on Sunday and some form of daily prayer.
o It is good for the individual to have a default prayer practice.
These practices I have outlined in Tools Matter. Only one is
necessary, but there are many: The Jesus Prayer, Practice of the
Presence, The Little Way, Colloquy, Recollection, Self-Abandonment
to the Present Moment, Emptiness Practice, to name a few.
o Watchfulness, notice, anticipate, keep vigil. Guard your heart
and watch your thoughts so that easy entry of afflictive thoughts
is prevented from coming into the mind.
o Replace the thought immediately with ceaseless prayer. To this
end cultivate the Jesus Prayer or another mantra of prayer that
abides and can rise to consciousness instead of the chain of
thinking that gives energy to the afflictive thought.
o Replace the afflictive thought with concentration on a good
work, an apostolic action of selfless service. Good works proclaim
love and extend the reign of God. When the mind comes to that
point of love with no thought of self the affliction has no place
to dwell, only God lives.
The reader has two authentic doors to comprehend the revelatory
text: The one is to study and intellectually grasp the burden of
the text. The other is to purify one’s heart, as in purity of
heart, and then see the text without barriers of one’s own
patterns and faults. Taken together in the practice of lectio
divina there is a bias for purity of heart over more research. It
is the Christian way to do the word rather than simply observe it
as a text in an intellectual distance. Lectio Divina is certainly
supporting the study phase, but only as a preliminary step to the
encounter with God. The Sabbath is an experience.
