Lectio Divina Template 119

 "My praise shall be always of you."

We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.

Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.

CONTEMPLATIVE / SILENT PRAYER

Our Centering Prayer sit is 20 - 30 minutes sounded by the chime/chant.  At the end of the Prayer sit, we will linger in silence a few minutes, then follow by praying together the Our Father.

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LECTIO DIVINA: Listening to the Word of God with the ears of our heart [See Chopping Wood (or Carrots) Under the Gaze of God for a discussion of Lectio Divina]. 

First reading & silent reflection:  Reflect in silence.

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LECTIO: from Psalm 71: 1-6

1 In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; 

            let me never be ashamed.

2 In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; 

            incline your ear to me and save me.

3 Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; 

            you are my crag and my stronghold.

4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, 

            from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.

5 For you are my hope, O Lord God, 

            my confidence since I was young.

6 I have been sustained by you ever since I was born;

  from my mother’s womb you have been my strength; 

               my praise shall be always of you.

Second reading & reflection: What word or phrase catches your attention? Share or pass.

Third reading & reflection:  How does this word or phrase touch your life? Share or pass.

Fourth and last reading & silent reflection:  How is God inviting you to grow?  We will reflect in silence for a few moments before we move from Lectio Prayer to the teaching by Father Keating.

Teaching: 

When you say God, you don’t really mean God, you mean your idea of God. Or to put it another way, you mean God as not God. I say that because whatever we say about God is more unlike who God is than saying nothing. . . .All that words do . . . is point in the direction of the mystery of the super-meaning of God…We must be prepared to expand our idea of God. . . . It challenges our whole perception of reality. And let’s face it, the reality that we see is for the birds. It doesn’t exist. The way we see life is the tissue of our genetic, educational, cultural, religious and whatever else conditioning. So we’re often seeing what we want to see and nothing else. God has to fit into the little universe that we’ve built for ourselves growing up–which I call the false self–and which basically has I at the center of the universe. 

~Thomas Keating, Who Is God?

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We now take some time to share our thoughts and reflections on our own spiritual journey and our prayer practice.  Followed by brief prayers of intercession. Share or pass.

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Go in the name of Christ Jesus to love and serve the Lord.  Thanks be to God!

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[This is an adapted format courtesy of Martha Johnston, Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington, DC]