Lectio Template 141

 "The Lord is my light and my salvation."

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 27 1; 5-13

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear? 
    the Lord is the strength of my life;
    of whom then shall I be afraid?

One thing have I asked of the Lord;
one thing I seek; 
    that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life;

To behold the fair beauty of the Lord 
    and to seek God in God’s temple.

For in the day of trouble God shall keep me safe in God’s shelter; 
    God shall hide me in the secrecy of God’s dwelling
    and set me high upon a rock.

Even now God lifts up my head 
    above my enemies round about me.

Therefore I will offer in God’s dwelling an oblation
with sounds of great gladness; 
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

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 or another contemplative guide.

Teaching: 

 As one enters into the desert [through contemplative practices] and orients the soul in love, one can see, in time, a glimmer of light shaping one’s life. This light is the entangled love of God. As we begin to see, we begin to love with a new heart and a new energy for a new world. …

One must be prepared to see the divine light, however, because no one who has ever seen God lives, except the one who is God.  And here we are in for a big surprise. For the God we seek is deeply entangled with our lives.  If we open the eyes of the heart to see what we love, and the heart is transformed by what it sees, then we will become what we love.  Love transforms because love unites. 

If we love God with all our heart by staying in the darkness of the desert until the light breaks through, then we will become God. This is the birth of Christ, as Francis of Assisi wrote: ‘We are mothers when we carry God in our heart and body through a divine love and a pure and sincere conscience and give birth to God through a holy activity which must shine as an example before others (“Letter to the Faithful”).

 

“ … [L]et us remember that Christ will come again when Christ is born in us.  We are, indeed, the body of Christ in evolution.”  

 ~Ilia Delio, “Thick Skins and Brilliant Light,” Nov 24, 2022 essay, Center for Christogenesis

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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]