A LECTIO DIVINA FOR ALL SEASONS

I have morphed my approach to Lectio Divina over the years, growing deeper without noticing it. For example, the typical states of Lection I learned as a novice Lay Cistercian (and believe me I am still a Novice Lay Cistercian), were: a. lectio — reading a short passage from Scripture and then reading it over and over. b. meditatio — stopping to reflect on that reading. c. oratio – pray to the Holy Spirit for enlightenment. d. contemplatio — abandoning all thoughts and just waiting next to Christ on the couch in the inner sanctuary of my inner self.

Long ago (two or three years), I stopped trying to go through each stage of the Lectio steps meticulously. I still use them but have morphed them into the following:

1. LECTIO — I have had only one phrase for my Lectio Divina, one that leads to all others. I call that the Christ Principle, from which, by which, and in which all things are new. “Have in you the mind of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5). I chose this as my center in 1963. I still have it today, although with a lifetime of capacitas dei occsions.
2. I now wait for the Holy Spirit to guide me toward the topic of my meditation, using the residual from whatever I encounter during the day. I use techniques to help me convert myself to a deeper level (conversio morae) such as the Rule of Threes (dividing up my thought to focus first on the physical universe, then the mental universe, then the spiritual universe). It has taken me years to evolve a seamless Lectio Divina that fits my particular needs each day.
3. My prayer is always the same, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner, and also have mercy on those in Purgatory.” (Pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins.)
4. Having now the imprint of my meditation on my spirit, I sit and wait for the Holy Spirit to tell me what it means. There are no words or thoughts in this phase. I use the photo of a couch in my upper room to visualize sitting next to Jesus, having my eyes closed or lowered, I just try to wait, not for God to show up, for me me to be more present in the living presence of Christ.

Each Lay Cistercian, or disciple of the Master, must construct their own way to persevere with a consistent way each day.