From the Parlor

I hope the most recent Parlor commenters won't mind that I've brought a few of their remarks to this space today (you can see the originals, plus who wrote these, at The Parlor).  After all:  just look at what we've been missing...

"I can so relate to your Back to Basics post. My own grille gets lost in the pile of distractions, especially the ones that come from fatigue. My grille seems to not so much come apart, but gets covered up by those distractions. My worst is TV. I need to go back to my Lenten practice of fasting from it!  As for beating myself up, I have done my share as well. While I certainly can pray more often, harder and better, the devil is the one who likes us to beat ourselves up over our weaknesses. He too is a distraction of sorts. I think too there is the danger of feeling like we are each alone in this battle of distractions. We forget that all of us, even the saints when they walked this earth, battled them. So thank you for this post that reminds us that we all share in this and that if we strive to do our best it is enough. And when we fall short of our best, we can always begin again. The grille is always able to be cleaned up and repaired if need be."

"I can't tell you how I much I struggle with every single thing you said in Back to Basics. Oh, how it helps to know I'm not alone in this battle of distractions ...Over and over I thank St Benedict who teaches we're always beginners. It's me that's not OK with it all when the balance comes undone. I so badly just want to stay focused. Is this where we embrace our humanity and offer our failings to the Lord ?"

"I'm struggling too. I have several apps on my iPad -- Rosary, Divine Office, Magnificat but I can never get around to using them. I don't know why. I have a Rosary CD in the car to listen to on the way to work, I start out good then I get distracted and never turn it back on. I can't seem to find and sustain a daily prayer routine. I'm so glad I'm not the only one."

"God has given us a gift in one another, I'm convinced. I will be praying for everyone here as I go now into the evening.  I, too, have so many things that I don't get around to using.  It seems that a key word with every one of us is distraction, distraction, distraction!!  Thanks be to God that we all know we're not alone. May He polish up our grilles."

"We all can wrap our hands around each and every word you have written, I think. Or maybe I should just speak for my self.  Day to day life is challenging, isn't it? And then add in the host of un-expecteds that come barreling at us (this is real life, right?!) and POOF! Before you know it carefully planned and scheduled prayer and devotion times are up in smoke. For they can be among the first to go, right? Again, speaking for myself."

"Very, very familiar.  But let me share what I have learned. By laying the foundation of strong prayer and devotion in the quieter times, I've been able to better handle the demands of the busier times, when even the best laid plans seem to fall to pieces! I'm able to slip behind that grille a little more easily, in the car, in the company of many, in line at the store, as demands of home and life collide, when I need to most."

"This morning was the first time in weeks that I was able to sit quietly for morning devotions. With no one on my lap. Without nagging thoughts of that neglected blog, or the piles of unfinished projects. A shop needing to be restocked. Concerns about grands, an ailing spouse. Dishes needing to be done, laundry folded. Blogs unread. Even the pups slept in, granting me a bit of reprieve from their immediate needs. It wasn't the morning devotion I had thought it would be, burrowed in Scripture (which I love) but rather a quiet time of meditation and reflection. Right where I needed to be. Right where I believe He needed me to be. And in my heart, I know that sometimes 'the best I can do' is okay, too. The mental prayer throughout the day, the quick ducks behind the grille, regrouping, a chance to focus on God's will for me. At that moment. "

"I gather strength knowing others have the same struggles and that we are able to encourage each other on. Such strength in numbers and the power of prayer. Wishing each of you a grace-filled weekend and peace in your hearts."

Painting:  William Adolphe Bouguereau, The Nut Gatherers (1882)

Gathering Fruits of Lectio

It is hard to put our Lectio into words.  God speaks to us in Scripture, we speak to Him in prayer, and these back and forth encounters weave into and through our everyday lives.

"I must admit," wrote one of you this morning "that when I first heard about Lectio Divina, I was intimidated thinking that it was a practice that only a few could master along with the great saints.  But as I am learning more and more everyday, it can be very simple and maybe even something that I have been doing all along and was unaware.  Maybe it can be as easy as sitting in a favorite chair in peace and silence and feeling the love of God envelop me.. feeling His greatness and my smallness and dependence.  I think this is something that we can all master..."

"We are not always going to have an experience," said someone else; " i.e. the scriptures will not always speak to us at that specific moment... it may even be quite dry. We may find that nothing struck us but a few days later, that particular verse will come to mind. There are times when I read a verse and it does strike me, but I don't have any particular words to say so I will sit quietly in God's Presence.  It will be different for each unique soul."

Others had the following things to say:

"Scripture not just contained in prayer time, but weaving throughout the circumstances of our whole day..."

"Monastic life seems to be simply life itself, lived more intentionally, lived symbolically... it confirms that what has been in my own heart is something real, something that can harmonize with my vocation to married life and motherhood."

"For various reasons (some known to me, some unknown), opening the Sacred Scriptures is a challenge for me...  I do love the Bible and there was a time in my life when my relationship with the written word of God was strong and healthy. This gives me hope for what is to come though I also know that things will necessarily be different now than they were in the past. A renewal of active love for Sacred Scripture seems to be the resolution God is leading me to for the Year of Faith."

"He puts in front of us what we need...whether those words speak to our hearts at the time, later in the day or maybe even a few days later."

"I am happy to learn that I have maybe been practicing lectio on some level, as I have begun my morning with scripture and prayer for many years. In a very loosey-goosey unguided kind of way. But I like the suggestion to re-read scripture several times, pray and reread, and will begin tomorrow."

"My prayer life has been unfolding ten-fold. It's been a quiet, gentle process and feels very natural. I have begun following the Divine Office online with morning prayers and night prayers. I love to listen along to the podcast (especially the night prayers.) It gives me a sense of community, joining the universal church in prayer, while still having that private prayer time I crave."

"I often will find myself drawn to one word or phrase that then becomes my prayer for one day or more. As long as I feel moved to pray it, I do that.  Often that prayer and the need for that prayer is made known, sometimes not. But it is kind of a way of ‘praying without ceasing.’"

"The prayer weaves in and out of my days... "

"Your suggestion of writing down or journaling what we hear in Scripture on a given day is an excellent one.  Our techy gadgets can keep us grounded in Scripture too.  Yesterday as I was praying one of the Offices for the day, a verse from one of the Psalms struck me.  I put it into the Memo feature on my phone and returned to it throughout the day.  It helped to keep that grille work in place!"

"Rosalind Moss once referred to Scripture as God's love letter to us."

"Today's gospel was a huge smack in the head, a good one. It made me realize that even though I stop giving chase to Him (neglecting my prayer life), He never stops His."

© 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      

There is much more ahead on this topic, so I hope we can keep up prayer that God's will shall be done in it all....


To continue "A Day of Lectio," click this line   

Like No Other Parlor

As parlors go, it is certainly unique.  It's a little gathering room, now hammered into place and painted and outfitted, ready for you to come visit if you wish.

Having been glad to hear from some of you during our recent Visiting Day, I've now opened a special (sit down for this one...) "parlor blog."  Surely something unique in the blogosphere!!  I already had a hidden-away blog where I could go now and then to experiment with various "mechanical" aspects of things (a kind of blog tutorial).  So now that is open, with a little link to it on our sidebar here, so you can go leave a comment there should you wish.  I'm putting a link on this post as well.   

This way, the cloistered heart blog can remain a quiet spot.  But those who might want to say hello or leave a comment can pop over and do so now and then.  There is a click-on link, there in "the parlor," that will bring us right back here to this blog.

Unique?  SURE.

But I can't think about that right now.  I'm too busy pouring tea.

If you have a chance, come say hello at The Parlor.