To Sing This Day For God

Having begun my day in conversation with God, I remain in communion with Him wherever I go.  I can be a "portable monastery" - for what IS a monastery, after all, if not a place where God is loved and served and praised?

And so I go forward, into the swirl of life around me.  I go in gratitude, singing silent songs wherever the day may take me.  I carry along the fruits of lectio.

Within my heart, the hymn of praise goes on and on and on.

I am a walking monastery.  A dancing monastery.  A refuge of love for my Lord.

"David, girt with a linen apron, came dancing before the Lord with abandon, as he and all the Israelites were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the sound of the horn." (2 Samuel 6:14-15)











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To Live this Day for God

"To You I pray, O Lord; at dawn You hear my voice.."  (Psalm 5:3)

I know how to do this.  I have learned the basic steps of lectio, of back and forth conversation with God.

And so, if I haven't already:  today I begin.  I may feel dry as dust as I do so, but I make a start.  I take up a bit of scripture, and I read.  I ask God to help me hear what He's saying to my soul.  I read until something strikes me, then I let it sink in.  I realize that God Himself is with me, is really and truly with me.  This is not a game I'm playing, it isn't an empty exercise, it's not a task to be gotten out of the way.  I am in conversation with Almighty God.

I let the words touch me.  I let the Word Himself (John 1:1) speak to my heart.  I talk with Him about whatever I wish.  If I should feel a gentle "touch" from Him (a feeling of being loved, perhaps), I savor it.  I thank Him for it.  If I don't, I thank Him anyway.  I ask Him to help me become more pleasing to Him this day.  I ask to be directed in His paths. 

I shall now go forward, to live this day for God.    

"My soul waits for the Lord, more than sentinels wait for the dawn."  (Psalm 130:6) 

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

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Until the Day Dawns

"Learn to fix the eye of faith on the divine word of the Holy Scriptures as on 'a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the day-star arises in our hearts' " (St. Augustine)

The Way into His Harbor

"Just as at sea, those who are carried away from the direction of the harbor bring themselves back on course by a clear sign; so Scripture guides those adrift on the sea of life back into the harbor of the divine will."  (St. Gregory of Nyssa)

We now know, hopefully, what Lectio Divina is, "how to do it," and what it can mean in our everyday lives.

Now I propose the idea of going through every one of our days, here in the real world where we live, with scripture applied to everything we do.  Servings of scripture for breakfast, dinner, and supper!   Scripture weaving through our work and influencing our recreation!  Scripture comforting our fears and influencing our decisions and lulling us to sleep.....

Such a day would surely be one lived "through the grille."

I, for one, would love to learn to live my days in just this way.  Conversing with God in the silence of my heart, as He brings specific words and verses to my mind.  "In the sacred books," wrote Pope Leo XIII, "the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet His children and talks with them."

"I find myself now practicing Lectio with every Word of Scripture that I read," said our friend Anita recently. "When I prayed 'morning prayer' this morning, I read it so differently than usual - hanging on every word, every image that the divine writer conveyed - I realized I was 'squeezing out the juice.'  Oh my goodness! ...this is GRACE.  I find myself now longing to read scripture, waiting to 'Hear' what He wants me to know...."

I pray that we will each have the gift of longing to read scripture, leaning in close to hear what He wants us to know....

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Strength for Everything

As those of you in the path of "Sandy" have prepared and watched and waited and endured, others of us have hunkered down in prayer.  I pray that you who are dealing directly with this trial will know very clearly that Jesus is at your side.

"We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his decree." (Romans 8:28) 

“I am the light of the world.  No follower of mine shall ever walk in darkness; no, he shall possess the light of life.” (John 8:12)

"In Him who is the source of my strength I have strength for everything."  (Philippians 4:13)

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.  When you pass through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers, you shall not drown.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, the flames will not consume you.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."  (Isaiah 43:1-3)

Conversation is welcome in the Parlor