A Primer on Lectio Divina

Knowing God. The path to God is not primarily through the intellect, though the intellect certainly informs the search. Nor is emotion the main path, though without a sense of awe and gratitude, who would endure? The path to God is through faith, and faith is certainty. Faith in God requires the certainty that eternal matters such as truth, justice, and goodness are the organizing principles of the universe. Faith cannot be built on irrational belief, but relies on experience of these eternal things.

 

The role of lectio divina in Christian life. There are many forms of Christian seeking, including self-denial (cf. encratism and pietism), the ladder of perfection (the ladder is study, dulcor and, highest, contemplation), apophatic meditation (e.g., the cloud of unknowing), social action and lectio divina. All have ancient roots, but lectio divina is perhaps the oldest, dating back to Isidore and Bede (ca. 600 AD). It became common in monasteries in the Middle Ages and is widely used nowadays, especially among monastic orders.

 

What is lectio divina? There are many variations on the practice of lectio divina, but they all rely on reading a passage of scripture and attempting to attain a deeper understanding through meditation and contemplation. One useful structure for lectio divina is as follows:

 

·          Make the reading of scripture truly holy

·          Understand the scripture through intellectual study

·          Empty yourself, through humility and thanksgiving, to discover a deeper teaching

·          Express that deeper teaching in words, bringing forth a new treasure.

Why lectio divina? There are reasons to prefer lectio divina as a form of study, particularly because it is based in scriptural study, and is therefore not susceptible to the abuses that have characterized encratism and pietism. However, intellect is not the path to God. Therefore, if lectio stops in intellectual study, the faith it generates has no root. Some element of seeking after eternity is necessary. Apophatic (Eastern-style, emptying of the mind) meditation is helpful in amplifying the benefits of lectio divina.

 

This is not to disparage or exclude other forms of seeking. A full spiritual life includes many forms of seeking, including prayer, hymnody, the liturgy, membership in a congregation, social action and so on.

 

Adapted from www.lectiodivinae.com.

Fasting: A Pillar of Lent

This is the third in a series of articles on the Pillars of Lent.

After discussing prayer and almsgiving as two of the pillars of Lent, we now take a look on fasting, another pillar of Lent.  This particular pillar of Lenten observance is said to be one of the most ancient practices linked to Lent, even predating Lent.  The early Church fasted intensely for two days before the celebration of the Easter Vigil.  Vatican II called us to renew the observance of the ancient paschal fast: “…let the paschal fast be kept sacred. Let it be celebrated everywhere on Good Friday and, where possible, prolonged throughout Holy Saturday, so that the joys of the Sunday of the Resurrection may be attained with uplifted and clear mind” (Liturgy, # 110).

Fasting is more than a means of developing self-control.  It is often an aid to prayer, as the pangs of hunger remind us of our hunger for God.  The first reading on the Friday after Ash Wednesday points out another important dimension of fasting.  The prophet Isaiah insists that fasting without changing our behavior is not pleasing to God.  “This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own” (Is 58:6-7).

Fasting should be linked to our concern for those who are forced to fast by their poverty, those who suffer from the injustices of our economic and political structures, those who are in need for any reason.  Fasting can help us realize the suffering that so many people in our world experience every day, and it should lead us to greater efforts to alleviate that suffering.

Abstaining from meat traditionally also linked us to the poor, who could seldom afford meat for their meals.  It can do the same today if we remember the purpose of abstinence and embrace it as a spiritual link to those whose diets are sparse and simple.  That should be the goal we set for ourselves—a sparse and simple meal.  Avoiding meat while eating lobster misses the whole point!

Adapted from www.americancatholic.org

Almsgiving: A Lenten Obligation

By:  Charles Edric T. Co

This is the second in a series of three articles on the Pillars of Lent.

“Christ made Himself poor for you.”  (2 Cor. 8:9)

During the Lenten season, the Church encourages the faithful to engage in the process of interior renewal through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.  Almsgiving, in particular, has been unequivocally and frequently considered necessary not only during Lent but throughout the year by the Fathers of the Church.

Although defined as any material favour done to assist the needy and prompted by charity, almsgiving implies much more than transmission of some temporal commodity to the indigent.  It is this practice of almsgiving which represents a specific way to assist those in need and, at the same time, an exercise in self-denial to free us from attachment to worldly goods.  Apart from this, special collections in favour of the poor especially during Lent also allows for a gesture of ecclesial communion, mirroring what already took place in the early Church.

The Gospel highlights a typical feature of Christian almsgiving:  it must be hidden:  “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your alms may be done in secret” (Mt. 6:3-4).  Hence, everything must be done for God’s glory, and every gesture of help to our neighbour must not be used as a means to make ourselves the center of attention.

The Scriptures also give us a more profound understanding of almsgiving and teach us that there is more joy in giving than in receiving.  Perhaps it is because of this that the widow cast into the Temple treasury all she had to live on in the famous Widow’s Mite Story.  The positioning of the Gospel story in the days that immediately precede Jesus’ passion and death, foreshadows what Jesus did—made Himself poor to enrich us out of His poverty.

This Lenten season, may we be inspired by the example of Jesus giving His entire self for us to reach out to the poor and the needy through almsgiving.

References: 
www.vatican.va       
www.newadvent.org

Prayer as Praxis

By:  Lester C. Yee

On this first Sunday of Lent, we begin a series of three articles on the Pillars of Lent with this installation on prayer as one of them.

During the Lenten season, one is asked to prepare oneself for the Easter season, when Christ vanquishes death and sin. This is usually done through prayer. In fact, prayer is considered as one of the pillars of Lent.

 

However, prayer is often misunderstood as a private affair with oneself and God. The common image of prayer is of a child kneeling beside his bed, hands clasped and eyes closed. Although this image has its strengths, thinking that this is the only sort of prayer is reductionism.

 

An adult kneeling beside his bed with hands clasped in an air-conditioned room may actually be deaf and blind to the realities of the world outside. It is within this context that the common image of prayer is challenged. The common image of prayer assumes a relationship of intimacy between God and an individual that it might tend to shut out the others.

 

Note that this article is not saying that there is no intimate relationship between God and an individual. This article is shattering the myth that it is this intimacy alone that man needs. As Christ says, prayer without action is dead. In fact, I go on to claim that true intimacy with Christ cannot be achieved through the traditional image of prayer alone.

 

A genuine and intimate relationship with Christ involves others. Religion and revelation are done in the context of a community. Thus, as one prays, one not only prays and talks to the Divine Being but one works so as that Divine Being’s light can shatter the darkness of sin and death,  making others realize the true joy of Easter.

 

Genuine prayer involves action.

Christian Vocations and States of Life

“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”  (Lv. 19:2)

To become holy seems to be a difficult goal and only for those who wish to remain apart from the life and culture of our time.  Nevertheless, the gift of the Spirit makes this command possible.  Hence, to become holy is a gift and a task, rooted in Baptism and Confirmation and entrusted to everyone in the Church in every age.  It is a gift and a duty of lay people as well as religious and sacred ministers, in the private realm as in public affairs, and in the life of individuals as in that of families and communities.

Within this common vocation that calls everyone to be conformed to God’s will, there are different states of life and numerous vocations and missions.  Still, the gift of the Spirit is the basis of everyone’s vocation.  After all, it is the root of all vocations:  (1) the vocation of consecrated ministries of the bishop, priest and deacon who are at the service of ecclesiastical life, (2) the vocation of special consecration of those who are in the state of single blessedness, configured to Christ, chaste, poor and obedient, without entering the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Church, and (3) the vocation of married life, the mission for parents who are called to make the family the first and fundamental expression of the Church.

These states of life are means by which we respond to the universal call to holiness.  Since, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7), it is indispensable for each one to seek and to recognize day after day the long path on which the Lord is leading him to his personal encounter with him.  This could be done most effectively with the help of a spiritual director who will listen and guide the person and who will be close to him in difficult choices and in moments of joy.

 

Reference:  www.vatican.va

Ignatius: A Leader Twice Born

By:  Lester C. Yee

St. Ignatius of Loyola was born to a minor noble family in a Tiny Basque village. The teenage Ignatius served as a page to the chief treasurer of the Royal Court which served as his apprenticeship for a military and courtly career. Ignatius was even arrested once for misdemeanors that the local magistrate called outrageous. His military career ended when a cannon ball shattered his leg while he was leading the defense of a Spanish garrison in Pamplona against the French.

Ignatius however refused to surrender his military and courtly aspirations.  As Chris Lowney in his book Heroic Leadership puts it, “one imagines a self-taught ‘surgeon’ gamely hacking away at the offending tibia with the sharpest available local excuse for a saw, and it’s safe to assume that there was no anesthesiologist at hand”.

While recuperating from his surgery and injuries, Ignatius wanted to read chivalrous stories about knights but the only books in the castle then were about Jesus and the saints. These stories challenged Ignatius to imitate and beat the heroic deprivation of the saints. Thus, Ignatius began his journey alone into Jerusalem, begging for alms along the way. “A profound and permanent religious conversion during his sickness gave Ignatius a spiritual destination, but translating that goal into mature, sensible engagement in the everyday world proved a long, drawn-out and torturous process.

And at last, at forty years old, St. Ignatius studied Basic Latin grammar with a class of pre-teen boys. This would be the beginning of the path of Ignatius’ lifelong calling.

In the years that followed, St. Ignatius would form the Society of Jesus, which was first composed of St. Francis Xavier, Blessed Peter Faber and other companions Ignatius met while he was studying in the University of Paris. The Society of Jesus counts among its members saints like Robert Cardinal Bellarmine, Stanislaus Kostka, Aloysius Gonzaga, John Berchmanns, some of the 120 Chinese martyrs, and some of the Japanese martyr-saints.

The Jesuits (members of the Society of Jesus) would also be responsible in establishing and running the best schools in the world, among them Fordham University in the United States and our very own Ateneo de Manila University.

Summa Theologica: A Summary of Christian Philosophy

By:  Charles Edric T. Co

St. Thomas Aquinas, a great doctor of the Church, is known most for his work, Summa Theologica, which is considered to be a complete scientifically-arranged exposition of theology which is also a summary of Christian philosophy.  He explains in the prologue that this was written in response to the difficulties experienced by students of sacred doctrine in his day due to the multiplication of useless questions, articles and arguments, the lack of scientific order, and frequent repetitions which cause confusion and disgust in the minds of the learners.

With this in mind, he wrote the Summa which contains 38 treatises and 612 questions subdivided into 3120 articles in which 10,000 objections are proposed and answered.  The whole Summa is arranged on a uniform plan in such a way that every subject is introduced as a question and divided into articles each of which has a uniform disposition of parts.

The Summa is divided into three major parts.  The first part is divided into three tracts:  (1) on those things which pertain to the essence of God, (2) on the mystery of the Trinity, and (3) on the creatures produced by God and the production thereof.  The second part concerns itself with morality and is sometimes called “Moral Theology of St. Thomas” or the author’s treatise on the end of man and on human acts.

The third part, on the other hand, deals with Christ and the benefits He conferred on man; this is divided into three tracts:  (1) on the Incarnaction and on what the Savior did and suffered;  (2) on the sacraments instituted by Christ which have their efficacy from His merits and sufferings; and (3) on eternal life which includes the end of the world, the resurrection of bodies, judgement, the punishment of the wicked, and the happiness of the just who, through Christ, attain eternal life in heaven.

To summarize, the Summa begins with a discussion of God, followed by that on the rational creatures’ advance towards God, followed by a discussion of Christ by Whom we tend to God.

Reference:   
www.newadvent.org

Lessons from a Sinner

by:  Charles Edric T. Co

Perhaps many have heard of Mary Magdalene.  Apart from the controversies associated with her in the Da Vinci Code,  her stories in the Bible have caused a dissension among different Christian denominations on whether the persons referred to in the Gospel are one and the same, or many and different.  While the Greek Fathers, in general, believe that there are three persons, Roman Catholics generally believe that these were one and the same Mary Magdalene.

St. Luke lists her among the women who followed Jesus after being healed of evil spirits and infirmities explaining that seven demons had gone out from her (cf. Lk. 8:2).  She is then mentioned in an episode of Jesus’ visit to Bethany, to the home of Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus.  She is depicted as the one who sits peacefully at the feet of Jesus listening to Him as Martha busies herself with her preparations.  When Martha complained to Jesus that her sister does not help her, He responds, “Mary has chosen the better part and it should not be taken away from her” (Lk. 10:42), reminding us of the primacy of the spiritual life, of the need to be nourished with the Word of God.

She would then be present beneath the Cross with the Mother of Jesus and other women, and eventually would become the one to discover the empty tomb beside which she stood weeping until the Risen Jesus appeared to her (cf. Jn. 20:11).

Her story reminds us all of the fundamental truth, as Pope Benedict XVI stated, “a disciple of Christ is one who, in the experience of human weakness, has had the humility to ask for his help, has been healed by him and has set out following closely after him, becoming a witness of the power of his merciful love that is stronger than sin and death.”  In this regard, the late Pope John Paul II highlighted the importance of meeting Christ personally for it is He who understands the human heart.

References:  
www.newadvent.org          
www.vatican.va

Why was Jesus Baptized by John the Baptist?

Hi C153!  I have a question:  Why did Jesus have himself baptized by John the Baptist? – Anonymous

This is a very timely question as we celebrate today the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord.  Let’s look at what recent popes have to say:

John Paul II (April 1, 1998)           
At first sight this is a surprising episode, because John’s baptism was a baptism of “repentance” which prepared man to receive the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus knew well that he had no need of that baptism, since he was completely innocent.  In submitting to John’s baptism, Jesus did not receive it for his own purification but as a sign of redemptive solidarity with sinners.  His baptismal act contains a redemptive intention.  Later he would call his passion a “baptism”, describing it as a kind of immersion in suffering redemptively accepted for the salvation of all: “I have a baptism to receive. What anguish I feel until it is over!” (Lk 12:50).

John Paul II (January 12, 1997)   
The Gospel according to Mark, like the other synoptics, recounts Jesus’ Baptism in the River Jordan.  The liturgy of Epiphany recalls this event in a triptych that includes the adoration of the Magi from the East and the wedding at Cana.  Each of these three moments is a particular revelation of his divine sonship.

Benedict XVI (January 13, 2008)
This was his first public manifestation after approximately 30 years of hidden life at Nazareth.  It is both a christophany and a theophany:  first of all, Jesus manifests himself as the Christ or Messiah, which means “anointed”.  At the same time, together with the Son appeared signs of the Holy Spirit and the heavenly Father.     
What is the meaning of this act that Jesus wishes to fulfil—overcoming the Baptist’s resistance—in order to obey the Father’s will (cf. Mt 3: 14-15)?  Being baptized together with sinners, Jesus began to take upon himself the weight of all of humanity’s sin, like the Lamb of God who “takes away” the sin of the world (cf. Jn 1: 29).  By dying he is “immersed” in the Father’s love and the Holy Spirit comes forth, so that those who believe in him could be reborn by that inexhaustible font of new and eternal life.

Incarnation 101

by:  Paul Christopher Y. Cheng

After the hearty handaan and noche buena, the simbang gabi and the puto bumbong, we now exclaim, “Jesus is born; Christmas is here!” Amidst the festivities however, we have a tendency to take Christmas as a simple fact, a fact that can easily be taken for granted. Tell me: how often have you asked yourself, “Why did God become man? Why is there a need for Christmas?” Perhaps you might not have asked this question at all.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (456-460) gives us four reasons for the incarnation:

1.      The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God.

How does Jesus reconcile us with God? As the God-man, Jesus mediates for us, i.e. he serves as our bridge, so that we might be able to participate in God’s life again. “The Word, as God, is equal to the Father, and therefore cannot be mediator, but he can be mediator insofar as he is man (i.e. has a human nature), for this allows him to suffer and atone for our sins” ¹.

2.      The Word became flesh so that we might know God’s love.

Before Jesus became man, God’s love and mercy were known only through signs: the Law, the pillar of fire, the miracles of the prophets. Jesus put a face to God’s love. God now isn’t only a vague concept; he is a living person, the person of Jesus.

3.      The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness.

The work of redemption does not end with the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. Since we have to work out our own salvation, we need to have a guide whom we can imitate and follow. Jesus is that role model because he says, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

4.      The Word became flesh to make us “partakers of the divine nature”.

By becoming our brother, Jesus makes us children of God. We share in the divine life not only through sanctifying grace, but also in the inheritance promised to God’s children: life eternal. St. Athanasius’ words prove true, “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.”

Let us consider these insights and give thanks to the Father for sending us his Son.

Merry Christmas to all!

Sources:
¹ Faith Seeking Understanding vol. 1, Charles Belmonte ed. 
Catechism of the Catholic Church

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