chris erdman

This is an excerpt from Cyprian Consiglio’s excellent little book on prayer: Prayer in the Cave of the Heart: The Universal Call to Contemplation.  The book’s a primer on the historical center of Christian spirituality—drawing from resources from the Christian East and West, as well as illustrating parallels to other religious traditions enriching our prayer experience.

In this selection, Cyprian introduces holy reading, or lectio divina, as a particular practice of prayerful feeding of the thinking mind with holy things.

“When choosing the object of our meditation, pride of place is given to scripture.  In addition, though, there is a long tradition of other types of reading (of devotional or spiritual books or of poetry) and other types of experiences (listening to music, looking at art) that can serve the same purpose.  At times we read academically, to learn facts and figures, dates and names, or we listen to music or look at art critically, analytically.  Lectio divina, however, is totally different.  It is gentle, like reading a love letter, or hearing a loved one’s voice, or gazing on a loved one’s face.” (p. 96)

It is my habit to read a very small section of holy scripture each morning, in addition to the non-reflective reading of a psalm, and invite the Trinity to be the Host of this encounter.  I read and listen, waiting upon the voice of the Beloved.