Christian Meditation for Modern Times
Only four steps separate us from the Highest God and Father
“He dreamed: and, behold, a ladder was set on earth, the top of which reached to heaven; and, behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it;” Genesis 28:12
Four steps separate us from the Highest God and Father when we seek Him through the Lectio Divina.
These steps ladder us to heaven: Reading, Meditation, Prayer, and Contemplation.
In Genesis 28:12, God showed a ladder to Jacob. The feet of the stairs were on the earth, and the top was in the sky.
Since the twelfth century, Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, and other religious orders have used it.
Practicing Divine Reading requires discipline, as described by the monks who restructured it.
First Step: Reading
We must be in a place of outer and inner peace to enter in the Father’s room and listen to Him.
Assiduous reading of Holy Scripture is the necessary bleach
to reach the light of the Holy Spirit.
Second Step: Meditation
We shut up after reading God’s words and let them come to life in us.
We must go on extirpating from the soul the vices that keep us away from the required holiness and humility.
God’s words resound alive and enter a pure heart, hungry for good and desiring to be the abode of God (Matthew 5:8.) and penetrate the deepest and most veiled secrets.
God reveals the mysteries of His Holy Word by the Holy Spirit who leads us.
But for this to occur, detachment and obedience are necessary, that is, surrender.
Third Step: Praying
Let us remember the encouragement of this surrender to the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 2:10–12 for us to encourage.
More than a method of reading, the Lectio Divina is a sincere surrender of life; it is putting yourself in God’s hands.
“Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes, and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law, and I will observe it with all my heart.” — Psalms 119:33–34
Last Step: Contemplation
The Holy Spirit lifts us, and we can look beyond the darkness into the glow of Truth. You will know the truth, and it will set you free, said Jesus (John 8:32).
It is the goal of inner contemplation.
The practice of Lectio Divina
We practice Lectio Divina to extract from it what the Lord God wants us to do for Him.
In Luke 11:27, we see Jesus confirm this trajectory of reading and practicing the Word of God.
Hence, the Psalmist asks for help to walk in the Lord’s ways and abide in it faithfully. (Ps 118:33–34)
(Jota Oliveira)
ADDITIONAL READINGS
Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God;.”
1 Peter 1:15–16
“But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, for I am holy.”
John 8:32
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”
Luke 11:27–28
“And it came to pass, as he was saying these things, a woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him, Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you suckled. But he said, Rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it.”
1 Corinthians 2:10–12
“But God has revealed them to us by his Spirit; for the Spirit penetrates all things, even the depths of God. For which of men knows the things of man, except the spirit of man, which is in him? the things of God, but the Spirit of God.
But we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know what is freely given to us by God.”
