Contemplative Prayer
Lectio Divina is a prayer practice that has four movements—Read, Reflect, Respond, and Rest—bookended by Silent Preparation and Incarnating the Word.
Identify the major events of your day, including your spiritual practices, meals, appointments, interactions with others, and significant events at work. Reflect on the events of your day
Ask the Spirit of God to guide you as you think through your day and bring to your mind five moments.
Being still and silent before God is often the most challenging part of resting. But, oh how we need it. We need those times when we decrease, and He increases.
Without some measure of loving kindness for ourselves, it is difficult to extend loving kindness to others. Given this, we start our prayer with ourselves and from there our prayers move out in ever-widening circles.
We may think of prayer as thoughts or feelings expressed in words. But this is only one expression. In the Christian tradition contemplative prayer is considered to be the pure gift of God. It is the opening of mind and heart - our whole being - to God, the Ultimate Mystery, beyond thoughts, words, and emotions.
Richard Rohr, Franciscan priest and ecumenical teacher, explains that “a mystic is one who recognizes God’s image and likeness in this human being, in this creature, in this moment, and comes to see God everywhere and always.”
Stephanie Harper puts it this way: "Contemplative poetry is a way to tap into this mystic understanding, to grapple with the mystery of God, the benevolent love energy that connects us all, and to train myself to live with a heart of love, with open eyes for the wonder and beauty that is all around me."
Living in an Icon is an invitation “to bring us back in touch with all of God’s creation and with God’s presence in the world. In the Orthodox world, icons serve as portals through which a believer can encounter God. God’s presence shines through the painting, As St. John of Damascus said, “The whole earth is a living icon, a portal through which we encounter God’s presence…getting to know creation involves growing closer to Goda and getting to know what lies deep within it.” “Living in an Icon builds on this simple beginning and helps us learn to pray without ceasing, to live in such a way that all the world reveals God’s presence to us. (Written by Robert Gottfried & Fredrick W. Krueger.)
