LECTIO DIVINA: SURRENDERING TO THE SCRIPTURE "We need to approach our reading with an antecedant willingness to be called, challenged, converted. The abandonment of narcissistic control is one of the prime dynamics on sacred reading that leads us to more mature faith and more fruitful humanity." (28). Fr. Casey makes his negative theme clear here, that we must not attempt to control the text, make arbitrary selective readings, and use the Bible as a quick fix. "At the end of the Gideon Bible, often left in hotel rooms and other places, there is a list of symptoms, each with a corresponding biblical text to remedy the situation. Are you depressed? Read such a text. Do you feel lonely? Read this one. This view of the Bible as a medicine chest seems to limit God's word to a merely instrumental role. We remain in charge. (11-12). Fr. Casey warns against grazing, browsing, and skimming the Bible arbitrarily. This often leads to boredom. Those who practice this form of reading usually know only a small portion of the Bible, and the grasp is always out of context. "This lack of interest and commitment cannot sustain the effort and intensity needed for genuine lectio divina" (12). Lectio divina requires discipline. Our culture has shaped us to seek the punchline immediately. We are ensnared in a culture of: "Give it to me in twenty-five words or less." We skip through texts to find what suits us as a quick fix. "As a result our understanding of the content is often approximate and superficial . . . we make a snap judgment" (7). One of the skills required for lectio divina is patience. We have to "slow down . . and not expect to find quick and easy solutions to all of life's problems . . . In an era of hyperstimulation it can be difficult for people to realize that enlightenment comes not by increasing the level of excitement, but by moving more deeply into calm." (8). Lectio divina mirrors life in that it is a slow process. "Understanding the Gospels presupposes some attempt to live them. Neither goal is realized as quickly as we would like. From all we have been saying , it seems obvious that lectio divina is a sober, long term undertaking and, as such, better reflected in sustained attention to whole books than in seeking a quick fix from selected texts . . . Reading the Scriptures is the opposite of self-programming or any kind of brain-washing. It is allowing God to speak to our hearts, minds, and conscienses. "(9-10). ""Staying with a single book is not only an exercise in personal discipline; it is a condition for approaching lectio divina with an appropriate attitude. . . Practice will reveal how sensible the tradition is. . . the monastic practice favored a continuous reading of a sngle book, the lectio continua." (11). "If, however, we desire to make such reading a regular part of our lives we will probably find it helpful to manipulate the process as little as possible: to let God speak to us and to act on our hearts rather than to prescribe for ourselves the remedies we believe will make us better." (14). Michael Casey, Sacred Reading. The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina. (Liguori, MO : Liguori/Triumph, 1996). 151 p.; ISBN : 0-89243-891-6. Michael Casey is a Cistercian monk and prior of Tarrawarra Abbey, Victoria, Australia. * * * __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com