Paths to Contemplation - 31

Various obstacles to sacred reading

The comment about choosing appropriate readings in times of dryness can be extended to any mood the soul may be experiencing.  Indeed, one obstacle to success in sacred reading is choosing readings that are unlikely to provide inspiration for meditation or prayer because they are not suited to the reader’s temperament, mood or interests.  Even parts of the Bible are unlikely to inspire anyone to anything except sleep.  If a particular book or portion of Scripture does not seem to strike a responsive chord, you should not be afraid or ashamed to look for another text.

Sacred reading is not study in the academic sense.  It is a technique to open ourselves more fully to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.   Thus, sacred reading should not be used as a program to work through the entire Bible from cover to cover – as noted above, many parts of the Bible rarely lend themselves well to ordinary reading, much less sacred reading – nor should sacred reading be used to cram in as much reading during the time allotted as possible.   Goal- oriented persons may want to cover a lot of ground in their reading, and may, therefore, think that the slow pace of sacred reading is a waste of time, but more may be gained spiritually in many instances from concentrating attention on a single paragraph or sentence.   Do not mistake sacred reading for reading to gain information.   Accept sacred reading for what it is intended to be, a means to make ourselves available to God and a possible path to contemplation.

As with other contemplation techniques, such as centering prayer, a quiet place and bodily comfort are aids to success.  Though not impossible – all things are possible for God – children screaming in the background are not helpful to sacred reading, nor are leg cramps, an uncomfortable chair, nor is the thought that company is coming for dinner in ten minutes and the table is not set.   Choose a time and a place and a posture when you can engage yourself as fully as possible in this exercise.  Put aside for the time, the cares of the day and the tasks you have yet to carry out.  Make the time available for you and God together.

It should be obvious by now that sacred reading is not an exercise that can be rushed.  Adequate time must be allotted for each session.  Unlike other techniques of moving toward contemplation, this one cannot fit well into say five minute segments.  Probably at least 20 minutes, and, preferably, half an hour, are bare minimums since the reader must get comfortable and compose herself prior to reading,  including a short prayer asking for guidance from the Holy Spirit.  Then there is the slow, meditative reading; the mindful digesting of an inspiring word or phrase; a time of prayer; and then a quiet resting in God if all four of the steps of Guigo’s ladder are covered.  Once one is resting quietly in God, this time, the holiest of the exercise, should not be truncated unnecessarily.  If there is insufficient time to do justice to sacred reading, another form of prayer should be substituted.

Nevertheless, the practice of sacred reading, like any other prayer technique, requires  discipline, concerted effort, to practice it on a regular basis.  Just as sporadic dieting is not likely to result in significant weight loss, or occasional practice of the piano is not apt to make someone a proficient musician, so hit or miss prayer is not likely to deepen someone’s spiritual life and allow God the opportunity needed to transform that person into what God wants that person to become.   

Disciplined prayer in itself, of course, is not an end.  It is a means to make ourselves more available to God, who is the goal of our spiritual practices.  The practices themselves do not allow us to share more fully in the life of God; only God can do that.  The practices indicate to God that we want to share more fully in the life of God, and, through the practices, we open ourselves to God’s transforming action in us.  Sanctification comes from God alone, but God needs our cooperation.  To repeat what I have tried to make clear earlier: God invites, but God does not compel.