Happy Advent!
Today begins one of my favorite seasons of the liturgical year: the season of Advent. Advent is the beginning of our church’s liturgical year and is a period of expectation and hope as we await the coming of Jesus’ birth on Christmas Day. This week, we begin our new series, “God With Us in the Word.”
During this past year, I had the opportunity to lead several retreats and speak in front of many groups. A consistent theme of these encounters is creating space for prayer and growing and deepening a relationship with God in the middle of the busyness of life . Inevitably, I get a familiar question: “I want to discover this gift of a relationship with God…but where do I begin?”
My response is simple — “Start spending time with Scripture.” Scripture is how we get to know God’s voice. It is where we learn of the promises God has made to God’s people throughout the ages. Scripture is where we read of our salvation history. Often, though, I get a follow-up question to this response: “I want to spend time with Scripture…but how do I do this within the rhythm of my daily life?” Fortunately, we have a rich, ancient, and time-tested prayer method that can help us create space for scripture within our daily lives: Lectio Divina.
Steps of Lectio Divina:
Here’s a brief recap of the steps of Lectio Divina:
- Read: Pick any passage in Scripture. Slowly, thoughtfully, savor the word. Linger whenever a word or phrase touches your heart.
- Reflect: What is God saying to you in this passage? Offering you? Asking you?
- Respond: Respond to God from your heart. Speak to God of your feelings and insights. Offer these to God.
- Rest in God: Sit quietly in God’s presence. Rest in God’s love.
The first time I was exposed to this prayer method someone guided me through it to help me learn how to use this prayer method. For Advent this year, each week I will guide you through Lectio Divina for one of the Sunday readings. This week, we’ll be praying with the first reading from the First Sunday in Advent, a reading from the prophet Isaiah.
Guided Lectio Divina on Isaiah:
Go Deeper?
- Resources:
- Scriptures for Support:
Advent Special Sale on Busy Lives Restless Souls
During this Advent Season, you can order a signed copy of Busy Lives & Restless Souls for just $10.
As a special bonus, I’ll include four prayer cards for you to use or share.
Order by December 20th to receive in time for Christmas gifts!
Advent Evening of Reflection for Women:
December 11, 2017, 7:00pm-8:30pm
Making Room for God’s Greatest Gift
Mary accepted and made room for Jesus in her life. We too, can experience Jesus’ presence in our daily lives. Pause in the midst of Christmas preparations to join women from across Baton Rouge for a night of prayer, fellowship and reflection.
Registration is free. Click here to register!
Becky Eldredge
Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.
Sorting through my emails this dark, cold and possibly SNOWY New York morning and there you were. Albeit, I am a week behind, it was still the right time for me. You give such lovely inspiration. I lector at my parish so this has offered me a way to give deeper meaning to my reading. If it is meaningful to me, hopefully everyone that’s listening will find it so. Keep on keepin’ on.
Always,
Peggy