Praying The Word For The Vision

How To Pray The Word And Let It Transform You

The Church "forcefully and specially exhorts all the Christian faithful . . . to learn 'the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ' (Phil 3:8) by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures.... Let them remember, however, that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that a dialogue takes place between God and man. For 'we speak to him when we pray; we listen to him when we read the divine oracles."'(CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 2653) Reading – Keep three or four book marks in your bible (OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs) and start. Or follow the daily Mass readings. Pray to the Holy Spirit before reading so that we may encounter the Lord when we read. Start praying over what you have read and heard. Pause. Listen. Thank and praise God. Pray the Psalms - the prayerbook of the Church and the best possible way of praising God, we are praying with the Holy Spirit, with Jesus, with the Church. Take possession of them. Learn them by heart. Pour out your own joys and sorrows to the Lord with the psalmist. Lectio Divina :("divine reading") - A slow, contemplative praying of the Scriptures encouraged by the Church. Steps - 1. Lectio: Read the text with attention and care twice… Meditatio: 2. Meditate on the text by understanding the phrases, context etc.3. and Actualizing – What does this scripture text mean for me now?4. How do i react to this situation etc. Oratio: 5. Pray about what you have experienced. Contemplatio 6. Contemplate - pick out a phrase repeat - softly till you come to a calm and silence within. stay with the Word respond to it and let yourself be transformed. Meditating –(Joshua 1:8 8- 9 ) Christian meditation means not to empty the mind but fill it with the Word, always ready to obey and be transformed. To ponder it in our heart as Mary did. Luke 2:19. Learn to mediate by starting to. Select just one word or phrase or verse from the Scripture verse - spend at least five minutes, repeat it a few times. Pray over it.. Think about it during the day. Praying the Word during The Rosary: Pope John Paul II exhorted the faithful in ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE (no. 30) to “follow the announcement of the mystery with the proclamation of a related Biblical passage . . As we listen, we are certain that this is the word of God, spoken for today and spoken “for me”. . . If received in this way, the word of God can become part of the Rosary's methodology of repetition without giving rise to the ennui derived from the simple recollection of

something already well known. . . in the recitation of the Rosary it is fitting to pause briefly after listening to the word of God, while the mind focuses on the content of a particular mystery.” Use your Imagination: ( according to St. Ignatius) Ask God to sanctify your imagination first. Reflect on a bible passage, using all your senses – hear the wind, feel the heat or cold, imagine yourself a bystander or a key player, the blind man, Martha, Peter? – Jesus talking to you through the passage, what do you feel, what do you say to Him, to the others there? The Word comes alive. Praying the Word in the method of St. Augustine involves much of a person's feeling and intuition, opening yourself to your creative imagination with the help of the Spirit. "What do these words of Scripture (or spiritual reading) mean to me in my present situation?", or, "What message is the Lord trying to convey to me?” Try to imagine the Lord speaking words of encouragement from the Scriptures directly to you.

(Come and join the Bible Study Group which meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month from 7.30 to 8.30 pm in the council room)