Couples “lost in translation” 1

Couples “lost in translation” between “Personal Lectio Divina” and “Common Lectio Divina” 1

Common Lectio Divina

In a community or in a group a question might be asked: “Is it possible to do a “lectio divina” all together (or to share on the Gospel)?”, because we know of Lectio divina (as a personal exercise).

Before answering this question I would like to categorise the two exercises by calling them “Personal Lectio Divna” and “Common Lectio Divina”. “Personal Lectio divina” is when we do it personally, without necessarily sharing what we received with others. On the other hand, the “Common Lectio Divina” is based on doing it together, and necessarily sharing what we receive.

To answer the question about the differences between these two exercises, let us understand their exact dynamics. Let us first remember the essence of lectio divina (the Personal one). Its goal is to listen to Jesus (who is our Master, Our Guide, Our Doctor) who is giving us a Word that is Spirit and Divine Life, directly, adapted to what He sees to be our personal need today and put it into practice. By receiving and putting today's word, we are healed in an area of our being (will and mind).

On the other hand, in order to know what is “Common lectio divina“ we need to know what is/are its goal/s. Various answers might be given:

1- to seek together the will of God for the community or the group

2- to encourage each other, in our journey

3- sharing our “listening to Jesus” helps each other, illuminates each other, strengthens the faith of each other

4- we can “push” each other in order to grow in our journey

5- allows us to put our relationships under the light of God

Other goals could be found, that will motivate us to do a “common lectio divina”. None of the above goals could be underestimated or dismissed by any christian.

In accordance to that, we can easily understand that “personal lectio divina” is not exactly the same thing as “common lectio divina”.

Relationship between the Person and the Community

The community (or group) is composed of persons, and only inside of the heart of each person can the community start. A person who lives a community life, but who, in his/her heart, doesn't receive, accept, love, and pray for his/her community, remains an isolated person.

The group is not an entity! When one dies, he cannot say to God: “my friends did this, and did that”. God will say: “and you, what did you do?” Therefore we cannot escape from the personal responsibility, and from the “corner stone” of each community: the single Person. It is true as well, on the other hand, that we help each other and that we are as well accountable for it. But without the “corner stone” of carrying our own responsibility for the personal growth there is no group.

Having sad all that, doing a “Common lectio divina” has its own importance and its own dynamics. “Personal lectio divina”, while being fundamental, doesn't necessarily replace the “Common lectio divina”. God taught us to seek together His will, and promised that when two or three are gathered in His Name, searching His will, He is present amongst them and therefore is acting in a more powerful way. God is communion, the Trinity is a communion between the Three Persons, and seeking, as a community, the word of God, creates something even more powerful. “They will know you from the love you have for each other” (John) and since love is constantly working on the truth (seeking the truth, trying to make the truth be the its reference), the truth not only in us, but the truth that inhabits our relationships, it is of absolute importance to allow the Light and Love of God to dwell amongst the members of the community, all of them, in order to grow in Holiness.

It is then by seeking together the truth in our relationships that we can as well grow. The personal act of seeking Truth for ourselves, directly, from God doesn't exempt us from seeking the Truth together.

Person and Community are not exclusive of each other, they don't oppose each other, on the contrary, they do complement each other, but they do so bearing in mind that the Person is the Corner Stone of the Community and that the Community does not give accounts to God, but the persons that compose it.

When God makes us grow, interiorly, personally it is never at the expense of others, but allowing others to be born in our heart, learning, exercising Divine Hospitality, where the Outpoured Love of God is enlarging our heart in order to receive everybody in it, without excluding anybody and any act made from anybody.

This is why opening ourselves to the others, generates always a new growth in us. “the one who loves me, puts into practice my commandments (my words) and (then, and because of it) the Father will (be moved “anew” to) love him and we will come and dwell in him” (John 15:23). This is why, as saint John of the Cross points out in his Spiritual Canticle, we can “provoke”, “generate” a greater love from God to us by putting in practice the heroic love saint Paul depicts us.

“God does not establish His grace and love in the soul but in proportion to the good will of that soul’s love. He, therefore, that truly loves God must strive that his love fail not; for so, if we may thus speak, will he move God to show him greater love, and to take greater delight in his soul. In order to attain to such a degree of love, he must practice those things of which the Apostle speaks, saying: “Charity is patient, is benign: charity envies not, deals not perversely; is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeks not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinks not evil, rejoices not upon iniquity, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”” (1 Co 13:4-7)” (Saint John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle A, stanza 12, paragraph 11 or CS B, 13,12)

(to be continued)