120: The Transfiguration of the Lord in Spiritual Life

The following is a video on the Transfiguration of the Lord in our Spiritual Life. It is taken from the First Level Summer Course of 2013, at St Mary University, Twickenham.

In this Video the Transfiguration according to the Greek Fathers is presented. It's revolutionary approach is addressed.

One of the most beautiful fruits of the new understanding of the Transfiguration is a deepening of the two parts of the Mass.

In this Blog, there are 4 other important posts on the Transfiguration:
1- Transfiguration according to the Greek Fathers
2- Transfiguration and the Mass
3- Transfiguration and St John's Gospel
4- Transfiguration, the Assumption and Cana

119: The Starting Point in Spiritual Life

Question: Can you please elaborate on “God loves you”.  How should we as humans in a noisy, difficult and challenging world filled with earthly temptations..... feel... the LOVE of GOD, in quantity, quality or in faith? How to internalise it or tailor it to suit the human being, to use it and benefit from it. To see how this love is conveyed, in order to make good use of it and use it to the maximum without distractions and with optimal fruitful capacity. Like the seed that grows in a favourable and fertile soil.

God is God, and the human being is the most imperfect being, who will die with his weaknesses and illnesses.... It is hard to compare "apples" with a "chalice" for example.....

Awaiting your reply .....with deep gratitude.

Answer: Thank you very much R. for your trust and for your question.

“God is love”, and “God loves you” are expressions that we are used to. But sometimes it is important to enter more deeply into their meaning.

"To Love" means "to give oneself" to the person we love. Take marriage for example: we are called to love, to give our consent, to give ourselves to the other person. It is the same: love is love, love is to come out of ourselves and give ourselves.

So, when we say: “God loves you” it means that He wants to give Himself to you. He doesn’t give gifts or presents, He wants to give Himself, nothing less.

So this is the starting point!

Now, as you say: "we are busy", "we have noise", outside and inside of ourselves. There are temptations: laziness, tiredness, etc.

But we have good will, and we have the Gift of Faith that we received in Baptism, that guides us toward God, and tells us that since He wants to give Himself to us, receiving Him, therefore, is possible. So, the conflict between our busy noisy life and the Life of Receiving Him in us seems only apparent, but in reality it is possible to receive Him - through a Journey of Growth of course.

Faith received in Baptism is a very little Divine Seed planted in us by God and this Seed - Jesus in us - should become the biggest Tree of the garden.

First and foremost we must see: God wants us, He needs us, He has a divine Desire/Thirst to give Himself to us. He is the one who calls us, not we who do so. He is the one who is searching, day and night, for us. He doesn’t shout in order not to put pressure on our freedom, but he shouts silently… It is important to know all the above.

We are invited to open a way in the sea of our busy life to God himself in order to start do the gardening work: ploughing the soil to introduce oxygen, offering Sun, and watering the soil/seed.

The General help of the Grace of God is constantly given to us to fulfil our part: to ask, to knock on the door, to search for Him. If it is given constantly to us, this means we need to use it, enact it. It depends on us to do so. It is a matter of freewill.

If we are really convinced that there is a Way to receive God, that this is what God wants to do to us and that taking time to receive Him in our life is essential, then we can say this prayer:

“Dear God,

I know that you want to give yourself to me,

you know how weak I am, how busy I am, and how noisy is my life,

how I don’t find time to sit down and stay with you,

so please, help me, rearrange my daily schedule

so I can find the right time to listen to you and receive you.”

This small prayer, the prayer of a total beginner but full of good will, is very powerful if it is made with pure intention. After having done this prayer, one has to open his/her eyes to see God starting to fashion a Way, like Moses who opened a way in the sea.

There are two essential parts in this activity of "God to be received", this "Divine Bread" (God himself):

1- one is to sit down and listen to Jesus and put into practice what He says (opening the daily Readings of the Mass),

2- is to sit down and receive Him deeply in us (going back to Jesus' host in our heart, received in the Eucharist).

These two parts, these two activities are vital, because they nourish our Tree, and allow it to grow. They allow us to receive God's love.

These two aspects of the Bread that we need to eat are given to us during the Mass, but even if we attend Mass, we often do not digest the food that we have taken in - we say to you O Lord: "Give us this day our daily Bread"… "our daily bread" is your daily Word that you want to give us to put into practice, "our daily bread" is as well the Fire of your Love and deep union with Jesus received in the Eucharist and taking time afterwards to interiorise Him: His Body, Blood, Soul, Spirit and Divinity.

The Journey starts… as it started with Mary, Jesus’ Mother and His best disciple, the one who had Faith in God's Words. In Her the Holy Spirit formed Jesus… with Her and the Holy Spirit God forms Jesus in us, He allows that Seed in us to grow. God said to us: I want to give you a new heart, a heart of flesh (like Mary’s heart)… So this is as well our prayer:

"give me a heart like Mary’s heart.

Form Jesus in me as you formed it in Her…

or, better, like what Nicodemus said:

as an adult, let me be in my real Mother, Mary,

so Jesus can be formed in me.. (see John 3)".

I hope this helps as a starting point.

Two essential ways/means to receive God’s love can be summed up us: sit down and listen to his Word (open the daily readings) and sit down and receive Jesus deeply in you, like the tree receives the Water. The two highlights of the Mass.

Let me add one point about "feeling" or "not feeling" God. The Living Tradition of the Church says the following: believing (which means to open our heart to the Gift of the Holy Spirit, to God's Love) gives us the experience of this Love - and not vice-versa.

Believe first, i.e. open yourself to receive, then you will see, you will experience.

Faith is an opening of the heart that leads to an experience.

In this "experience" we have different levels, like on a very high mountain:

1- the lowest part of the mountain has houses, streets and trees (senses)

2- the higher part of the mountain, has sometimes lakes (feelings emotions), grass

3- the highest parts of the mountain, have rocks that lead to the highest point (mind, will, memory)

4- The highest part of the mountain is not the one we have just mentioned (number 3), it is the part that lies beyond the clouds. This part of the Mountain can see the sun directly (the spirit, or heart)

In our experience of God, some rays, refracted by the clouds could fall in the parts 1, 2, 3. But in fact the real direct Ray of the Sun, God himself, is given only to the Highest part.

This is why we say that "we live with/in Faith": we know that the Sun shines in that highest part. But that highest part in us, is beyond consciousness, it is "supra-conscious". When we receive Communion we know that we have been touched by His Divinity. Where did it happen? In the supra-conscious part of our Mountain: above the clouds (4). So the lower part says: “I believe!” but in fact it is the experience of that Highest part.

In that experience of God let us not be deceived by what falls into the conscious part (1 to 3), we know that He pours Himself into the highest point of the Mountain. If He gives us some crumbs in 1to3 this is fine, but the Substance of His Being is given to us in 4.

83: Two ways to say the Rosary (2)

To say that there are two ways of saying the Rosary might be challenging. It is so, simply because we know only one way (divided in two, one more discursive meditative and one more contemplative (see below *)) of saying the Rosary. Many other ways spread after, based on just repeating this or that prayer or devotion, composing therefore a "new way" of saying it. But basically it is the same, and it might divert our attention from the original genuine inspiration on how to do it.

Indeed, we only know one way to say the Rosary: by "meditating" (or contemplating) the Mysteries (3 x 5 mysteries, and recently made 4 x 5 by Pope John Paul II who very cleverly tried to bring us back to its initial meaning. i.e. his Encyclical on the Rosary).

The more we deepen the two types of nourishment we have in our Christian life ("Jesus' Words" and "His Body and Blood") the more we will understand these two types of food/Tables of the Mass. The more we will understand the reasons why we needed two types and not only one. We have two areas in us: the Soul (conscious mind and will,...) and the Spirit (heart, supra-conscious part). Both need to be nourished, and efficiently.

The best way to understand the twofold part of: 1- the human being, 2- Christ, 3- the structure of the Gospel, 4- our two foods is to practice two things:

1- Daily Lectio divina based on the readings of the Mass (in order not to disconnect lectio from the Mass). During the Mass, we are supposed to receive a Word from Jesus... through the Readings. Jesus is amongst us and speaks to us, not the Priest, or the reader, during the Proclamation of the Word.

2- The Prayer of the heart, or "mental prayer", or Jesus' prayer. Which is the extension of Communion.

The more one practices these two types of prayer, the more he'll enter more and better "in the Mass". The more he'll be able to discern the two different types of Contemplation ("Contemplation" today is hardly heard of).

1- The first type is an understanding of a word coming from Jesus (showing us His will, today) and putting it into practise (so it becomes incarnate in us, it becomes part of us, a new "knowing"). This contemplation is clear to our mind and understandable to our brain. When Jesus speaks to you and explains His will to you, He is clear. Otherwise your lectio is not done properly (we tend to mix lectio and more of a silent prayer today, which is a real shame; each is a proper manducation).

2- The second type is exactly what happens to you when you just received Communion: He is there, He acts, we are immersed in him. We should remain in this state for a longer time, either immediately after Mass or in another time in the day. Theresa of Avila suggests 2 hours, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon. This "contemplation" is Jesus pouring Himself and His Spirit in us. We need that nourishment. (this contemplation is as well very rarely heard of)

Now: we can, we may, we should do both "eating moments" with Mary.

When we repeat "Hail Mary... Pray for us" we are asking Her (see video lesson 2 a and 2 b Course 2011) to lift us, put us in her and give us her heart and her mind in order to contemplate Jesus and receive Him and his Spirit.

So repeating the "Hail Mary" is like having a buoy that maintains us in Mary, at her level, placed in front of Jesus and at His level.

Now, back to our question: the ways of saying the Rosary.

Simple.

One way follows the Manducation of the first Table of the Mass: meditating the Mysteries of Jesus' life.

The other follows the Manducation of the second Table of the Mass: sinking in Him, being immersed in Him, going back to our last Communion (stored in us) and allowing it to continue its effects in us.

I hope that helps. Even if it looks "new", it is not new at all.

Let me take one simple example and you'll understand me:

If you are in Adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and you hold your Rosary in your hands, would it be wrong? Obviously not. If you Adore Jesus with the Heart of Our Lady, would that be wrong? Would you need to  meditate any Mystery of his life, or would you just throw yourself in His Arms, since He is lovingly exposed to you, opening the Furnace of His love (His Heart) to you? You don't need at that point any Mystery to meditate (with your mind), you chose the direct way of the heart: He is Here, He is the Mystery of the Mysteries, and you throw all yourself in Him. Wouldn't you do that with Mary and in her? - Yes.

This is what I mean by "the second contemplative way of saying the Rosary". You do not meditate (this would be more of a lectio divina) any of his Mysteries, He is Here in front of you and He is The Mystery of Mysteries.

This is what I do during Mental prayer: I take my Rosary, and, silently, I say it, but I do not meditate, this would be coming out of the Immersion in THE Mystery: Jesus.

There is a time for Lectio Divina

And there is a time for Prayer of the Heart (mental prayer).

Same and parallel to it:

There is a time for meditating the Rosary (as we know it: with Mysteries)

And there is a time for a more silent way of saying the Rosary: in silence, just holding our Rosary, and being immersed in Jesus.

I hope it is clearer now.

We need to deepen the practise of daily Lectio divina, it boosts everything. And we should never forget daily "mental prayer" (Prayer of the heart). Other devotions should proceed from them and not the opposite. Mary is absolutely present in Lectio divina and in the Prayer of the heart, otherwise contemplation cannot work. Meeting Jesus happens always in Her Heart, never outside, this is the Logic of Incarnation.

* Some observations on the actual normal most known way to say the Rosary:

Is it really contemplative or not?

you certainly would have noticed what I mentioned in the beginning of this post. I said: "we know only one way (divided in two, one more discursive meditative and one more contemplative) of saying the Rosary".

What I meant by "divided in two" is that even the way we know to say the Rosary drifts toward a non-contemplative way, more discursive if not simply blindly ascetical/moralistic.

When we say the Rosary, we often focus more on the repetition of the "Hail Mary" and forget that the Rosary is meant to be said: in Mary, with her heart and mind, but focused on Jesus and on one of His Mysteries. The reason we say the "Hail Mary"s is because we need to receive the gift of her mind and heart in order to be placed in her in front of Jesus. The Mystery we have in front of us will ooze, and something from it will be given to us. This is contemplation.

Plus, we tend to use too much our mind, in a more of a discursive meditative way, instead of a "contemplative way". So what we "contemplate" becomes more the fruit of our mind instead of being the supernatural gift of Our Lord.

To me it looks like a person who is holding his Bible in his hand and try to pray:

He or she can do at least two ways of praying: one supernatural (contemplation), and one just with the normal activity of the brain (meditation) under the general light of faith. The difference is simply huge. No comparison. It is the difference between the "General help of the Grace of God" and the "Particular help of the Grace of God". Theresa of Avila says that if we do not understand the difference we can't really dive in Spiritual Life, and that we are missing the point (See Life 14,6). Please see the link to the Forum here.

There is a difference between reading and meditating a passage from the Scripture (like a mystery of the Rosary, i.e. contemplating) and doing so just by reading, meditating, thinking, reflecting, deducing, with the normal light of Faith that is given to us.

Now, listening to God, to Jesus, saying to us a Word that is supposed to change and modify our days, is something very different from just "meditating".

The same applies to the Rosary.

82: Two ways to say the Rosary (1)

Indeed there are two different ways of contemplating Jesus and his mysteries using our Rosary. One is very known but the other is much less known and understood. The reason we have two ways of saying the Rosary is because we have two types of contemplation.

Contemplation is a supernatural action of God where he gives himself to us as a nourishment. 

Each type of contemplation nourishes principally (Lat. “principaliter”) a different area of our being. One nourishes essentially our soul (i.e. conscious mind and will) and the other nourishes essentially our spirit (or heart, i.e. supra-conscious part of our mind and will). These two types of food absoutely complement each other. 

We have these two foods (or “breads”) in the Mass: 

1- the first bread is Jesus’ words for us that are “Spirit and Life”, they nourish our soul (conscious mind and will). 

2- the second bread Jesus offers us is his Body and Blood (and soul, spirit, divinity). 

These two moments of manducation (process of eating) have, related to each one of them, two moments of digestion: Lectio Divina for the first bread and Prayer of the heart for the second one. 

I guess, if you are familiar with the “School of Mary” teaching you would be familiar as well with these clarifications about Spiritual Life, Mass, Contemplation. 

Now, back to the question about the Rosary. The Rosary initially was set up in order to help the poor who can’t read in the MiddleAge to have the possibility to access the Gospel. The Gospel was therefore divided into three sets of mysteries, each one with 5 moments of Jesus life. So, with Mary, the faithuful would be able to remain in contact with the Gospel, Jesus, his mysteries and benefit from them. So the rosary is not a “marian devotion”, it is a Gospel, Jesus, contemplation, listening to. We need to remember that. Of course Mary is fundamental, because she gives us her eyes and her heart in ordet to contemplate Jesus and listen in our conscience to his word for us. 

Note: the majority of people today do read and hear about the lectio divina. So what? Would we then have to cancel the Rosary? I think that we need to learn to practice the lectio divina “with Mary”, this is fundamental. This means that we need Mary’s heart, mind, will, in order to listen to Jesus and put his word into practise.

Is that all about the Rosary? What about the second type of contemplation, of food? Would we just leave it without Mary? 

I do deeply believe that there is a more silent/quiet way of saying the Rosary, closer in its form to the Prayer of the heart. In the Prayer of the heart you have a short prayer that accompanies our movement of lifting our heart. You remember that? I do deeply believe that we could use as a prayer the “Hail Mary”, holding our Rosary in our hands. Therefore, in this case we do not “meditate” (or better: contemplate) one of Jesus’ Mysteries, we are in Jesus, in THE mystery himself, and we do not need to see or hear anything, because God, in this type of contemplation pours himself in our heart, directly, and our mind should remain quiet, in peace.

Note: the Eastern catholic (and orthodox) churches have a different Rosary (chotki), and they use it for the Prayer of the heart (Jesus' prayer).

We can’t go to the Prayer of the heart without Mary. We need to repeat a prayer that has Jesus’ name and/or Mary’s one, so, why can’t we just hold our (western) rosary in our hands and just say it quietly, silently, having Mary in our heart, with us, that receives Jesus, and his Holy Spirit?!

So, conclusion: we do indeed have two ways of saying the Rosary, and they are coherent with the two “Breads” we receive in the Mass, and with the extension/prolongation of this manducation in digestion: Lectio divina and Prayer of the heart. The two ways are not oppposed, or exclusive, they absolutely complement each other. They are both necessary: we need Mary in order to listen to Jesus (contemplate his mysteries in the Gospel) and we need Mary as well in order to be immeresed in Jesus’ being and receive his Holy Spirit. 

I hope that helps, sheds an important light and liberates many people who would like to say – as well – the Rosary with a type of “contemplation” identical to the type of contemplation involved in the Payer of the heart and in Communion.

40: Transfiguration (2/4) and Mass

Continuation of 39: Transfiguration (1/4) according to the Greek Fathers

The Byzantine tradition tells us that the Transfiguration is that important that it encompasses all the mystery of “christian prayer”.

It is only by willing to enter in this mystery (the Transfiguration's one) that one starts to discover how wide it is. Let us explore one of its aspects.

Transfiguration and Mass

The Transfiguration could be seen as a spiritual summary of the Mass.

1- First: the Mass used to be mainly celebrated on Sunday, where all the Christians used to gather to meet the Risen Lord. The most early accounts of that gathering could be found in s John 20, with the Apostle gathered in the upper room, the door closed; see as well Luke 24, the structure of the apparition to the two disciples of Emmaus.

The Three accounts of the Transfiguration give us a hint about the relationship between: the Resurrection (happening the 7^th or 8^th day) and the weekly Gathering (the Sunday Mass): “6 days later” (Mt, Mk), or “8 days later” (Luke).

2- Second: we enter in the Mass by climbing to that High Mountain of the Action of God (the “Divine Liturgy” that God will deploy). Notice that we have to receive a special grace in order to climb. The same greek verb is used in the Transfiguration and in the Mass: anapherei (“Anaphore” = “Eucharistic Prayer”). Jesus is the one who “grabs” them by His Grace and makes them climb with him.

We start the Mass (Kyrie) by asking forgiveness, preparing us to be put in the Hands of the Mercy of God. This is an act of purification and surrender (offering ourselves in the Hands of Jesus). Later in the Mass, will elevate our hearts (“lift up your hearts”), and He will put them in Him (or “under the shadow of the Cloud”).

3- Third: the early Church kept the readings of the sabath liturgy of the Synagogue: one reading from the Thorah (Pentateuk) and one reading from the Prophets (check that even now with the Jewish Liturgy) and added to it the reading of the Gospels and some reading from the Apostles (and Acts).

In the early Church Christians used to have a very special experience of seeing Jesus in the Old Testament (see Luke 24, 1Co 10). So what used to happen is that Jesus would “appear” in the Text of the Liturgy of the Old Testament.

In the Transfiguration we have Moses (Thorah) and Elijah (Prophets) and the fact that Jesus' cloths and face are transformed, transfigured. The letter of the text (the clothes of the text) of the Old Testament is transfigured and shows the Presence of Jesus. Jesus appears, and sheds a light over the Old Testament (Moses and Elijah). This is the first part of the Mass and the first part of the Transfiguration. The Power of the Light of the Gospel and the presence of Jesus in the Proclamation of the Gospel, sheds a light over the two readings from the old Testament.

4- Fourth: we then enter in the second part of the Mass, the Eucharistic part. We enter as well in the second part of the Transfiguration: where the Cloud (symbol of the Presence of God) will overshadow everybody, like the Eucharist will overshadow everybody, everybody will receive the Body and the Blood of Jesus, and then only Jesus will remain (as the text of the Transfiguration will state in Luke 9:36). This is “the vision” par excellence.

5- Fifth: the Transfiguration is about seeing, having a vision: it starts with a promise of seeing the Son of God coming (see this Promise before the Transfiguration), and ends (while coming down the mountain) with Jesus saying “don't say anything bout what you saw”.

Receiving the Eucharist is about seeing Jesus, the True Light. This is what everybody sings right after Communion in the Byzantine Rite: “We have seen the True Light, and we received the Heavenly Spirit”. We are truly overshadowed by the Heavenly Spirit as were the Apostles on the Sacred Mountain.

The parallel between the Transfiguration and the Divine Liturgy is tricking. For me, this shows that Jesus was entrusting to the 3 Apostles, as heads of liturgical traditions, the Divine Liturgy itself, so, through this unique experience on Mount Thabor, they can understand, enter, and measure the greatness of the one single Mass.

He asked them not to reveal what happened during the Transfiguration until He rises from the dead, until He is capable of delivering, on a weekly basis, the “apparition”, that “transfiguration”.

This is why we gather each Sunday.

Each Sunday we are invited to climb the Hight Mountain of the Glory of God, to listen to His Word, to see Him transfiguring the Old Testament text, each Sunday, with His Light, as “the Risen Lord”.

We then are invited to enter under the Divine Cloud (the second part of the Mass where the catechumens were excluded, and the doors shut (see John 20 and the doors shut)), and receive the Communion that makes all of us One in Him, that make us “one Jesus” only.

Do we really enter in the Mystery of the Divine Liturgy? Do we really enter in the Mystery of the Transfiguration? Do we understand that the Transfiguration (seeing the Lord's Glory) it is given to all of us?

We sing in the Byzantine rite, during Communion and say that we won't betray the secret of our Lord like Judas, with a kiss. The “secret” is what we see, what we experience during Communion.

Come on great people, be aware of your greatness, of the greatness of What God is offering you weekly (or daily)!

With the great intercession of the Mother of God, we thank You Jesus-God for your indescribable Gift. Amen.

(Continues in 41:  Transfiguration and St John's Gospel)

22: First things first

The aim of this Blog

Hello to you. If you are new to this Blog, welcome to you. I will explain the aim of this Blog. If you are already a good reader of this Blog, well, first: thanks for being faithful, and I am sure you wouldn't mind just reminding ourselves “why are we bothering to gather and come here”.

As you can see, the Blog is focused on "spiritual theology", I share things very openly, deeply, in a constructive way. Sometimes (or often) what books say in the cover is not what they deliver inside. What I teach is "Spiritual Theology", not of a particular 'School of spirituality' or 'Spiritual family', but the Common Treasure of the Church; my choice is to deepen the amazing richness we have in the Church.

This is how I proceed: I start with what the Church believes and then, I go deeper. The richness of the Church is often buried under meters of sand, so one has to unearth it, do a bit of cleaning, explain, present, translate, and make it alive. From years, it breaks my heart to see how superficial we became in our spiritual life, it breaks my heart to see the discrepancy between: from one side the richness, the amazing richness we have, and from the other side, the ignorance we are in, and, as a consequence, a very superficial spiritual life. Good will is not enough. We are all full of Good-Will. Not only that but we are blessed by the fact that today in the Church, lead by the Pope Benedict XVI we are invited to have a spiritual life. Is that enough? Ignorance, to my knowledge, doesn't excuse us.

Ignorance, and lack of real formation lead to dilution, and change of spirit. I am gobsmacked to see the depth of ignorance.

There is always hope, of course! My words don't lead to depression, but to curiosity ('what are these richnesses that we don't know?'), I am trying to wet your appetite...  this is why we work, relentlessly, we sow.

Today, I had a chat with a friend, a chat that you will hopefully appreciate. This is why I decided, with her permission, and after editing it for you, to publish it here.

Remember to practice

Jean: Remember to practice. It is not about learning only. If we do not practice our daily Lectio divina, we achieve a great deal. But I really mean: daily. First things first.

Janet: I start with Rosary, then I go to Mass, I do pray the Liturgy of the Hours daily, then I have my job that I do, but then there is also adoration after, and Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which is my favourite, I say it several times a day.

Jean: you are not doing your lectio divina! There is food for you given in the Mass: the Table of the Word. First things first.

Janet: you mean reading the Bible, I do that too

Jean: "reading" is not "lectio divina". Listening to Jesus who wants to speak to you and give you, through the Readings of the Mass, is a Real Meal everyday.

Janet: that happens at Mass then, doesn't it?

Jean: no, it goes too fast, the same applies to the Eucharist (the Communion)

Janet: i do 30 minutes meditation after Mass for that, because Eucharist does go too fast and I like to spend time with Christ.

Jean: what is meditation?

Janet: Adoration

Jean: you mean "Prayer of the Heart" or "lectio divina"? Is it done “in silence”, or “with the Word of God”?

Janet: both

Jean: both in 30 mins?

Janet: usually is longer more like an hour

Jean: I do not advise to mix them, because they are two different activities, but till today, we do live in this confusion

Janet: usually am quiet before Mass

Jean: you are doing then: Prayer of the heart (mental prayer). Mind you, the two “tables” of the Mass are different (they are one, as Christ is one, but they are two types of good, one for the mind and one for the heart, the spirit).

Janet: but maybe I need to read them again. I can do that. And I re-read the readings after

Jean: it is not about reading, it is about meeting Jesus who wants to speak to you, the difference is huge

Janet: I think He speaks to me when I go to adoration

Jean: see the short video I made about lectio divina. Adoration usually is Adoration (it is of the same family of the Prayer of the heart), not lectio divina. They are two different , distinct, activities (types of prayer) not to be mixed.

Janet: Father taught us to contemplate the Mass readings during Adoration, so that we don't get sidetracked with other things.

Jean: This is why I do study and teach "Spiritual Theology", to avoid confusion and increase efficiency as God planned it for us. He taught us, in the “Our Father” to ask everyday for the Bread, and the Bread, according to his teaching is double: his Word, and His Body. These two beads are not the same. Listening to Jesus is something, and being immersed in Him (receiving his Love) is another. This is why we have to two Tables of the Mass, the two Parts of the Mass, the two types of food. Some will argue that it is only one Table, ok, sure, but there are two forms of good, not to be confused, and not to be either separated. They do communicated deeply, but this doesn't allow us to mix the two moments of the Mass.

Janet: yes

Jean: the Word of Jesus, and then, His Body and Blood (as you notice, adoration and prayer of the heart are the same for me, they are the extension of our Last Communion). Mixing them (which is today's wrong habit) weakens the activity of each, and stops it from making clear sharp fruits. Already trained people don't like that remark because it challenges their actual practice and they don't see why doing so, why changing what they are used to. But, on the other hand, people who are practising the two, in different moments, benefit immensely much more. So, sadly, so each remains in his "belief", and the Church, the faithful loose a lot. We should bother addressing deeply and professionally (theologically) these issues. They are not matters of random choices or “different spiritualities” (as “legitimate”). No, this is the common fundamentals of the Church. I am sure, Brandy, you understand my aim in commenting on these issues: we should reach clarity on these matters and not challenge them by superficial answers like: 'well this is how we do it', or 'this is how they transmitted it to me'...

Janet: I will do that. I'm learning, I know I have much to learn.

Adding clarity and efficiency to our practice

Jean: Janet, it is very simple: look at the Mass itself, God chose to give us two moments: His Word then, His Body. Look at the structure of the Gospel, you have two moments in Jesus' life: three years and a half of Teaching (communicating his Words that are Spirit and Life) and then His Passion, Death and Resurrection. Look at us humans, we have two areas in our being (else than our body) that need food: the soul-body, and our spirit (heart), we need to nourish both areas of our being, the trunk-branches and the roots of the tree. Sun and Water are two different nourishment – of course even if they are distinct, they complement each other.

Till today, the majority of spiritual formations remain in this confusion between meditation (that is in fact neither lectio divina nor Prayer of the heart (mental prayer)), lectio divina, and Prayer of the heart. Confusion between 'meditating', 'reading the bible', 'reading a spiritual book', 'lectio divina', 'mental prayer', 'adoration', 'rosary'. It is all put in one pot, under the same “branding name”: prayer, or meditation.

Not to mention the total incapacity of defining what is Christian Contemplation. Till today. I won't go there now.

They just say: spend 30 mins or 1 hour doing that (as stated by the Canon Law), and it will be fine. This is the general state in the Church, and this is due to some historical facts, but very few study these things, analyse them, and practise them.

Again I am trying to explain myself: the confusion comes from the fact that we do not distinguish between the types of activities... so they loose their efficiency. If you 'jump', in the same hour, from 'meditation', to 'reading', to 'lectio divina', to some 'adoration', to some 'mental prayer', to some 'rosary'.... you can't achieve any of the activities, because each one has its own completion, own supernatural triggering ways, efficiency, quality. And sadly this is today's given advice : - just sit with God, with Jesus, in silence, and read, or adore, or pray, it is all fine... Of course it is better than nothing, because God will act, but is never to be compared to the prayer of a trained formed person.

I was just pointing out that this confusion is generalized in the Church. The real richness of the Church doesn't appear to the faithful. The Church is amazingly spiritually rich. One can't imagine. But it remains hidden, buried. On the more, sadly, what I am point out is not seen as a "confusion" by the majority. It is seen as 'a time for God', for Jesus, 'a time of prayer', 'of meditation'. But in fact, it is confusion. Confusion doesn't help. Our God is a God of order. This is what I am trying to say. Note that nobody would willingly confuse others. No. But ignorance can do so, unwillingly. This is my point. Is ignorance an excuse? Is it a sin? For a Teacher or a Master of Spiritual Life: to which extent is it a sin keeping confusion and ignorance? I leave that to the experts to dig in it. From my part I just say: if you pretend to be a “Master in Spiritual life”, just know that the judgment of God is the heaviest on you. So be very careful about what you say, and the food you give to the people God puts on your way. This is a sacred mission, not to be taken lightly. It is better to take 5 or 10 years of your like now, to deepen these issues than to continue on your track.

It is urgently needed to understand the difference between the different types of “manducation” (act of eating) and increase the technical (art form) of performing them. What is at stake here is the supernatural efficiency of the Grace of God, and teaching people how to receive the Food He wants to give us.

And all this teaching and remarks I am point out to are based on Revelation. But, sometimes, clear things do not appear as such. This is why, prayer, study, analysis are needed, in union with the Church.

The same applies to the Rosary

Again: the structure of the Mass, the structure of the Gospel, the structure of the human being, the 3 of them are in two moments, two parts, like a tree: the visible part and the roots, each has its own central food. Even the Rosary could be said in two ways:

- one way: contemplating the mysteries (so lectio divina type, nourishing the mind and will, the soul)

- another way: more silent deeper way, just being immersed in the Only Mystery of God, Jesus, the Trinity... (nourishing our heart, the roots)

We are taught only the first type, depriving all Christians from receiving with Mary, the deeper food of God. It is simply a crime. Our heart has the right to receive the Rosary, and not only our brain. We forget that we have roots, a heart, the deep part in us, the spirit, the upper part of the soul, that can enter directly in relationship with God.

The actual practice of the Rosary by the Whole Church is: meditate the Mysteries with Mary. But there is another way of saying the Rosary, deeper and complementing the first one we already know. Nobody teaches it, and we loose a lot. Being immersed in Jesus, by the help of Mary, just saying the Rosary, without putting any intellectual or meditative activity into work is of utmost importance as the Prayer of the heart or Communion, because during these precious moments God outpours Himself in us.

'Am I doing something wrong?'

So as a conclusion, in all your spiritual effort you are not doing anything 'wrong': you just can improve, improve, do better, in a more focused way, each activity...

What you are doing today is not your fault, this is how everybody is taught. But my great guess is that : ignorance isn not an excuse and God says very clearly that our first duty is to find the Truth. And the “Truth” here is not only about Faith, Dogma, Liturgy, Sacrament, Moral things, it is first and foremost about learning how the Holy Spirit works in us, and what we are supposed to do in order to receive him, daily: 'Give us this day our daily Bread...'

PS On lectio divina, see as well (click here)