A Nun’s Life

Meditation

By Sister Julie | July 22, 2008

A question from Jackie …

I am hoping you can clarify something for me. What does it mean to meditate over (or on) scripture? When I think of meditation, I think of focusing the mind on the breath or a mantra, trying to clear the mind of “chatter”. Meditating on scripture seems quite different. What does a person do in this type of meditation?

“Meditation” can mean many things and is variously defined. But basically it is any way that helps a person to center herself, become quiet and still within so as to be open. Meditation is creating a listening heart.

Within the Catholic tradition, meditation has it’s goal being open to God. We become quiet and still in order to be more aware of God who is always with us. We are always in God’s presence, we are not always present to God.

Meditation helps us to bring ourselves consciously into God’s presence. We don’t just think about God, we open ourselves to the experience of God who is right now relating personally with us. We ask God to help us as we draw closer to God, realizing that we do so only because God first called us and loves us dearly.

We use Scripture, our imagination, a mantra, an icon, a quiet space in the woods — whatever it may be — to draw us more closely to God and to be more open to hearing God. God becomes the focal point for whatever spiritual “tool” (for lack of a better word) we use. Sometimes God draws us away from these “tools” and pulls us into a space of just being. Being with God alone. No words, no images, just God. This space of just being alone with God is referred to as contemplation. It is sheer gift of God. Whereas with meditation, we are actively disposing ourselves to listening to God, to being in God’s presence; with contemplation, we are no longer doing anything because God has swept us up into Godself. Teresa of Avila writes at length about these different ways of experiencing God and is a good source if you want to spend more time learning about prayer — Interior Castle is a great place to start.

So this is a really long way of answering your question, Jackie, but I hope it helps. When you meditate on Scripture, you are allowing the Word of God to wash over you, to draw you into a place of quiet and stillness. It’s different from “reading” Scripture because when meditating, you might only read a few verses, maybe even a single phrase or word. You savor that word … the Word … like you might with repeating a mantra. When I meditate with Scripture I start with either a favorite passage or maybe something has struck me from the daily readings or from Mass. I take that Scripture to prayer with me almost like a doorway to the soul, knowing that God is attracting me, pulling me near through that particular passage. I meditate on it as a way to focus myself on God and God’s particular Word for me at that time.

In the Christian tradition we call this way of meditating/praying “Lectio Divina” or simply “Lectio”. It means “Divine Reading”, a way of drawing closer to God. Here are some more resources on Lectio.

Spiritual GPS a post I wrote about Lectio Divina
Too Deep for Words: Rediscovering Lectio Divina a great book with explanation of Lectio, lots of resources, and 500 scripture texts for prayer
Lectio Divina from the Benedictines wonderful resources and links on Lectio

Topics: catholic life, prayer | 1 Comment »

Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN

By Sister Julie | July 20, 2008

Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN, was a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur who was killed in February 2005 because of her work with and on behalf of the people of Brazil. She had lived in Brazil for over 40 years ago and worked with the Pastoral Land Commission, an organization of the Catholic Church that fights for the rights of rural workers and peasants, and defends land reforms in Brazil. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur have a web page dedicated to Sister Dorothy Stang.

There was a lot of news coverage recently because one of the persons responsible for her murder was acquitted. Then this article came out about Sister Dorothy’s brother, David Stang — “Nun’s Dream Lives On” by Colleen O’Connor of the Denver Post. Though the story emerges from the terrible tragedy of Sister Dorothy’s death and the ongoing oppression of the poor in Brazil, it is filled with hope and with light.

Dorothy’s murder had a profound affect on her brother David. According to this article, the murder “thrust David — blissfully retired and tending his coin and stamp collections — smack in the middle of an international drama of land wars and death lists.”

[David] Stang, who is studying Portuguese, has traveled to Brazil nine times, attending all the trials. He has trekked deep into the rainforest to visit Dorothy’s grave and to sleep in the bed where she spent her last night….

Over the past three years, he has met with Brazilian politicians and embraced countless farmers who grieve the loss of Dorothy.

And he has worked with journalists from CNN and international newspapers to keep her story alive. A week after the murder, he traveled to Brazil with Denver independent filmmaker Daniel Junge to be part of his documentary “They Killed Sister Dorothy,” which won first prize at the South by Southwest Film Festival and will be featured this fall at the Denver Film Festival.

“I think it’s incredibly brave for someone in his stage of life to really put himself out there in the way he has,” Junge said. “I don’t think he planned to spend his retirement this way.”

The investment of time, however, helped the prosecution, said Brent Rushforth, the Washington, D.C., lawyer who represented the Stang family at the trials.”His presence as a representative of the family, and keeping the spotlight on the story, is one reason why the Brazilian guys have done their job,” he said….

Stang, who calls himself “the living spokesperson for Dorothy,” … vows to keep her legacy alive, even if it means spending time with people such as Henri des Roziers, a French priest in Brazil who, according to local journalists, has a price on his head of 100,000 Brazilian reais — about $38,000, or twice the amount allegedly paid for Dorothy’s murder.

When des Roziers invited Stang to attend the opening of a new school named for Dorothy in Xinguara, at the heart of the violent conflict, he didn’t hesitate. The trek included two airplane flights and a four-hour drive in a pickup truck on rutted jungle roads deep into the frontier, where he was greeted by hundreds.

“The workers wore hard hats and were standing at attention. The kids came out in their uniforms. Everyone sang songs. There were hugs and tears. If I’m a symbol of pride to them, then, yes, I’ll be there.”

Do read the full article in the Denver Post and check out the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur’s web page dedicated to Sister Dorothy Stang.

Topics: justice, peace, care, news on the nunfront | 2 Comments »

Plurking Nun

By Sister Julie | July 17, 2008

I’m experimenting with Plurk, a social networking type site. I’m still exploring it and learning about it — essentially it’s a kind of instant chat application where you can see what your friends are up to and have mini conversations (140 characters or less for each comment) with one another. I’ve been on Twitter and never thought I’d like Plurk, but I really do! I think it’s the funky icons and generally querkiness that I love. And I think it lends itself to more meaningful interaction, not mere broadcasting.

If you are on Plurk or interested in trying it out, visit me at Plurk. I can’t say that my plurks are always going to be inspirational, just the daily stuff of life including random banter.

Topics: about this blog, surfing the net | 6 Comments »