A Deo et Rege

And in this Transfiguration the foremost object was to remove the offence of the cross from the disciple’s heart, and to prevent their faith being disturbed by the humiliation of His voluntary Passion by revealing to them the excellence of His hidden dignity. But with no less foresight, the foundation was laid of the Holy Church’s hope, that the whole body of Christ might realize the character of the change which it would have to receive, and that the members might promise themselves a share in that honour which had already shone forth in their Head. About which the Lord had Himself said, when He spoke of the majesty of His coming, “Then shall the righteous shine as the sun in their Father’s Kingdom ,” whilst the blessed Apostle Paul bears witness to the self-same thing, and says: “for I reckon that the sufferings of this thee are not worthy to be compared with the future glory which shall be revealed in us :” and again, “for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. For when Christ our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.”

From St. Leo the Great’s Sermon on the Transfiguration

Photo from UNF: Saints, Sainthood, and Society: Saints in Art (Halsall)

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For many people reading the Scriptures is comparable to dental work: it gets put off for ages, happens infrequently, and can be downright painful. I wish I had a dollar for everyone I knew who set out to “read through the Bible.” They usually started in Genesis, got bogged down in Leviticus, and quit by mid-Deuteronomy. Why does the reading of God’s word, the history of God’s relationship with his people, provide so little meaning, enjoyment, and inspiration to people today? I think the answer may lie in how we are taught to read the Bible.

Ever since the Enlightenment, scholarship of all kinds has tended to look at literary documents in terms of their historicity. At that time, the Bible started to be judged by the same standards. Skeptics were more than happy to point out historical and scientific errors and contradictions. Many of those who responded to the skeptics started to emphasize the complete inerrancy of the Bible, even in historical and scientific matters. This debate continues today and most reading of Scripture from study Bibles to Bible studies tends to focus on historical, archaeological, and scientfic issues. Although the debate over the authorship of Genesis (whether Moses or JDEP) is interesting to academics and informed layman on both sides, it doesn’t really provide the meaning most people seek in their lives. After all, if a dying person asks the meaning of life and death, no decent pastor would say: “well, according to the priestly source…” We need to break out of our Enlightenment chains and start reading Scripture in the context of a) the Church and b) prayer. Lectio Divina is a start.

Lectio Divina is an ancient method of reading the Scriptures. As by Fr. Luke Dysinger, O.S.B writes, it “… enables the Bible, the Word of God, to become a means of union with God.” Lectio Divina involves several steps: 1) listening/reading: we read the Scriptures, slowly and methodically, to listen for the voice of God 2) meditation: we find a word or passage that sticks out to us and we “ruminate” on it and let it touch us at our deepest levels 3) prayer: we have a conversation with God and prayerfully consecrate all of our lives, even the painful parts to him 4) contemplation: a quiet rest, total silence in the loving presence of God.

Lectio Divina at first seems unnatural to many in the 21st century because it runs counter to our values. Our society values speed, efficiency, the hard facts, noise, and clutter. Yet, for all this frantic activity, society is very shallow. Lectio divina is slow, spiritual, quiet, methodical, and simple. Yet, it is extremely deep and offers limitless opportunities to grow in the Faith and our relationship with the Blessed Trinity.

For more info please visit: Introd. to Lectio Divina by Fr. Luke Dysinger, O.S.B (his article was a source for this entry).

Photo is Sodoma’s St. Benedict and his Monks Eating at the Refectory from CGFA.

From Fr. Francis Randolph in his wonderful book Pardon and Peace: A Sinner’s Guide to Confession:

“…it is worth remembering that the word “priest” ultimately derives from the same Greek word meaning “ambassador…” One of the functions of an ambassador is to declare an end to hostilities, an armistace, a final settlement of peace between warring peoples. By deliberate mortal sin we have declared war on God: the priest in absolution declares peace.”

Photo of the beautiful confessional from the: Parish of St. Vincent

It seems some people are getting huffy because a bishop wants to make sure that Catholic lay leaders actually believe what the Church teaches before they help out behind the altar. Wow, imagine that! A Church that not only believes in something, but also requires that those who are involved in public, leadership positions in the Church adhere to it. Americans are so used to the spinelessness of mainline Protestantism, they are indignant when someone actually enforces Church policy! I congratulate Bishop Vasa for his position. He didn’t excommunicate anyone or burn anyone at the stake, he just set some basic standards for serving behind the altar. I can already hear the cries of “intolerant” and “exclusive,” but the Church is not a secular democracy; it is the Body of Christ. For those who can’t accept that, secular democracy (Praise the Lord for it) provides a nice solution: freedom of religion. Looking up Episcopal or Unitarian in the Yellow Pages should be a start in the right direction.