Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina
Michael Casey, prior of the Cistercian abbey of Tarrawarra in Victoria, Australia, places the practice oflectio divinanear the heart of the Benedictine tradition. Although this is not a "cookbook," it is a practical guide as well as a theological and historical introduction. For Casey,lectio divinais a spiritual discipline with particular relevance to an age marked by individualism and resistance to discipline. Readers will find his application of traditional imagery of a spiral journey into the depths of Scripture particularly illuminating as a guide to reading sacred texts. That a spiral journey is marked by repetition leads Casey to remark that "there is a kind of monotony that is not boredom but paves the way to a more profound experience." This is reminiscent of advice from Zen tradition: if you find something boring after a minute, do it for two; if you find it boring after two minutes, do it for four. "Enlightenment," Casey writes, "comes not by increasing the level of excitement, but by moving more deeply into calm." Readers will find this book a most helpful companion in making that move.Steve Schroeder