You might not use the word “ritual” every day, but it’s likely that you participate in rituals on a regular basis.
Weddings, church services, graduations—each is a common occurrence that follows a ritualistic format, imbuing the event with meaning.
Lean Into Your Journey by Creating a Home Altar
Have you ever lit a candle with your morning prayer, pinned words of inspiration to a bulletin board, or gathered an element from nature that appealed to you and displayed it in a prominent place?
If so, it’s likely you’ve been creating mini altars of your own whether you were aware of it or not—little vignettes that house hopes and express longings. You’re not alone, after all; Seekers of the Sacred have been creating altars to mark experiences of Sacred Encounter and symbolize their Sacred Search for millennia.
The word “altar” literally means “high place,” and it is these high places that we as pilgrims journey toward, whether we’re walking the storied road to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela or journeying to new places of awareness right at home.
For the pilgrim at home, altars are representations of the Sacred stirrings that are happening within. Just as the altars or Ebenezers created in Biblical times were expressions that “something Sacred happened here,” the altars we create today remind us that “something Sacred is happening here”—both in our travels and in our everyday lives.
Creating a mini-altar at home to accompany you on your journey can remind you what it is that you seek and hold your intention on your behalf as you go about your day. Create your own home altar by following these three steps:
How to Pray the Hours
The time is drawing near; Easter is nearly here.
But first, we must eat with Jesus in the Upper Room, pray with him in the garden, follow him to the court of Pontias Pilate, watch as he is crucified, and keep vigil as we wait for resurrection. As we enter the throes of Holy Week, what better way to pray than with the hours?
Scripture invites us to do just that, outlining in great detail each event of Jesus’ final days, allowing us to fully enter the scene as we keep watch and wait for the most powerful story to unfold. For our final spiritual practice in the Lent 40 Days to Pray series, I invite you to join me in praying the hours in these last few days of Lent, whether you follow along with the liturgy of the Church (find resources below) or keep vigil with the gospel of your choice.
Easter isn’t the same without the descent that comes before it, and I have a feeling praying the hours during these final days and keeping vigil with Christ and his Church will leave you transformed.
Have you followed along with the 40 Days to Pray series during the season of Lent? I’d love your feedback. Fill out my survey here and let me know what else you’d like to see!
ABOUT PRAYING THE HOURS
The Liturgy of the Hours is a rhythm of public or personal prayer set to specific hours of the day, an opportunity to regularly pause and sanctify the day with spiritual practice. Birthed out of the Jewish tradition, the practice of praying the hours can be found throughout the Psalms, where Psalmists proclaim, “Seven times a day I praise you” (Psalm 119:164), “At midnight I will rise and thank you,” (Psalm 119:162), and “In the morning I will offer you my prayer” (Psalm 5:3).
The early Christians carried on this tradition (Acts 10:3, 9; 16:25), and with the rise of the Roman empire, the hours of prayer began to coincide with the hours of the bell that rang to mark the work day at 6am, 9am, noon, 3pm, and 6pm. The Church Fathers continued the practice with morning and evening prayers, and the Desert Mothers and Fathers, who were the founders of the monastic tradition, followed a similar liturgy of the hours to help them to “pray without ceasing.”
In the sixth century, St Benedict (there he is again!) formalized the practice by naming each hour, and it has since formed the basis of prayer for many monastics as well as those in religious life. The day begins with Matins or Vigils (midnight to dawn), followed by Prime (originally at 3am, but since omitted), Lauds or Morning Prayer (dawn), Terce or the third hour of the day (referring to daylight, usually around midmorning), Sext or the six hour (noon), None or the ninth hour (mid afternoon), Vespers or Evensong (twilight), and Compline or Night Prayer (before retiring, around 9pm).
Practitioners follow a breviary—a collection of Psalms, prayers, hymns, Scripture readings, and antiphons (responsive chants), the most widely known being the Book of Common Prayer within the Anglican Communion (containing the Daily Office) and the Divine Office within the Catholic church. Today many independent breviaries are being published that follow specific themes, including special editions for the sister seasons of Advent and Christmas and Lent and Easter, as well as volumes drawing from Celtic spirituality or the rhythms of the seasons of the earth. Such guides serve as a way for practitioners to make the practice their own, providing simple ways to gather in intention with a communion of believers far and wide and continually return to the presence of the Divine throughout the day and remember what it is that we seek.
HOW TO PRAY THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS
- Set a daily rhythm. You might want to simply start with a morning and evening office each day, or follow the rhythms of the early Christians by praying at 6am, 9am, noon, 3pm, and 6pm. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are natural times to pause and pray. Or, you can go all out by following the full liturgy, from Matins or Vigils in the hours between midnight to dawn to Compline or Night Prayer as darkness takes over.
- Choose a guide. You could keep it simple by reciting a prayer and reading a Psalm, keep things classic by following the liturgy of the church or another breviary (a collection outlining the service for each day—see my favorites below), or you could get creative and make your own.
- Show up. If you’re praying throughout the day, set an alarm on your phone to serve as a call to prayer. It might also be a good idea to notify family members and coworkers of your intention, so they can honor your time. Who knows? Perhaps they might even decide to join you!
GO FURTHER…
Resources About Praying the Hours
Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day by Macrina Wiederkehr
In Constant Prayer by Robert Benson
Resources for Praying the Hours
Divine Hours (online)
Daily Office (online)
Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove
The Divine Hours series by Phyllis Tickle
Celtic Daily Prayer from the Northumbria Community
Praying with the Earth: A Prayerbook for Peace by John Philip Newell
Book of Common Prayer (Anglican Communion)
Liturgy of the Hours (Roman Catholic church)
Have you followed along with the 40 Days to Pray series during the season of Lent? I’d love your feedback. Fill out my survey here and let me know what else you’d like to see!
How to Practice Lectio Divina
We’ve been practicing together for two weeks now. Have you noticed a pattern?
I’ve structured the sharing of each practice intentionally throughout the Lent 40 Days to Pray series, allowing a slow unfolding, and, I hope, a fitting finish when Holy Week and Easter roll around. (More to come!)
We began with Welcoming Prayer on the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, welcoming all that we bring with us into this season and preparing our souls to dwell in the presence of God. Last week we shifted to Centering Prayer, a contemplative prayer practice in the style of meditation and one that invites us to experience the truth behind those words found in Psalm 46: “Be still and know that I am God.”
Now that we’ve cleared the space with Welcoming Prayer and settled into God’s presence with Centering Prayer, it’s time to dig deep with Lectio Divina—an ancient prayer practice that reminds us that God’s Word is living, speaking to us even today, especially when it comes to our own personal journeys.
ABOUT LECTIO DIVINA
Lectio Divina, Latin for “Divine Reading,” is a contemplative prayer practice focused on the reading and meditation of Scripture. Its pronunciation varies, some practitioners saying lek-tee-oh, following the rules of traditional Latin, with others saying lek-tsee-oh, following the rules of Ecclesiastical Latin (the official language once used by the Church). Luckily, Lectio Divina isn’t as much focused on the words, but instead what is behind them and the personal wisdom and insight they offer to each and every one of us.
The roots of the practice of Lectio Divina, like many of the contemplative practices, stem from the Desert Mothers and Fathers. Origen, in particular, considered Scripture to be a sacrament, believing that God could be encountered through the “Living Word.” Because the printing press was yet to be invented, there were few copies of the Bible available at the time, so most Scripture was read aloud or recited in the absence of the text. With the Desert Mothers’ and Fathers’ emphasis on silence, stillness, and solitude, it’s no surprise that when Scripture was shared it was engaged not with analysis, but with contemplation. It is from this perspective that the practice of Lectio Divina began to take shape.
The practice became more formalized by St. Benedict in the sixth century, who included it in his Rule of Life and made the practice one of the pillars of his order, along with liturgical prayer and manual labor. The communal practice of Lectio Divina in the Benedictine monastery gave way to the natural structure or progression of the practice—read (lectio), meditate (meditatio), pray (oratio), and contemplate (contemplatio). Considered “feasting on the word,” the process of Lectio Divina is often described as biting (reading), chewing (meditating), savoring (praying), and digesting (contemplating).
While a Benedictine practice for centuries, the awareness of Lectio Divina broadened after it was praised at the Vatican II Council. Since then, its unique method of prayerfully engaging Scripture, allowing it to come alive in practitioners’ lives today, has grown in popularity amongst religious institutions and lay people across traditions, becoming an ancient practice for our postmodern times.
HOW TO PRACTICE LECTIO DIVINA
Return to that quiet spot you’ve been savoring throughout our shared practice these last two weeks (here’s mine) and decide how you’d like to move through the four stages of Lectio Divina. The practice naturally flows from one part to the next, so you could simply move on to the next prompt when you’re ready or you could use a gentle timer (my favorite) allowing five minutes for each.
1. lectio | read
Select a short passage from Scripture that you would like to explore and read the passage through many times. Read it aloud, read it silently, read it slowly, pausing between each line or phrase.
As you continue to read the text, listen for a word or phrase that stands out to you: What draws you in? What resonates with you? What makes you uncomfortable? What leaves you with questions? You will take this word or phrase with you into step 2, meditation.
2. meditatio | meditate
Now it’s time to focus in on the word or phrase that stood out to you. Bring the word or phrase to mind and meditate on it; repeat it in your mind slowly, noticing what comes up for you. As feelings emerge, let them sink in without distracting you from your meditation—the word or phrase might still have more to give.
3. oratio | pray
As you transition from meditation into prayer, begin communicating with God about the word or phrase that stood out to you. Explore what made it capture your attention initially and share any feelings that came up for you during your meditation. As you share these things in prayer, take note of any new insight you are given in regards to the text and/or what has been awakened in you through your word or phrase.
4. contemplatio | contemplate
As your time in prayer comes to a close, spend a few minutes in God’s presence contemplating what has happened within you throughout the time of reading, meditation, and prayer. Bring to mind any new insights you’ve received during this time, whether personal or in relation to the text, and let them sink in, coloring your way of being. You might be surprised how much such a simple and quiet process can alter your perspective and give you new direction.
Note: While Lectio Divina is traditionally practiced with Scripture, it can also be practiced using poetry or song, or, as in the practice of Visio Divina, with a work of art or even a scene outside your door.
GO FURTHER…
Contemplative Outreach on Lectio Divina
Lenten Lectio through the gospel of John (subscribe here for access)
Lectio Divina―The Sacred Art: Transforming Words & Images into Heart-Centered Prayer by Christine Valters Paintner
Meeting God in Scripture: A Hands-On Guide to Lectio Divina by Jan Johnson
Opening to God: Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer by David G. Benner
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How to Practice Welcoming Prayer
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent.
While fasting is likely on the minds of those who participate in the season, one practice associated with the season of Lent often goes unnoticed simply because it’s part of our lives in any season: prayer. The season of Lent, however, offers a great opportunity to dive more deeply into the practice, providing a backdrop of devotion to both experiment and expand. Given the contemplative nature of Lent, it’s also the perfect time to become immersed in contemplative practices, and for the next seven weeks, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
Join me right here every Wednesday during the season of Lent for 40 Days to Pray, a series on contemplative prayer and an invitation to pray together. (Hence, the hashtag. Let’s make this a movement, shall we?) Each week I’ll provide some background on a contemplative prayer practice, as well as instructions for practicing and resources to take your practice further. Join me on this journey? (Psst: Don’t miss a thing when you sign up to get these posts directly in your in your inbox »)
Today, at the outset of Lent, we welcome all that we bring to this season with Welcoming Prayer.