Sacred Reading: The Ladder of Monks

In the Rule of St. Albert, we find this command: “Each one must remain in his cell or near it, meditating on the law of the Lord day and night and keeping vigil in prayer, unless occupied with other lawful duties.” Many comment that this is the heart of the Rule of Carmel. It certainly captures the primary occupation of the Carmelite, which is to keep watch for the coming of the Lord into the heart through grace. In other words, this precept concerns the awakened heart – a heart that waits with eyes wide open, constantly searching for the face of the Beloved.

This prayerful watchfulness is accomplished in two ways: one, by remaining in the cell; and, two, by meditating day and night on the Law of the Lord. Remaining in the cell is a very ancient monastic practice. The advice given by a desert Abba to his restless disciple gives proof for the importance of this discipline: “Remain in your cell and it will teach you all things.” All things? That might sound like an exaggeration, but it is true. And yet, staying in one place could be a very boring and useless exercise unless you were occupied in some fruitful work. The primary labor of the contemplative undertaken in the cell, which is his spiritual workshop, is the art of lectio divina, which is commonly known as sacred reading. This work is the practice of praying the Bible in an attitude of faith, believing that behind every word of Sacred Scripture is the countenance of the Eternal Word. Such reading provides the basis for all contemplation, and it is the tried-and-true method of prayer used by monastics for centuries.

St. John of the Cross summarizes the steps of sacred reading in one of his Sayings: “Seek in reading and you will find in meditation; knock in prayer and it will be opened to you in contemplation.” (No. 158). This maxim along with the method here defined was first articulated by Guigo II, a Carthusian in the 12th Century, in his little spiritual treatise called The Ladder of Monks. As you can see it is an easy way to pray. Guigo conceives of prayer as a ladder consisting of four steps: reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation. The ladder of monks might seem a bit short, but it leads from Earth to Heaven, from the natural in reading to the supernatural in contemplation.

Lectio Divina, as a method of prayer, is not only for the hermit in his hermitage; but it is also a way of praying which is suited for the person looking for a prayer-life with substance. Trust me, there is nothing more substantial for nourishing the soul in prayer than the Sacred Scriptures. The Church through Vatican II, in Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, exhorts all the faithful to the prayerful reading of the Bible: “…the holy synod forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful, especially those who live the religious life, to learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ’ (Phil 3, 8) by frequent reading of the Divine Scriptures. ‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.’” (Dei Verbum, 25).

So, how does one incorporate this important monastic practice outside of the monastery walls? The answer is threefold: time, space, and daily commitment. Like the hermit you need a quiet place to pray, a makeshift hermitage somewhere. That could be a quiet room in your house, like the kitchen table before the rest of the family wakes from sleep, an adoration chapel, your cubicle in the workspace, any place, really, so long as you can be quiet and alone. Next, time: you have to make a daily appointment for at least 20 minutes. It will be a great help in the art of sacred reading if you can keep the same time and place every day, and this is what is meant by commitment.

Now, for the prayer itself. Choose a sacred text, it could be the Gospel of the day, or any one of the daily readings at Mass, or a book of the Bible that you have always wanted to read, or a passage suggested by a spiritual director. The Liturgy of the Church during the Advent season is full of rich texts from the Scriptures. A good suggestion would be to start with the book of Isaiah, or Matthew chapters 1-2, as well as Luke chapters 1-2. Before reading, begin with the sign of the Cross, pray a short prayer to the Holy Spirit or another prayer to ask for God’s assistance, then spend a few moments (and this could be several minutes) setting aside all distracting thoughts so as to settle down in the presence of God. Next, begin to read slowly. You are not reading for information. Understand the text more from the heart than from the mind. Do not read more than one chapter. Sometimes one verse, even, will be enough for the time of lectio. As you read, focus on each word and phrase. Stop when something strikes your soul and seizes your attention. If nothing appeals to your interior senses then just rest with the text in silence and patience. Sometimes, it will speak to you later in the day or at some other future moment in life. Once you have begun reading, assimilate the text through meditation, chewing thoughtfully on each word until the flavor is extracted. This may then lead to prayer, and this is when you begin to speak to God from the text itself. It could be an observation, praise, a question, a petition. It all depends on how the Holy Spirit will use the sacred word in your soul. In reading God speaks to you, and in praying ,you speak to God. The final step, contemplation, is sheer gift. The soul is at times brought to a silence and stillness which exceeds mere admiration of the beauty of Scripture. The soul suddenly sees the face of the Beloved sought in the words of Scripture. The countenance of Jesus is perceived in faith and it can only gaze in wonder.

It is not important that you go step by step in each period of sacred reading. The period may involve only one step, or two, and maybe even all four – the whole process being extended throughout the activities of the day, several days, a week. The important thing is to go to the sacred page and spend time with it. Lectio divina is a spiritual exercise appropriate for the season of Advent. As preparations are made for Christmas, we, like Mary, can ponder in our hearts all the words and deeds of God as they are revealed in his only Son, Jesus Christ.