Contemplative Writing and Life Divina: Doing Lectio Divina Based on Life Events
Terry Tempest Williams says, “Finding beauty in a broken world is creating beauty in the world we find.” This can also include that finding beauty in a broken self, a broken heart, is an affirmation that we are indeed the image of God, wonderfully made, and beloved.
We can come to our prayer, even our contemplative prayer, holding ourselves apart, even shielding ourselves with practices and words. Join Debra Donnelly-Barton for a day of practicing a type of Lectio Divina based upon the life you are actually living. For this practice we enter a space where God is speaking to us through ordinary events, but there is nothing ordinary about the touch of holiness as we do the dishes or mow the lawn or a hundred other quotidian practices.
We will listen to our own lives, deeply and without judgment. We will ponder with God how Love is our companion the whole day—not just at set times or places. Our response or our prayer may take the form of writing from our contemplative heart or sitting still or walking.
Our day will move from silence into pondering and then into writing and/or other responses. There will be time for optional sharing and time for conversation over lunch. Above all, we will make a space together that allows us to relax into the arms of the Beloved.
Debra Donnelly-Barton, MA, is a seminary trained Spiritual Director with over 30 years of experience. She has studied at Stillpoint, Sewanee, University of the South and General Theological Seminary in New York. Her Master’s degree in Theology is from the Ecumenical Institute, St. Mary’s Seminary and University. Debra has led pilgrimages, workshops and retreats across the country, in many Episcopal dioceses, and for several Christian denominations. Debra has a private practice in Spiritual Direction, which informs all her ministries, emphasizing deep listening with others for whispers of the Spirit. Debra has written for the journal Presence, and recorded guided meditations Souls Illuminated by Light with a printed leader’s guide for Morehouse Publishing. Her website is CSDOnline.org.