2nd May 2008
As we begin this general chapter we pray for the dispositions necessary for entering into a process of spiritual discernment as a community. Let us place ourselves in an attitude of listening, openness and interior freedom in order to welcome the will of God for our Institute at this stage of our history.
God wishes us to have life in abundance (John, 10:10) and to be bearers of life to humanity. How can we be in harmony with God so as to allow ourselves to be led with docility along his ways? May the Lord open our ear to listen like disciples. (Is 50, 4). We would like to suggest a Lectio Divina using one of these texts:
SCRIPTURE TEXTS
Ez. 37, 1-14 
Is 44, 1-8
Jn. 3, 1-15
FOR A PRAYERFUL We read the text, which has been chosen, and we try to capture the meaning of the text looking for key words, contemplating the persons, and noting the actions. We place the reading in the context of the biblical book to which it belongs and in Scripture as a whole. We are reading the text “today”
We read the text as though we are reading it for the first time. We may sometimes miss the richness of this first reading because we have the impression of knowing the text. Perhaps we have read it and listened to it many times. But we need to read the text with fresh eyes and this openness to what the text is saying will enable us to discover aspects that until now have been hidden or implied. We are trying to answer the question:
WHAT IS THIS TEXT SAYING?
MEDITATION
In meditation we reflect on the message of the text, the eternal values it is communicating to us, and on the knowledge of divine action that it is giving us. We are trying to answer the questions: WHAT IS THIS TEXT SAYING TO US? WHAT ARE THE MESSAGES AND VALUES OFFERED TO US? This is a very personal moment of Lectio Divina, in which I ENTER INTO DIALOGUE WITH THE ONE WHO IS SPEAKING TO ME THROUGH THE TEXT, and through all of scripture. The Word of God is alive and active, it is transforming, it urges us to a definite commitment in our daily living, and in this “now” moment of our personal and community history. We are trying to answer the question: This biblical reading leads all of us to that Word in which we re-discover our unity, and at the same time makes our hearts burn within us as it did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus: “Did not our hearts burn within us when he spoke to us on the road, when he explained the scriptures to us?” (Lk. 24, 3)