Details

Book Name :	JOURNEYING THROUGH DISTRACTION . . . . . . THE JOY OF COMING HOME, A Lectio Divina for Christian Meditation
Weight (In gms) :	250
Book Ref Number :	ISBN : 978-81-89851-52-1
Language :	English

Description

The practice of Meditation is not new to the Christian Tradition. It has existed since the early centuries of Christianity as a method of contemplative prayer. Taught by the Desert Fathers and Mothers, this practice has at its heart the process of interiorising the WORD. Lectio Divina and the practice of Meditation in its original meaning, exist in a symbiotic relationship. Preserved in the East but largely ignored in the West, John Main, a Benedictine monk, recovered this practice for Christianity in the Western Tradition. The practice of Meditation in this sense is not meant to offer us new insights into the Scriptures. Instead as the letter to the Hebrews points out, its aim is to allow “the WORD which is alive and active to cut more deeply than any two-edged sword, piercing so deeply that it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it discriminates among the purposes and thoughts of the heart.” A contemplative reading of the Word progressively reveals us to ourselves.
The collection presented in the book consists mostly of Soliloquies, a literary form used to personalise the experience of the character portrayed. Interspersed between them are a few Reflections. These however, are not presented as an afterthought, the result of intellectual reasoning. They situate the context in which key attitudes that characterise contemplative prayer are shown to be Biblically founded. 
Rather than call them chapters, each of them may be considered to be the elements that make up a colourful mosaic. There is a quote reflecting the underlying aspects of the teaching of the practice of Meditation which prefaces each Soliloquy / Reflection. Taken mostly from the writings of John Main and Laurence Freeman and the teachings on the practice, they form a prism whose spectrum is the light through which a meditator’s inner eye is opened and the WORD becomes the true LIGHT within. It shows that the practice is rooted in the Biblical Tradition. 
One hopes that the reader will use this book as a companion to the daily practice of Meditation, as we ‘Journey to the Heart’. Journeying through distraction, sustained by the Promise, in the company of the Patriarchs and Prophets, may you experience the Joy of Coming Home thus joining the Cloud of Witnesses who first experienced its Fulfilment.

About Author

Christopher Mendonca is a writer on Spirituality in the Christian Biblical Tradition. He regularly contributes a series of Reflections for Advent / Lent to The Examiner, the Catholic Newsweekly of the Archdiocese of Bombay. He is also an occasional contributor to the Spirituality Column of the Times of India – The Speaking Tree. Having completed his Philosophical and Theological Studies, he has a B.A. (hons.) degree from the University of Bombay with Psychology as his main subject. He also holds a post-graduate Diploma in Counselling Psychology from the Xavier Institute of Counselling, Mumbai. He is a keen follower of Richard Rohr OFM, in his use of the Enneagram?as?a powerful tool for self-discovery and spiritual transformation. As a Benedictine Oblate of the World Community for Christian Meditation community, he is committed to sharing the gift of the Teaching and Practice of Christian Meditation. To this purpose he has conducted Retreats, Seminars and Essential Teaching Workshops. He is presently Coordinator – WCCM School & Teaching in Mumbai / India.