Pray!...

The icons of Bose - Italic style - egg tempera on wood,32x40 cm
...be wholly conscious of the face of God which shines forth from the text as Christ, the Lord...

Now speak to God. Respond to God's invitations: to the calls, the inspirations, the messages God has given you by the Holy Spirit's power in the Word. Do you see that you have been welcomed into the very heart of the Trinity, into the eternal conversation among Father, Son, and Spirit? Why stop at being an onlooker? Enter the conversation and speak as a friend speaks to a friend (Dt 34:10). You need not attempt any longer to conform your thoughts to God's. Instead, simply seek God's presence. Meditation was only for the sake of this moment of prayer. Now you've arrived! Don't engage in spiritual gossip with God, but instead speak with openness and confidence and without fear. Don't be self-conscious. Rather, be wholly conscious of the face of God which shines forth from the text as Christ, the Lord. Free up your creative impulses: your sensitivities, feelings and emotions, and direct them into this relationship with the Lord. I cannot give you directions here, because each person is unique and knows best how to meet his or her God. Besides, one can't even speak satisfactorily about this experience for oneself, much less for another. What con one say about the fire when one is immersed in it? What con one say about the prayer of contemplation which comes at the end of lectio divina except to say that it is a glowing log which never burns out and that it inflames the believer's heart with love for the Lord?