Souls Illuminated by Light: Guided Meditations for all Seasons

Spiritual Life, Spring 2002 by Girouard, Joseph

Souls Illuminated by Light: Guided Meditations for all Seasons. By Debra Donnelly-Barton. Morehouse Publishing: P.O. Box 1321, Harrisburg, PA 17105, 2001. Audio CD and Leader's Guide. $19.95.

Among the many diverse aids to personal prayer today, Debra Donnelly-- Barton's new audio CD of guided meditations for every season insightfully incorporates many of the prayer forms that the spiritual masters in the Christian tradition have recommended throughout the ages. Each of her four meditations is approximately seventeen minutes in length and begins with a proximate preparation for entering prayer: Barton guides her listeners through breathing exercises to induce relaxation, bodily awareness, and mental attentiveness. Each meditation then implicitly follows the fourfold pattern of Lectio Divina.

First, Barton begins with a short reading of Scripture (lectio) taken from the New Revised Standard Version. In the first two meditations, she uses the same passage-Jeremiah 18:1-4 (the potter refashioning his clay vessel on his wheel)-demonstrating the richness and depths that the same verses of Scripture can bring. In the third meditation she draws on 2 Corinthians 4:6-11 ("earthen vessels"), and in the fourth, John 14:16-17 (Jesus' asking his Father to send the Spirit of truth to abide with us).

After each Scripture reading, Barton reflects on the passage through a discursive meditation (meditatio). The focus of the first meditation of Jeremiah 18:1-4 is "emptying" and the second, "receptivity"-both considering the empty space within "our vessels" to make room for God's life and grace within us. The third meditation focuses upon the "Treasure" (God) within our souls, held in "earthen vessels" as St. Paul preaches. The fourth meditation follows the third, emphasizing the inner transformation that occurs when we remain open to God's abiding Spirit. Barton enriches her reflections by quoting (sometimes with a slight echo effect) poets and masters (e.g., Meister Eckehart, John O'Donahue, Thomas Merton, and R.S. Thomas) and by using uplifting musical instruments (e.g., guitar, strings, piano, flute, triangle, etc.) to accompany each meditation. Barton also takes occasion to lead her participants away from distractions, calling them to refocus upon their breathing. Breathing Prayer, in fact, is a very strong component throughout Barton's meditations.

Barton then guides her seekers through the third phase of Lectio Divina, which is prayer (oratio). Sometimes Barton transitions to this moment by suggesting a mantra of words (e.g., .receive me, receive me") or an image (e.g., a "mirror" or "light") that might facilitate a form of Centering Prayer. Wind chimes are often sounded to signal the moment of entering this prayerful silence wherein our hearts can commune with God. Other musical instruments or sounds of nature (e.g., birds) enter the silence and only occasionally does there come a welcomed pregnant pause of noiselessness. Barton ends the silence by gathering the main sentiments of the meditation and prayer into a brief collect, bringing her participants back into the physical space of the prayer room.

The CD comes with a Leader's Guide, which can be used to enhance the audio meditations. In it there are explanations on the nature of prayer and meditation, ideas for preparing a prayer space, strategies for facilitating the program with a group, and insights for creating hospitality. The Guide provides introductory material for each meditation and the Scriptures themselves so that each participant might hear the verses repeated more than once (ruminating upon them as the medieval spiritual masters recommend during lectio). The Guide also provides questions for personal journaling and points for discussion if the prayer group opts for either of these activities. Reading through the Leader's Guide is also a meditation. For example, in the opening section, it reflects upon "Mary, the mother of our Lord" as "a model of meditation for us" (p. 5) since Mary ponders God's mysteries in her own heart-"pondering" being the first motion of prayer. Of course, this program can also be used by individuals.

Either individuals or a group can adapt the program to their needs since the time given to each section is limited. For instance, I found that the proximate preparation for each meditation was rather short, less than three minutes. Likewise, the moment for silent prayer (oratio) averaged less than five minutes, and at most there were only forty seconds of "real" silence, unaccompanied by musical instruments or other sounds. I found it most useful at each of these junctures to simply press the pause button to allow the needed time to enter into and experience fully a prolonged and prayerful silence.

The Leader's Guide recommends such flexibility "to suit [one's] own setting" (p. 8). Such allowances can be as long or as short as individuals or groups are accustomed. A longer silence might be particularly important to facilitate better the fourth and final phase of Lectio Diving (thus completing Barton's strategy-contemplative gazing (contemplatio), which, of course, only God can initiate. We simply do all that we can to dispose ourselves to the contemplative moment, the ultimate goal of all the previous stages.