Reading is integral to the Benedictine way of life—not reading merely to gather information, but lectio: reading slowly, prayerfully, and with an open heart.
Sister Joan draws upon an ancient farming image:
“Weeds spring up and thrive; but to get wheat, how much we must endure. The Rule of Benedict treats work and lectio interchangeably. One focuses the skills of the body on the task of creation. The other focuses the gifts of the mind on the lessons of the heart. One without the other is not Benedictine spirituality.”
The weeds of life require little encouragement. Distraction, resentment, selfishness, and indifference can spring up almost unnoticed. Wheat is no different. Wheat must be planted, watered, tended, protected, and patiently awaited. So it is with the spiritual life.
Lectio is part of that cultivation. Through sacred reading, we allow the words before us to enter the soil of the heart. We remain with them until they challenge us, console us, or awaken within us some truth we have failed to see. The purpose is not simply to finish a passage, but to permit the passage to begin its work within us. If you have not recently read the reflection on meditative reading, you might consider doing so.
When we recognize the extraordinary gift of the mind—the ability to remember, imagine, reason, and seek meaning—how can we not thank the Creator and honor that gift by using it well?
To receive the fullness of life, we must participate in its cultivation. We must work and read, plant and tend, sow and reap. By grace, this need not be a burden. It can become joyful labor: the lifelong work of growing in faith, deepening in love, and sharing generously with those around us.
The gifts have already been given. We need only open our eyes, recognize their magnitude, and begin.
The time to cultivate the life God has entrusted to us is now.
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