Monastic Reflection
Benedictine prayer is less about technique than it is about perseverance and attentiveness. Anyone who reads the Bible in a reverent, faith-filled manner or who attends carefully to the words of the liturgy of the hours will think about the application of what she reads and hears to her own life. Her reflection (meditation) will suggest changes in her behavior or cast new new light on the teachings of the faith. Such reflection will then lead her to prayer: praise to God for his wondrous truth, thanks for his gifts, sorrow for her failures, and requests for forgiveness and help. If a person perseveres in such reading, reflection, and prayer, she will eventually find words less necessary or even a hindrance, and she will simply rest in the presence and love of God. This, at least, is the way medieval monastic authors describe the development of prayer, from reading and recitation (lectio divina), through reflection (meditatio) and prayer (oratio), to contemplation (contemplatio). In fact, this fourfold schema appears several times in the readings selected here.