Devotio Moderna - Affective Meditation on the Cross

Wow! Today's class was definitely one of the more emotionally testing ones. Today, we learned about Gerard Groote and his influence on Christianity in the 14th century via Devotio Moderna. This man called clergy from being lukewarm to devotion to God about 200 years before Luther sparked the Reformation. In the practice of Affective Meditation of the Cross, we reflect on Jesus Christ as he is nailed on the cross, suffering for our behalf. As we pray we imagine ourselves at the foot of the cross and experience that life changing moment in this prayer. To check out the recording for this class and the accompanying handout click this link: Prayer Through the Ages and look for Lesson 3 - Devotio Moderna.

Prayer Through the Ages - Lectio Divina

Last Wednesday, August 10 was my first class in a series entitled "Prayer through the Ages". In this series, we take a close look some of the ancient prayer practices of Christianity, study its history, learn how to practice the prayer form, pray the practice together, and discuss it. This week covered the Benedictine practice of Lectio Divina (holy reading). This practice incorporates moments of silence in prayer with one passage of scripture read three times in waves of silence, with each wave with a particular focus. Personally, I've found this prayer practice to be enriching in my faith and my relationship with God. I hope this practice can be of use to you as well.

For a recording of the class and the accompanying handout, check out the following link: Prayer through the Ages. This link will take you to my Google Docs page that hosts the files that are available to either view online or to download. The class was recorded at Full Gospel Church in Livingston, NJ. A special thank you goes to Dr. Lyle Paul Jensen of Fuller Theological Seminary for teaching the course that this class was modeled after. His book Subversive Spirituality: Transforming Mission through the Collapse of Space and Time has some excellent material on ancient prayer practices from Judaism to the early Church to the present-day Church and how our perceptions of time and culture have informed prayer practices.

Please let me know your thoughts or if you use any of the materials. I'd be glad to hear from you!