As many of you know, I completed my second term as prioress and began a year of sabbatical. I started with a 30-day retreat at St. Benedict’s Monastery and now, gratefully, share some of the wonderful experiences and insights gained while there. In this blog I offer a short reflection on the meaning of sabbatical and describe a method of lectio divina I used based on the writings of Sister Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB.
In the Bible, the concept of a “sabbatical” originates from the Old Testament laws mandating a holy year of rest and remission, observed every seventh and fiftieth year. The term comes from the Hebrew word shabbat, meaning “rest” or “to cease.” In that seventh year, the land was to lie fallow, with no planting or harvesting. This allowed the soil to be replenished. Similarly, a retreat is a sacred time, a sabbath time to rest, to cease usual activity and to “go back” as Sister Macrina says to have a “better look” at your life. For me this was a time to enjoy the beauty around me, to reconsider the priorities of my life, the places needing healing and to begin some watercolor painting, which I have long wanted to do.
In her book, The Song of the Seed, Macrina provides an “at-home retreat” based on the parable of the sower and the seed from St. Luke’s Gospel. During my retreat, I followed the chapters of her book completing two of the three 10-day themes, Bending, Mending and Tending, accompanied by spiritual direction once or twice a week. In the introduction to the book, Macrina helps you “make a connection between the land of your heart and the land of the earth” using elements of the cycle of life in the soil as a guide for lectio. Throughout the process I found her method of lectio very helpful and would highly recommend it for your daily time to “retreat” and “step back.”
The six elements and their counterparts to tending the soil are as follows:
The Fallow Season Quieting the Soul
The Sowing of the Seed Reflective Reading
Resting in the Soil Contemplative Sitting
The Reaping Meditation
The Song of the Seed Prayer
Gleanings Journaling
In the Fallow Season, Macrina suggests five minutes of quiet sitting to allow your mind to clear and to rest in the soil of your soul, “to sit with the hallowed ground of your being” … “to silence the land of your heart.”
She recommends slow reflective reading for the Sowing of the Seed, and when possible that you read aloud so that you can “listen with the ear of your heart.” This is the time to receive the seed of the Word of God as it falls gently into the soil of your soul.
Resting in the Soil follows. Macrina recommended 20 minutes of quiet contemplative sitting. This is a time of gestation awaiting the germination of the seed…the Word of God in the soil…a time of “resting in God and God resting in you…” which for me sometimes led to dosing off, but I wasn’t anxious about that, having a long morning to quiet and reawaken my soul… a real gift.
Having rested with the Word, the period of Reaping (meditation) begins with a second reading of the text. This is a time of gathering and integrating new thoughts, questions and insights that arise as you wrestle with the Word and consider the promptings arising for your personal growth and transforming action. From this meditation a “song line” may arise… a short phrase from the scripture or, for me, sometimes a verse of a hymn to carry me through the day.
The Song of the Seed continues the harvest of the fruit of meditation when you now speak to God in a prayer from your heart. Macrina suggests it could be offered as a petition, word of thanks or praise… in writing, song, wordless action, or a slow, contemplative walk, as the Spirit prompts.
The final movement and I quote generously from Macrina is the Gleaning… journaling time. She says… “A gleaner is one who walks through the fields and gardens gathering what has been left by the reapers. At the end of your day, spend a few moments being a gleaner. Walk back through your day of harvesting the Word of God. Let this be a kind of review of life. Now that the sun is setting, ask yourself, does anything come together in a clearer picture? Is there anything I missed? Did I remember my song line during the day? How does this day of creation feel in my heart? Has this day been, for me, a deep listening, a patient waiting, a tender abiding, a loving romance, and a joyful expectation? Use whatever you need to help in your gleanings: insights and memories, poems, prayers, songs, ideas, quotes from other sewers and gleaners. Record some of your gleanings in your journal.”
I found this journaling time a freeing experience, gathering my thoughts and experiences of the day and relating them back to the scripture passage recommended each day and Macrina’s guided questions, another bonus of using her book for my retreat.
I am so very grateful for the time given to me to spend in sabbath rest and retreat. Blessings to all of you as you continue your walk with the Sower, reaping the harvest with God’s grace.
