Discernment through the Gift of Reading
What we read in part forms our minds. Of course, there’s much more that forms us, from the families and places of our birth to the unending experiences that come to us. Yet, where we choose to focus our minds can speak to us about our life. Reading was one of the first clues St. Ignatius of Loyola noticed related to what stirred his sprit, and what diminished it. He noticed the consolation and the desolation of his soul based on what he was reading which ultimately took him to write his Spiritual Exercises which became the foundation for the Society of Jesus known as the Jesuits.
“As we learn to read spiritually about spiritual things, we open our hearts to God’s voice. Discernment requires not only reading with the heart but being willing to put down the book we are reading to just listen to what God is saying to us through its words.”
~Henri Nouwen, Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life
One of my favorite books on the reading life was written by Nancy Malone entitled, Walking a Literary Labyrinth: A Spirituality of Reading. In it, she likens reading to walking a labyrinth through life and connects reading to meditation. She points out that “both are done alone, in silence and physical stillness, our attention focused, our whole selves—body, mind, and heart—engaged. Both can draw us deeply into ourselves, all the while taking us out of ourselves. Our consciousness shifts…We become centered, our energy concentrated, with no purpose served by what we are doing other than the act itself. We are, at the moment, only the reader, or the contemplative.”
I can’t deny that books have impacted my own life, formed my thoughts in certain ways. Beginning with my first memories of my mother reading the poetry of James Whitcomb Riley to me as a child. I was fascinated by the way she made a poem come alive for me and I still have those volumes of poetry on my bookshelves. Then as a teen I remember reading Christy, by Catherine Marshall, which gave me an inkling of an idea about living with purpose or mission. And in my late 20’s I first read Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline which gave me a language for the things I was experiencing spiritually but had never heard about in my faith tradition. It was a game changer… So many books, authors, messages, enjoyment, information and transformation come through the words of a book.
Currently I’m reading Parker Palmer’s The Hidden Self: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life with a group of three other friends. It’s deepening my understanding about creating trust in community, both through the words and through the interaction of this group.
It’s reminded me again to always be listening for the Divine voice, the nudge, the epiphany, awakening “aha” moments happening within me because God is always there waiting in the gift of reading.
For Spiritual Direction Conversation:
How have words from a book helped you discern new truths in your own life?
How might God be inviting you to grow or think differently about a situation based on the message you read in a book?
What have been the life-changing books you’ve read over your life? If a favorite author is still living, consider writing a letter of appreciation for their work.
Read more about discernment here: Discernment in Everyday Life
