Four Hymns and Christian Writing Blanks in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, 1: Contemplative Reading of Scripture 2.21

FOUR HYMNS AND CHRISTIAN WRITING BLANKS IN THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY AT OXFORD, 1“Oh, Love that Will Not Let Me Go”“All for Jesus”“Jesu, the Very Thought of Thee”“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”CONTEMPLATIVE READING OF SCRIPTURE SERIES 2.21Shirley Muriel SullivanIn Series 2, Contemplative Reading of Scripture will now discuss favourite Christian hymns, along with Scripture appropriate for these hymns. We will also present wonderful Christian writing blanks to be found in the Bodleian Library at Oxford.This book begins with a discussion of the nature of prayer in the Carmelite tradition. Chapters 2-5 present for prayer favourite Christian hymns along with passages of Scripture. These hymns are:“Oh, Love that Will Not Let Me Go”“All for Jesus”“Jesu, the Very Thought of Thee”“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”In chapters 6-8, we discuss some Christian writing blanks found in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. This book is Volume 21 in Series 2 of Contemplative Reading of Scripture. We suggest that we engage in the Prayer of the Heart to the Trinity as we gaze at the beauty of the different images to be found in the writing blanks. Responding to the beauty of each image, we enter into the amazing mystery of the life of Jesus.For each hymn, I suggest passages of Scripture with which we will pray, using a pattern of prayer called CLASP. This pattern is a form of lectio divina, the prayerful way of reading Scripture. In the word CLASP, the letters stand for:Cor: We begin in our “heart” (cor) with the Prayer of the Heart to the Trinity. We spend 20 minutes in this prayer.Lectio: We “read” (lectio) through our Scripture passage.Auditus: We “listen” (auditus) to what this passage says to our hearts.Suspiria: We express in “sighs” (suspiria) to the Holy Spirit our longing to understand the Scripture more deeply.Pax: We end our prayer time in “peace” (pax).My hope is that all the images from the Christian writing blanks will draw us into a deep, personal encounter with God at the centre of our beings.In this book all English quotations of Scripture are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. Read more