My notes from Deacon James Keating’s article:
Tips for a Contemplative Approach to Study & Classroom Learning:
- Prayer – pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you through the study.
- Ask questions – what does this text say? What does this text say to me? What does this text lead me to say to God? What do I detect God is saying to me through this text?
- Take notes on 2 levels & divide this in your notebook: (1) discursive – normal, (2) contemplative – what God is saying to me.Compare these notes after. Take these notes to prayer and before the Blessed Sacrament and initiate holy conversation.
- Embrace lifelong intellectual study – in a way that always leads to God.
- Remember that no study is irrelevant – it will serve: (1) the truth, (2) the needs of your people – to be shared freely, or (3) deepen your own intimacy with Christ.
- Go to confession frequently – pure soul = pure mind.
- Encourage one another to practice holy study – cultivate a depth of soul. Practice conversing bout how study has led you to a deeper relationship with Christ.
- Desires – seek a real encounter with truth and with Him who is Truth. You want your study to change what you desire.
- Go to the founts that give you life – the book of creation, the cross, scripture, the saints. Read these substantial sources, let them feed your mind.
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