Essentially you will be using it like a zen koan. You will be doing lectio divina - this time it will be with a short aphorism from the Apophthegmata (Sayings of the Fathers). Repeat it inside, over and over. Listen for what the Spirit has to teach you from these aphorisms.
We will work with these sayings for a few weeks. Be sure to journal what you hear. This will leave a path for you to follow later, when you want to see where you have been and how you have developed. On-line Journal at: http://my-diary.org/ Don't forget it has features to remind you daily to write. It can be made public or private, as well.
Here are some sayings from the Apophthegmata Patrium to read and contemplate for our daily practice of spiritual direction + spiritual formation.
17. One day when Abba John was going up to Scetis
with some other brothers, their guide lost his way for it was
night-time. So the brothers said to Abba John, 'What shall
we do, Abba, in order not to die wandering about, for the
brother has lost the way?' The old man said to them, 'If we
speak to him, he will be filled with grief and shame. But
look here, I will pretend to be ill and say I cannot walk any
more; then we can stay here till the dawn.' This he did. The
others said, 'We will not go on either, but we will stay with
you.' They sat there until the dawn, and in this way they did
not upset the brother.
18. There was an old man at Scetis, very austere of body,
but not very clear in his thoughts. He went to see Abba John
to ask him about forgetfulness. Having received a word
from him, he returned to his cell and forgot what Abba John
had said to him. He went off again to ask him and having
heard the same word from him he returned with it. As he
got near his cell, he forgot it again. This he did many times;
he went there, but while he was returning he was overcome
by forgetfulness. Later, meeting the old man he said to him,
'Do you know, Abba, that I have forgotten again what you
said to me? But I did not want to overburden you, so I did
not come back.' Abba John said to him, 'Go and light a lamp.'
He lit it. He said to him, 'Bring some more lamps, and light
them from the first.' He did so. Then Abba John said to the
old man, 'Has that lamp suffered any loss from the fact that
other lamps have been lit from it?' He said, 'No.' The old man
continued, 'So it is with John; even if the whole of Scetis
came to see me, they would not separate me from the love of
Christ. Consequently, whenever you want to, come to me
without hesitation.' So, thanks to the endurance of these two
men, God took forgetfulness away from the old man. Such
was the work of the monks of Scetis; they inspire fervour in
those who are in the conflict and do violence to themselves
to win others to do good.
19. A brother questioned Abba John, saying, 'What
ought I to do? A brother often comes to fetch me for work,
and since I am ill and weak, I get tired out working; what
should I do, in order to keep the commandment? 'The old
man answered him saying, 'Caleb said to Joshua, the son of
Nun: "I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the
Lord, sent me with you into the desert in this land; and now I
am eighty-five years of age; as then, so now I can still take
part in the battle and withdraw from it." (cf. Jos. 14.7-1 1) In
the same way you, too, if you are strong enough to go out
and to come in, go to work; but if you cannot do it, sit down
in your cell and weep for your sins and when they find you
filled with compunction, they will not compel you to go out.’
20. Abba John said, 'Who sold Joseph?' A brother replied
saying, 'It was his brethren.' The old man said to him, 'No, it
was his humility which sold him, because he could have said,
"I am their brother" and have objected, but, because he kept
silence, he sold himself by his humility. It is also his humility
which set him up as chief in Egypt.'
21. Abba John said, 'We have put the light burden on one
side, that is to say, self-accusation, and we have loaded
ourselves with a heavy one, that is to say, self-justification.'
22. He also said, 'Humility and the fear of God are above
all virtues.'
23. The same Abba was sitting in church one day and he
gave a sigh, unaware that there was someone behind him.
When he noticed it he lay prostrate before him, saying,
'Forgive me, Abba, for I have not yet made a beginning.'
24. The same Abba said to his disciple, 'Let us honour
one only, and everyone will honour us; for if we despise one,
that is God, everyone will despise us, and we will be lost.'
Ciao!
+Tom
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