a day late!
From yesterday's first reading, I was particularly struck by the Lord's instruction to Joshua:
This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,
but you shall meditate on it day and night.
EXACTLY. From your MOUTH. By speaking it, muttering it, constantly giving voice to it, Joshua would perform his meditation upon it. Meditation isn't first in the heart (asking: what does this mean?); it's first in the mouth and then in the ear (what are you saying, Lord?). So when we read the Sacred Scriptures we do ourselves a disservice when we merely read them mentally; also in our private devotion let us take to heart the Lord's instruction and put His Words on our lips so that they may be in our ears. We will thus dwell in the Word!
Ugh. I hate reading out loud. I find myself so concerned about how I sound that I don't absorb what I am reading. My comprehension/memory stinks all by itself. I don't need to add self-consciousness to the mix. Bleh.
ReplyDeleteYou're not going to like my reply, but tough! ;)
ReplyDeleteYou don't like reading out loud because you're not practiced at it; the more you do it, the easier it becomes, the smoother the delivery and before long you'll find it a way of being even more attentive than simply mentally reading. You're involving more senses this way: the eyes, the mouth, the ears. The more involved, the deeper the impression over time. Try it for a while and see!