Acrostic

I was going through some writings today and found some prayer work I had done using the written medium of the acrostic. I had half-forgotten how helpful this particular expression of contemplation can be sometimes. On the days when you want prayer to be more active but still contemplative, the written word can help.

Take a short passage of sacred writing. Sit with it for a while, absorb it, let the words soak in and still your mind (this is Lectio Divina which I’ll no doubt talk about another time). Wait until one word or phrase swims up into your attention. Consider it gently, what it might signify for you. Often this is prayer enough, but sometimes the meaning can be puzzling and a change of focus is helpful.

Take pen and paper and write the word or phrase vertically down the long side of the paper. Then take each letter in turn and let it suggest to you another phrase with the same initial letter. This sounds quite contrived but you will be surprised how the words will come, and expand your focus on the word you are praying.

To explain more clearly what I mean, here is an acrostic I wrote (or that wrote me) while meditating on Mary Magdalene’s meeting with the risen Christ. The word that came to me was “weeping”:

W ho are you? So
E arly in the day
E ncountering the impossible on a
P ath too narrow for us to pass, you and
I, without touching,
N ever dreaming of this mourning and morning of
G race

Just remember this isn’t a performance or a competition, and there are no marks for elegance of content, it’s just for you. Now I’ve remembered it I suspect I’ll be using this method more in the next few months.