in Lent or in Ordinary weeks
This series of eight meditations draws on the art of Sieger Köder, selections from Psalm 107, and passages from the gospel as aids to being open to God, encountering God’s presence and love, and reflecting on personal and global issues.
The meditations can be used through Lent, Holy Week, and the week after Easter, but can also be used at other times throughout the year, as a series, or as individual meditations.
Each meditation is ‘located’ in a particular time of day, but can be used at whatever time works best for you.
It is our prayer that you will find them a helpful source of inspiration, comfort and challenge.
Each Sacred Gaze comprises:
An opening prayer, from The Open Gate: Celtic prayers for growing spiritually, David Adam (SPCK, 2006), p.17
A few verses from Psalm 107
The image of a painting by Sieger Köder
A personal issue to consider OR a global issue to ponder
A prayer (from Michael Leunig, Macrina Wiederkehr, or David Adam).
Imago Divina prayer ~ Praying with an art image
Imago divina is an extension of lectio divina or holy reading, a simple way of praying with an image or artwork instead of with Scripture. It leads us naturally from a rational consideration of how a painting might connect with our current life, to a personal response in prayer and a gentle resting in the love of God, the beginnings of contemplation. Lectio divina emerged as a practice in the early Church, finding its way into European monasticism through Cassian and St Benedict. Nowadays, along with other forms, Lectio, Imago, and Terra Divina (the holy reading of the natural world) are experienced by followers of the Way, as gifts of grace and growth in Christ.
Click here for suggestions of how to approach Imago Divina