Duchowy i symboliczny charakter starożytnej egzegezy „lectio divina” i jego znaczenie dla życia duchowego dziś

Abstract

The article entitled “Spiritual and Symbolic Character of Ancient Exegesis and Lectio Divina and Its Meaning For Spiritual Life Nowadays” encourages one to draw from the wealth of ancient exegesis done by Origen and St Augustine that does not break away from spirituality (understood as accepting the spiritual meaning of the Holy Scripture and as the attitude of the exegete cooperating with the Holy Spirit on understanding the God’s Word), does not lose the perspective of theology of history and unity of the whole Holy Scripture, of the continuity of Revelation, close relation between the Old and New Covenant, and does not lose sight of Christ as the center, the “key” of the history of salvation. In the first part the author emphasizes the alarming disappearance of religious symbols in contemporary world resulting from the expanding secularism. Next he shows the presence of man in the world of symbols and his ability to symbolize, to read symbols and to express them. Understanding of man in the light of the Bible requires taking into consideration the symbolic language that is contained in it. The ancient “total exegesis” that is “dogmatics and complete spirituality closely related with each other” (H. de Lubac) and that reaches the triple meaning of the Holy Scripture (literal, moral and mystic), took into consideration the rich biblical symbolism and became the way from the symbol to the revealed truth. Lectio divina was more practically directed. It served searching for God, hearing His “voice” and realization of His will. The article shows the degree, to which God’s Word becomes the directive of the Rule and spirituality of the monks gathered around St Pachomius, how they assimilate it and answer it with their life. He also describes, referring to Cassian, close reading God’s Word, attentive listening to it and continuous meditating on it that served a monk as a way of purifying himself from worldly things and burying himself into spiritual and Godly things.