Recently, I wrote about Lectio Divina and my adoption of this meditation practice. This week, another variation on the technique, Aqua Divina.

Some months ago, I started reciting a prayer as I swam. I started with the Francis Prayer:

Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Kick, kick, stroke, stroke. ...of your peace. Kick, kick, stroke. …of your peace. Kick, kick, stroke. TURN!

Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Kick, kick, stroke, stroke, turn.

Parsing the prayer into phrases, repeating them creates both the Meditation and Oratio phases of the meditative practice.

The practice benefits me in several ways.

It makes swimming laps less boring. It is, however, important to remember to turn at the end of the pool. There is nothing particularly sacred about this, but butting your your head against the wall hurts.

And it requires careful selection and memorization of a passage. I had known the Francis Prayer, read it, prayed it many times before I decided to commit it to memory. Having done that, the words rest comfortably in my heart as I repeat them in the pool.

There is a hazard that I should mention—other than remembering to turn at the end of the pool: I find it impossible to meditate and swim full out. If I try to challenge my best times for 50 or 100 meters, I have to concentrate on that task: mind in pool.

Aqua Divina works because there are clearly marked swimming lines and a known course. For that reason, I do not recommend Carrus Divina and Textus Carrus Divina.

Photos: Pool, CTK; CTK photo: Sioux Baily-Maloof