Divine Reading

An ancient form of study is found in the practice of lectio divina. This technique is so old and widespread that it has many variants that serve to accentuate different aspects. An excellent, if long, explanation of the steps involved and the underlying purpose of each can be found at http://www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html.

The basics of the personal (individual) form of lectio divina are summarized below, but first, it is important to stress a few critical aspects. Understand that the ancient ritual does not translate well into the 21st century. With the Western emphasis on individuality and accomplishment, each action is quite often seen as self-directed and filled with intent. That must be let go during lectio divina, so that the mind is sensitized to the light touch of the Holy Spirit. In the same way, there should ideally be no expectation of how many verses are to be covered or of how many times a given passage is repeated. With these things in mind, it is important to have the proper frame of mind, even before the reading is begun, so lectio divina may best be exercised following a quieting or centering activity.

With this as introduction, there are four parts of lectio divina: lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio. Literally, the Latin translates "reading", "meditating", "speaking", and "contemplating". For individual practice, better terms might be "reading", "examining", "prayer", and "experiencing".

Lectio divina begins with slow and deliberate reading, where text is considered bit by bit until some idea, phrase or word is found that speaks to the reader. This portion of the text is read again until it is safely held in mind without the physical print.

Next, the selected portion is examined for personal relevance, perhaps relating it to past events or to the events of the day. Whatever the mind brings to the surface is to be identified and explored. Approaching the text from multiple viewpoints may help discover hidden meanings and relationships.

Once fully dissected, the discovered meaning is placed into God's hands through prayer. Issues of personal significance are turned over to His grace, as are feelings, doubts and questions. Everything is trusted to His wisdom and purposes, with faith that He will bestow understanding as He sees fit.

The last stage of lectio divina is simply to rest in God's hands, to experience being in His presence. Quiet solitude, free from words, free from obligations permits the mind to be open to divine instruction. There need not be a message conveyed, for God cannot be commanded, but a gift of revelation should be simply accepted without analysis.

These four steps, reading, examining, praying and experiencing, have a natural rhythm to them, but believers should not feel bound by their order and should freely move backward and forward as seems necessary. For example, prayer may reveal that there is more to learn, leading back to reading of the text or of surrounding text to see additional meaning. In this way, lectio divina has led generations to a deeper understanding of God's movement and purpose on earth and has opened countless hearts to His guidance.

May the combination of reading, examination and prayer increase your awareness of the presence of God.