What is Lectio Divina?
Lectio Divina is a way of praying with scripture that reminds us of our need to be quiet when conversing. Whether we are speaking with God, with a friend, or with a co-worker a conversation simply cannot occur without the judicious use of silence. The theologian David Tracy says “a conversation is when neither party knows where they are going.” A relationship simply cannot thrive without the silence needed to listen to one another. If you are like me, perhaps your prayer life sounds more like a litany than a listening. I find that, if I am not careful, I can spend all of my time in prayer telling God what I need rather than listening for what God wants for me. None of us likes to be on the receiving end of an all-give relationship yet isn’t this so often how we treat God?
The practice of Lectio Divina forms us in the discipline of silence that is required to know God through God’s own Word. Traditionally, LectioDivina(which means “Divine Reading”) follows a four-part movement, which I will describe shortly. One of the beautiful things about practicing Lectio is that we just take a small bit of scripture upon which to meditate. One might start with the Sunday readings, but only one of them! One could also start with the Gospel of Matthew and take one passage each day (about half a chapter.) Plan on taking anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes but be prepared for the Holy Spirit to capture you and make the time fly!
The four parts of this method of prayer are as follows: first is Lectio a way of hearing the Word. Second is Meditatio, attending to the Word in the stillness of our hearts. Third is Oratio, carrying the Word as we would an image in our mind and in our heart. Fourth is Contemplatio allowing the Word to abide within us. When practicing Lectio Divina we read the selected passage (preferably out loud) at the start of each phase or movement in the prayer. Although the process sounds linear it isn’t always. The important part is that like conversing with a friend, we allow ourselves to be fully present in the moment and movement of the Word in our lives and in the world.
Additional resources about Lectio Divina can be found on the OFCYM website at www.catechesis-chicago.org. Some of the notes for this article are taken from Lectio Divina by M. Basil Pennington. Another good book about Lectio Divina is Conversing With God in Scripture by Stephen J. Binz.