Lectio divina is a contemplative way of reading the bible. Father pennington explains the history of lectio, and brilliantly makes a number of suggestions of how those of us who are not monastics can use, and benefit from, lectio in. Enzo bianchi touches on the essentials of the history of lectio, from the brilliant thinker. Bianchis treatment of lectio divina was more than i expected. This simple way of prayer allows the person to encounter god in the scriptures in a way that includes spirit, emotions, intellect, and practical action. We combine engaging sessions led by catholic teachers with practical guidance for living the faith and. Rather than rushing through scripture and written prayer, it aims to slow the prayer down, so that they may absorb the word and in doing so spend time with god. By ray yungen contemplative advocates propose that there has been something vital and important missing from the church for centuries. Reading to live traces the practice of lectio divina from its roots in the ascetic movement in the early church and monasticism to its rediscovery in recent times. First, we have the book on contemplative prayer written at the beginning of the discalced carmelites reform. There is an underlying of personal reading as part of a shared.
My love of scripture drew me to read lectio divina. Lectio divina is an ancient practice from the christian contemplative heritage. The rest of the book consists of individual bible studies and lectio exercises. Time set aside in a special way for lectio divina enables us to discover in our daily life an underlying spiritual rhythm.
It draws on the way jews read the haggadah, a text read during passover that retells the exodus story. An invitation to be fully present with our holy god. How to practice lectio divina by father luke dysinger, o. Lectio divina workshops online lectio divina workshop. Building on a lengthy perhaps too lengthy background of the monastic origins of the practice, the book goes on to discuss both the how and what to read including a very interesting view of the church fathers as. It is better to read the book first please see below. Lectio divina literally divine reading is a way of becoming immersed in the scriptures very personally.
To do meditation using the bible you can use a process where you read a passage and then think deeply about a verse or phrase that draws your attention. Lectio divina is a perfect spiritual practice for the pilgrim. The special technique called lectio divina literally meaning divine reading, is a method of prayer, meditation, and communication with god. In my post, bible journaling in the new year i found this definition of lectio divina to share, lectio divina is simply the classical monastic practice of the prayerful reading of the bible it does not treat scripture as texts to. There is the story of ruth and boaz, which primarily takes place in a field. From gods words to our lives, a book in which enzo bianchi examines the meaning of an ancient practice that has recently resurfaced in certain communities of the faithful. Lectio divina is a slow, contemplative praying of the scriptures. Lectio divina, pronounced lektseaho diveenah, is a latin term meaning divine reading and is a catholic meditative form of prayer. My seventh day adventist paternal grandmother was very faithful to reading the bible every day until cataracts dimmed her eyes so she could no.
Lectio divina correlates with the evangelizing mission of catechesis, which is no less than the mission of the gospel, the mission of jesus. Many christians use in their daily lectio divina one of the readings from the eucharistic liturgy for the day. Soon, bianchi launches into the four levels of lectio divina. It was made a regular practice in monasteries by the time of. By gods grace i have enjoyed decades of a career focused on the speaking voice and the spoken word. Lectio divina enzo bianchi 9781612616421 netgalley. Monastic steps for everyday life, phoenix 2007 from christopher jamisons book also see his lectio divina meditation on the prodigal son. Guigo iis book the ladder of monks is subtitled a letter on the contemplative life and is considered the first description of. No matter the medium, lectio divina literally, divine reading involves sacred encounter and guidance. Includes a brief history of lectio divina and explains its original purpose and method. Seems to be written from a scholarly perspective, but i felt was light on the history of the practice. Im going to create a secular lectio divina type exercise, so i wanted to read more about it.
From gods word to our lives is now the third book i have read from him and the third book translated to english and published by paraclete press. Maurice restivo, csb, as he leads us in lectio divina, reflecting on the first of the suffering servant songs from the book of isaiah. This practice, which is called lectio divina, is a beautiful spiritual reading and praying of scripture. This is not your ordinary book about lectio divina. We therefore practice it every day, so that we may develop a deep and genuine love for it, and so that we may grow in the surpassing knowledge of christ. In the view of one commentator, it does not treat scripture as texts to be studied, but as the living word. The goal of this guide is to make lectio divina more accessible, memorable and doable for anyone interested in this ultimate guide, youll learn how to prepare for the prayer, the steps involved, scripture examples to follow, and when to take some time in silence as well as when is a good time to journal. The ancient art of lectio divina by michael casey, too deep for words. Lectio divina to find the daily readings of the mass. It is a way of praying the scriptures that leads us deeper into gods word. Although lectio divina involves reading, it is less a practice of reading than one of listening to the inner message of the scripture delivered through the holy spirit. In catholicism, lectio divina latin for divine reading is a traditional monastic practice of.
Wilhoit and howard, like trustworthy spiritual directors, invite readers to feast in the house of prayer, in which, they tell us, lectio divina resides. So, today lets consider bible journaling as lectio divina. Leonhardt explains these two forms of prayer for those new to the practices. Lectio divina project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
Choose a text of the scriptures that you wish to pray. The insinuation is that christians have been lacking something necessary for their spiritual vitality. During lectio divina, the practitioner listens to the text of the bible with the ear of the heart, as if he or she is in conversation with god, and god is suggesting the topics for discussion. Traditionally, lectio divina has four separate steps. Testament we discover that christs favorite places to commune with god. Leading sheep to a new level of consciousness by wolf tracks blog. Luke dysinger osbs booklet accepting the embrace of god. After reading about monks and their reading practices, the long history of the art of lectio divina in the church, i feel that more monkish practices may appear in my class.
At least for me, lectio divina is a good, concrete practice. Lectio divina and gospel contemplation are two ways to pray with scripture. As our relationship with god deepens we will be renewed in our intention to rest with god in centering prayer. If we want our kids to develop a deep, vibrant relationship with christ, then we need to teach them to prayand not just memorized prayers or spontaneous vocal prayer as important as those are, but meditation and contemplation. Haggadah means telling and along with being a physical text, the word captures the practice of telling and retelling a story. It dates back to the early centuries of the christian church and was established as a monastic practice by benedict in the 6th century. This way to do meditation using the bible is called lectio divina.
In ancient times this inner spiritual motion was described as a helix. Its all too easy to judge a book by its coverto mistakenly set a person aside as. Father pennington explains the history of lectio, and brilliantly makes a number of suggestions of how those of us who are not monastics can use, and benefit from, lectio in our everyday lives. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
During the middle ages the act of reading was experienced intensively in the monastic exercise of lectio divina the prayerful scrutiny of passages of scripture, savored in meditation, memorized, recited, and rediscovered in the readers own religious life. The introduction of the book contains a helpful explanation of individual and communal lectio divina, even providing an example of a lectio divina study for a beginner. I appreciate david helms critique of this method in in his little book expositional preaching. Some of these suggestions, however, might have been incorporated into the book. The lord god has given me a welltrained tongue, that i might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. It is an ancient method of slowly reading the scriptures in a repetitive fashion in order to encounter the presence of god. The introductory chapter by lawrence boadt, csp, discovering lectio divina through scripture, gives some helpful hints on how to grasp the book more adequately. Sisters of the word apostolate sow lectio lectio divina. Bible journaling as lectio divina the littlest way. The ceb lectio divina prayer bible makes the practice of this meditative prayer simple and accessible for all. One simple way to engage in lectio divina as catechists and catholic school teachers gather at a planning or faculty meeting, they might spend time praying with lectio divina. The books of the bible new testament also includes the five basic steps in the practice of lectio divina, a variety of maps, a visual chronology of the bible including world events, and invitations to each of the books that helps give rich context to your reading. Through lectio divina i am able to see and partake in some measure of the one, full christian life in god.
This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in. An introduction to the history and practice of lectio divina kindle edition by barbieri, chris. The reading or listening which is the first step in lectio divina is very different from the speed reading which modern christians apply to newspapers, books. There are also questions to guide you in reflecting on the meaning of the text, a prayer, and suggestions for putting new insights into action. Download a lectio divina brochure lectio divna brochure icelandic translation. It is a method of reading and praying on scripture and other classics of spirituality like augustines confessions and the imitation of christ. In catholicism, lectio divina latin for divine reading is a traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with god and to increase the knowledge of gods word.
This article is adapted from lectio divina for teens. Father pennington explains the history of lectio, and brilliantly makes a. It was made a regular practice in monasteries by the time of st. In each book, enzo has challenged me to new depths in my spiritual life. Pennington, a trappist monk and author of books on centering prayer, monastic. Over the past few years an old form of bible reading and interpretation has resurfaced and made quite an impact. Lectio divina, literally meaning divine reading, is an ancient practice of praying the scriptures. This well written book on the techniques of lectio divina covers the theological as well as practical elements of the approach. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading praying the scriptures.
Lectio divina teaches us to savor and delight in all the different flavors of gods presence, whether they be active or receptive modes of experiencing him. How to do meditation using the bible with lectio divina. For every chapter of the bible, there is a recommended passage for slow and thoughtful reading. Historicalliterary level lectio glimpsing christ meditatio dialogue that engages and interacts oratio seeing god face to face contemplatio part two of the book deals with lectio divina.
The ancient practice of lectio divina is the mainstay of the benedictines personal prayer. An introduction to the history and practice of lectio divina. In fact, the process of lectio divina is no different than the way the pilgrim encounters the world, both while traveling and at home. When the questions are what can i do, lectio divina is a very good answer. Lectio divina is derived from a latin word that means holy reading. About lectio divina a contemplative outreach chapter. Examines the western tradition of lectio divina a spiritual and pra.
Recently someone asked how they could learn to listen to god. Where others have, i think, come up with novel ways of critiquing it, helm heads straight to the bible. Lectio divina and contemplative prayer according to. The practice of lectio divina private lectio divina.
1526 1234 569 1572 798 679 1288 58 234 937 433 208 390 1011 980 409 112 372 1149 1025 298 1400 8 1429 63 1469 1499 900 476 623 1256 1269 829 782 399 62 820 1128 1095 91 249 883 1205 1177