Prayer Practices: Lectio Divina

Prayer Practice: Lectio Divina 

     I grew up in the midst of various Christian traditions that all situated personal study of Scripture – whether they called it “devotions,” “quiet time,” or something else – in the short catalogue of items of critical importance to Christian Faith.

     At the time, I had no idea that the “quiet time” was just another form of an ancient tradition within the Christian Church that more historically might be called “Lectio Divina.”

     Often translated “Sacred Reading,” the argument has been made that “Divine Picking” is a better rendering of the Latin (by, for example, Richard McCambly at lectio-divina.org), which carries the idea that we are – guided by the Holy Spirit – picking a small section of scripture through which God is speaking to us.   

     There are many good guides in the practice of Lectio Divina, but I find the Carmelites (The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel; ocarm.org) to be a good resource amongst many others. They attribute the essential stages of Lectio Divina to a 12^th century Carthusian monk named Guigo:

1.    Leggere (Lectio/Reading) – we read the Word of God, slowly and reflectively, so that it sinks into us. Any passage of Scripture can be used, but it should not be too long. [Regardless of length of text orginally used, I find the Spirit tends to draw us to a smaller portion as we reflect.]

2.    Meditare (Meditatio/Reflection) – we think about the text and ruminate upon it so that we take from it what God wants to give us.

3.    Pregare (Oratio/Response) – we leave our thinking aside and simply let our hearts speak to God. This response is inspired by our reflection on the Word of God. [And by the Holy Spirit… this is a good point at which to affirm that Lectio Divina is not about the discovery of “information about” the text, but is a spiritual and relational act of communication between God and humanity, utilizing Scripture.]

4.    Contemplare (Contemplatio/Rest) – we let go not only of our own ideas, plans, and meditations but also of our holy words and thoughts. We simply rest in the Word of God. We listen at the deepest level of our being to God who speaks within us with a still, small voice. As we listen, we are gradually transformed from within. This transformation will have a profound effect on the way we actually live and the way we live is the test of the authenticity of our prayer. We must take what we read in the Word of God into our daily lives.