by Jo Briscoe
Lectio Divina - (divine reading of the Bible)
Reading the bible has a long and eminent tradition in the Church – it is the basis for our faith. All Christians are encouraged to take up the Bible and find in it a true guide for the intellect and for the actions of every day.
These notes are based on articles of reasoning taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and include the fact the Bible is the interpretation of the Heritage of Faith. The Apostles entrusted the ‘Sacred deposit’ of the faith contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition to the whole of the Church. By adhering to this heritage, the entire holy people united to its pastor remain always faithful to the
teaching of the Apostles. The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition has been entrusted in the name of Jesus Christ to the Bishop, in communion with the Pope. This is the Magisterium. It is clear, therefore, that, in the supremely wise arrangements of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together each in its own way, under the action of the Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.
God is the author of Sacred Scriptures because He inspired its human authors. The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerates the Body of the Lord; both nourish and govern the whole Christian life: ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.’
We need to put into practice the light we receive from the Lectio; only then is the Lectio realised and accomplished. This Word which came down from the highest heaven, spoken in the heart of the Trinity, touches the densest part of our being, our body (through the concrete act of reconciliation). This is the course of the word. It unites heaven and earth. It is always necessary to ensure that the Word received, like a beam of light coming from the mouth of God, is truly incarnated. Otherwise Lectio will remain fruitless. Conversely, if the word is incarnated we will notice remarkable progress and are certain to see changes rapidly occurring in our life: it is more ordered; greater clarity of ideas and the acts accomplished all throughout the day; a stronger faith; a will that frees itself from slavery, and becomes more solid, firmer in the will of God; consolation and strength coming from the daily encounter with the living Christ and hearing him who speaks to us in our attentive silence and guides us in what to do; finally, staunch perseverance and resistance in life’s trials. In addition to this, it is good to note that one of the greatest advantages of Lectio is simply the fact that our intellect is no longer at the mercy of the many thoughts jostling it; it has become disciplined, since it is nurtured by an intense light which illuminates it from the morning on and all throughout the day.
Someone asked St. Anthony the Great: What is the most difficult aspect of monastic life? He replied, saying “Scripture – bearing Scripture, suffering its weight of purifying and transforming light”. Also, someone asked St. John of the Cross how he enters into ecstasy, he answered that this was by Lectio Divina - relinquishing his own will and doing the will of God.
Portrait of John of the Cross: Wikimedia
This shows us that Lectio truly is an exercise of love, since it supposes that we abandon ourselves each day in a loving, resolute and authentic quest for the truth. Lectio awaits souls who love truth and are not afraid of it. It seeks generous and courageous souls, capable of questioning themselves every day before God, ready to be converted. Lectio is a daily verification of this self-abandonment. Lectio is a great
way for us to be assured that we are doing God’s will. It is a way of verification, a test, a true and practical confirmation of our desire to love God; it tells us where we are in our love for God. Loving God is simply doing his will, and the quest for this will is at the heart of Lectio.
A few words from Thomas Merton, Trappist Monk and undoubtedly one of the greatest
spiritual masters of the twentieth century and a great inspiration to me personally. His subject is ‘Scripture’. “Every word that comes from the mouth of God is nourishment that feeds the soul with eternal life. ‘Man does not live by bread alone but in every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ To hear the Gospel – everywhere there are doors and windows opened into the same eternity – and the most powerful communication of Scripture is the ‘implanted word’ the secret and inexpressible seed of contemplation planted in the depths of our soul and awakening it with an immediate and inexpressible contact with the Living Word, that we may adore Him in Spirit and in Truth. By the reading of Scripture I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed round me and with me. The sky seems to be more pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green, light is sharper on the outlines of the forest and the hills, and the whole world is
Painting of Saint Anthony, a part of The Visitation with Saint Nicholas and Saint Anthony Abbot by Piero
charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music in the earth under my feet.
The blessings of my Cistercian vocation are poured out to me in Scripture and I live again in the lineage of Bernard, (Cistercian Doctor of the church) and I see that, if I had been deeper in Scripture, all temptations to run to
di Cosimo, c. 1480: Wikipedia
some other Order would have lost their meaning, for contemplation is found in faith, not in geography: you dig for it in Scripture but cannot find it by crossing the sea.”
Growth in understanding the faith through Scripture is assisted by the Holy Spirit through contemplation and study of believers; in particular in research which deepens knowledge of revealed truth. Also, through the intimate sense of spiritual realities, believers experience the Sacred Scriptures growth with the one who reads them.
Thomas Merton: Wikipedia
By I, W. Marsh: Wikipedia