L e ct io Div ina
Pr ay ing w i t h S c r ip t u r e “G o d c alls man f irst . Man may forge t his Cre ator or hide f ar f rom his f ace; he may r un af ter idols or accus e the deity of hav ing abandone d him; ye t the liv ing and tr ue G o d tirele ssly c alls e ach p ers on to that myster ious encounter k now n a s prayer. In prayer, the f aithf ul G o d’s initiative of love alw ays come s f irst ; our ow n f irst ste p is alw ays a re sp ons e. A s G o d g radually re ve als hims elf and re ve als man to hims elf, prayer app e ars a s a re c ipro c al c all, a covenant drama . Through words and actions , this drama engage s the he ar t . It unfolds through the whole histor y of salv ation.” —C ate chism of the C atholic Church #2567 “ The w r itten word is the me ans by which G o d’s liv ing Word re ache s me, the div ine act by which he addre ss e s me, que stions my whole existence and save s me. I must g ra sp the f ull dramatic v alue of the Word a s a Pers on who re ve als hims elf to my op enne ss , challeng ing me to commit mys elf to him.” —Archbishop Mar iano Mag ra ssi, P ray ing the Bible
W h at i s l e c t i o d i v in a ? Le ctio D iv ina is an anc ient for m of Chr istian prayer that involve s a clo s e and prayer f ul re ading of Sac re d S c r ipture. It is a w ay of encounter ing the L ord through the words of the Bible, le ading to a p ower f ul, endur ing s ens e of the L ord’s pre s ence in one’s daily life. S e e page 15 for sugge ste d Le ctio D iv ina pa ssage s for this re tre at . St ar t by putting yours elf in the pre s ence of G o d and by say ing a prayer to the Holy Spir it to help you to op en your he ar t to whate ver the L ord w ishe s to g ive you in the S c r ipture pa ssage. Now you are re ady to enter into Le ctio D iv ina.
The steps of lectio divina: step one: read First , re ad the pa ssage ( le ctio) more than once— thre e time s is re commende d— ver y slowly, pausing at words that touch you in s ome w ay and le tting them linger in your mind. S ome time s re ading the pa ssage out loud c an help.
s t e p t w o : m e d i tat e S e cond, me dit ate on the pa ssage (me dit atio). A sk que stions of the text . Imag ine yours elf in the stor y or a s one of the characters (if the pa ssage lends it s elf to the imag ination). B e aw are of words or phra s e s that app e ar me aning f ul or myster ious . Find conne ctions w ith e vent s in one’s ow n life or w ith other par t s of S c r ipture.
step three: pray Third, pray over the pa ssage (oratio). L e t the pre v ious two ste p s le ad you to comp o s e a prayer to the L ord, to sp e ak to Him ab out the S c r ipture pa ssage and your life. You may b e move d to g ratitud e, adoration, p e tition, supplic ation, contr ition, e tc . Sp e ak to the L ord ab out what is going on in your life a s it conne ct s to the pa ssage.
s t e p f o u r : c on t e m p l at e Four th, le t the Holy Spir it work (contempl atio). At this p oint , G o d t ake s over and re sp onds . We must b e re ce ptive to all the dif ferent w ays the L ord sp e ak s to us . Sit in quie t g ratitude for His lov ing Pre s ence in your life and listen.
H oly W e e k R e t r e at 2 0 2 0
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