Contemplative Christian

Lectio Divina, translated literally as divine reading, is the ancient Christian practice of reading the scriptures slowly and prayerfully as a means to find union with God.  Lectio is really about learning to hear God’s voice in the text of the holy scriptures, in silence, in stillness, in the spirit. ¹ The traditional method of Lectio Divina is in four parts:

1.  Lectio is the repeated reading of a portion of scripture text, looking for certain words or phrases that touch a chord within us. We read prayerfully, waiting for God’s spirit to move within us.

2. Meditatio is considering the words or phrases that touched us, looking for the heart of the text and how it might speak to our particular life.

3.  Oratio is entering into deep prayer as led by the scripture text, led by the spirit, and graced by an awareness of the presence of God both in the text in our prayer.

4.  Contemplatio goes beyond consideration and prayer to a resting in the presence of God beyond words.  The text leads to understanding, which leads to prayer, which leads to silence as God’s Spirit moves within us…and we simply rest in communion with God. ²

This series should not be considered a rigid structure to be adhered to, but a tendency.  God is the moving force behind the practice of Lectio, and you may well find yourself moving through these steps uniquely or repetitively.  Lectio is not the same as ‘bible study’, which is valuable on its own merit, but might be more accurately described as ‘bible prayer’.  There are many resources online to shed more light on Lectio Divina, including: www.valyermo.com and www.osb.org .

¹ Source: www.valyermo.com
² Source: www.meditationforchristians.com