Lectio Divina

What is lectio divina?

Lectio Divina, literally divine reading, is an ancient spiritual practice of praying with scripture. Through the process of slowed-down reading, the practitioner “consumes” the Word of God the way a person consumes food: taking in, chewing, tasting, delighting in (a small morsel), and swallowing. You might think of this prayerful process of being with scripture as Reading a sacred text, Ruminating on it, Responding prayerfully to what emerges within your deep prayerful pondering, and Resting in God’s presence.

What is the purpose of lectio divina? What are the fruits of this practice?

The primary purpose, as in any time of prayer, is to be with God. In this case, Divine presence is mediated by the sacred text (“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10). We deliberately and consciously stop, become still and present before God. It is important to understand the difference between scripture study where we are “breaking open the word,” seeking the context, making interpretations, etc. In lectio the image is one of letting the word break us open. This is the second and important purpose of lectio. To let the Spirit of God interpret us, reveal us to ourselves, move us to gratitude, awe, sorrow, compassionate action.

The first benefit is that a regular discipline of lectio insures that we spend intentional time being present to God who is Passionate Presence and the Life of life. Lectio is not to be entered into focused on results but on intention: being present and available to God: “Here I am.”

Second, listening for God’s voice through prayerful reading and pondering of scripture slowly begins to open us to other ways God is speaking to us. Lectio is not simply limited to scripture but expands to an attitude of attentive listening for God in all facets of daily living.

Third, regular lectio spills over into daily life. You will find yourself praying throughout the day, still chewing on the “morsel” of God’s word from your morning reflection [if you do it in the morning]. Extending the image, nourished by God’s Word (“you are what you eat”) the person is fueled for the day and becomes a “doer of the word and not a hearer only”(Lk. 6:47). Relationships are affected, moods and outlook are changed, new virtues and values develop.

Lastly, lectio exposes us to God who is Love. Just as exposure to the sun alters us, exposure to Love changes us as well. In short, spending time with Love helps us know we are loved and teaches us how to love.

PREPARATION

Time: If possible, choose the same time each day to do lectio. Ideally, 20-30 minutes is an appropriate amount of time but a 10 minute break at work is good as well. Many people find the morning best since it can set a tone of prayerful awareness for your day. Avoid doing it when you are tired (i.e. early in the morning if you are sleep deprived or immediately before bed at the end of a long day) or too soon after a meal. At the beginning, be realistic so as not to get discouraged. Again, maybe 5-10 minutes in the morning or on a lunch break or before dinner in the back yard under a tree. Regularity is essential. Prayer is, first of all, gift. Then it is a practice.

Place: Find a quiet place where you can spend some time alone with God. If possible, choose the same spot. Pick a spot where you will be undisturbed. Get away from the phone or take it off the hook. The more you establish a practice, the less important is the place. People practicing lectio for years can do it on a crowded bus on the way to work.

Posture: Lectio can be down in a variety of postures. Preferred postures are ones that enhance alertness while being comfortable to the body.

Disposition: After you are in position, take a few deep breaths, let go of any distractions that you may bring to your prayer, and settle into a sense of openness, availability, and attentiveness.

Prayer: Before you begin reading, you may want to say a prayer either aloud or quietly. It should be brief and to the point. The prayer is to draw your attention to God and to focus your intention. Examples might be: “Speak to me, O God, I am listening” or “Plant your word in me O gardener of my life” or “Here I am God. I desire to be with you” or “Speak to me, that I might live.” When you are ready, begin slowly reading.

PRACTICE

Most often, lectio divina is described in four movements: Lectio (reading), Meditatio (meditation), Oratio (prayer), and Contemplatio (contemplation). I like to speak about it in 6 movements:

1. Silencio (Silence, Stillness, Relaxed Peacefulness)

This first phase is spelled out above under “Disposition” and “Prayer.”

2. Lectio (Reading, Listening, Receiving)

When you are ready, begin slowly reading a passage from scripture. Feel free to read it quietly aloud. The Gospels, the Psalms, the readings from the day, are good places to begin (You might want to buy or borrow Thelma Hall’s book, Too Deep For Words, which suggests appropriate passages by theme). Certain scriptures are better suited than others for lectio. But ultimately, God can and will speak to you, so spare yourself as much as possible from endless searching and selecting. Create a vacancy within for God to come and dwell. Hear each word. Listen interiorly and attentively. If or when a word or phrase draws your attention, pause and stay with it. For example, if you took Psalm 23, you might only get as far as “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want” because the word want catches your attention and sets you to pondering.

3. Meditatio (Meditation, Pondering, Chewing On)

This phase involves the mind and reason. This is Mary as recorded in Luke’s gospel “pondering” these things in her heart. The process of meditation is comparable to the process of chewing. Americans, generally speaking, do not chew. We gulp and swallow. Here meditation means to ruminate which comes from the Latin word meaning “to chew the cud.” Chew on God’s word. Feel it. Taste it. Savor it. Discover its particular juices and flavors. What images, questions, memories, situations, emotions, people, dreams, struggles does it bring up for you? To use the earlier example from Psalm 23, you might be led to ask, “What do you want from my life?” Or you might hear God asking you “What do you want for your life?” Or you might feel led another way completely: “Why am I so wanting in relationships God? Why am I so needy?” Or yet again, maybe it takes you in the direction of consumption, or material possessions: “Why do I seem to want so many things? I have so many things. When is enough enough?”

4. Oratio (Praying, Responding)

Meditation is primarily an intellectual process. The “goal” of prayer is not to think thoughts about God, but to be with God as God is. So, if lectio is to become prayer, it must move to a different (deeper) level and become a “prayer of the heart.” Your meditation elicits your prayer. Here prayer means your deep, spontaneous or natural response to what caught your attention, tugged on your heart, and set you to pondering. It might come forth as sorrow, anguish, repentance, regret. It may be anger or hurt. Or it may be an aha, or gratitude, delight, appreciation, joy, or praise. It might be in the form of a conviction about an action, or a sense of courage to make a tough decision. Rather than “thinking” of a response, the practitioner of lectio, guided by the Spirit, learns to let go and let God reveal our deepest and most authentic response. In this way, lectio is really God praying in us.

5. Contemplatio (Contemplation, Being With, Resting In God)

Lectio guides us toward the deepest cave of the heart where God lies in wait. Contemplation is not something we can bring about or do. It is what God does in us when we have let go. It is a place and experience “too deep for words.” It is simply (not easily but purely) being with the One we love. In contemplation words are not only useless but irrelevant. Whereas it is true that God brings about contemplation, it is also most often the case that it takes the continuos practice of lectio to prepare us for contemplation. But again, contemplation is a gift that cannot be self-manufactured. It is neither an award nor a reward.

6. Incarnatio (Embodying, Acting On, Putting into Practice)

The way of all authentic spirituality is incarnation, embodying and living out what we receive from God. This is true for prayer. We are not meant merely to say prayers, but to become a prayer. The trajectory of lectio divina is to live what God reveals and in this way, to use St. Paul’s phrase: “Pray without ceasing.”

Remember, the steps, phases, or movements are not mechanical but poetic. They are not meant to be mechanical or constrictive so much as descriptive, gently pointing the way. When we let go, God is in charge of prayer. So understand the above like movements in a love relationship. This prayer will become less mechanical and more spirit-generated as the Spirit teaches you to be still, to be open, and to be responsive.

Let’s end with the words from the prophet Isaiah 55:11:

For as the rain and the snow
come down from heaven, and do not return there
until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.♦

Daniel J. Miller, Ph.D. © Revised 2015.