![]() ![]() Different emphases might be suggested after each reading: What gift does this passage lead me to ask from the Lord? What does this passage call me to do? The prayer can be concluded with an Our Father. Then a different person from the group would read the passage again with a pause for silence. Sometimes groups invite members, if they so desire, to share out loud the word or phrase that struck them. After a passage is read, there can be some extended silence for each person to savor what he or she has heard, particularly noting whether any word or phrase became a special focus of attention. Lectio Divina can also be an effective form for group prayer. This kind of reflective listening allows the Holy Spirit to deepen awareness of God’s taking the initiative to speak with us. If one wants to dialogue with God or Jesus in response to the word, one should follow the prompting of one’s heart. Then go back and read the passage again because it will have a fuller meaning. If so, pause and savor the insight, feeling, or understanding. When one finishes reading, pause and recall if some word or phrase stood out or something touched one’s heart. Then one reads the scripture passage aloud to let oneself hear with his or her own ears the words. Some people who regularly engage in this method of prayer choose the epistle or the Gospel for the Mass of the day as suggested by the Catholic Church.įirst one goes to a quiet place and recalls that one is about to listen to the Word of God. ![]() When one is a beginner, it is better to choose a passage from one of the Gospels or epistles, usually ten or fifteen verses. When a person wants to use Lectio Divina as a prayer form today, the method is very simple. In this exercise they were taught and encouraged to listen with their hearts because it was the Word of God that they were hearing. So the monks gathered in chapel to hear a member of the community reading from the scripture. There were not bibles for everyone and not everyone knew how to read. This method of prayer goes back to the early monastic tradition. One is called in Latin, Lectio Divina, (Holy Reading) and the other is Gospel Contemplation. There are two easy ways to pray with Scripture. “I have said these things to you while still with you but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.” (John 14:25-26) The truth is that we have a teacher in the Holy Spirit whom Christ promised and we received at Baptism. But this reason for avoiding the reading of Scripture is a temptation because it puts the focus on the individual and not on Christ. Over the past forty years some Catholics have hesitated to read Scripture privately because they did not feel they knew enough about the Bible. ![]() But the Council urged all Catholics to return to Scripture as a way of “learning the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ.” (Phil 3:8) Up until Vatican II these prayer forms were often the practices which designated people as Protestants or Catholics. My Catholic maternal grandparents faithfully prayed the rosary every evening. My Seventh Day Adventist paternal grandmother was very faithful to reading the Bible every day until cataracts dimmed her eyes so she could no longer read. Leonhardt explains these two forms of prayer for those new to the practices. Lectio Divina and Gospel Contemplation are two ways to pray with Scripture. ![]()
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