It is hard to put Lectio Divina into words. God speaks to us in Scripture, we speak to Him in prayer, and these back and forth encounters weave into and through our everyday lives.
"I must admit," wrote one of you, "that when I first heard about Lectio Divina, I was intimidated thinking that it was a practice that only a few could master along with the great saints. But as I am learning more and more everyday, it can be very simple and maybe even something that I have been doing all along and was unaware. Maybe it can be as easy as sitting in a favorite chair in peace and silence and feeling the love of God envelop me.. feeling His greatness and my smallness and dependence. I think this is something that we can all master..."
"We are not always going to have an experience," said someone else; "the scriptures will not always speak to us at that specific moment... it may even be quite dry. We may find that nothing struck us, but a few days later that particular verse will come to mind. There are times when I read a verse and it does strike me, but I don't have any particular words to say so I will sit quietly in God's Presence. It will be different for each unique soul."
Others had the following things to say:
"Monastic life seems to be simply life itself, lived more intentionally, lived symbolically.... it confirms that what has been in my own heart is something real, something that can harmonize with my vocation to married life and motherhood."
"For various reasons (some known to me some unknown), opening the Sacred Scriptures is a challenge for me... I do love the Bible and there was a time in my life when my relationship with the written word of God was strong and healthy. This gives me hope for what is to come, though I also know that things will necessarily be different now than they were in the past. A renewal of active love for Sacred Scripture seems to be the resolution God is leading me to."
"He puts in front of us what we need...whether those words speak to our hearts at the time, later in the day, or maybe even a few days later."
"I am happy to learn that I have maybe been practicing lectio on some level, as I have begun my morning with scripture and prayer for many years. In a very loosey-goosey unguided kind of way. But I like the suggestion to re-read scripture several times, pray and reread, and will begin tomorrow."
"My prayer life has been unfolding ten-fold. It's been a quiet, gentle process and feels very natural. I have begun following the Divine Office online with morning prayers and night prayers. I love to listen along to the podcast (especially the night prayers). It gives me a sense of community, joining the universal church in prayer, while still having that private prayer time I crave."
"I often will find myself drawn to one word or phrase that then becomes my prayer for one day or more. A long as I feel moved to pray it, I do that. Often the need for that prayer is made known, sometimes not. But it is a kind of way of 'praying without ceasing.'"
"The prayer weaves in and out of my days."
"Rosalind Moss once referred to Scripture as God's love letter to us."
"Today's gospel was a huge smack in the head, a good one. It made me realize that even though I stop giving chase to Him (neglecting my prayer life), He never stops His."
(click here for an explanation of lectio divina from Catholic Spiritual Direction)
This is a repost from our archives. It is linked to Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb for 'It's Worth Revisiting Wednesday.'
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