Lectio Divina "dilemma"

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amoiesu

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everyone talks about how great lectio divina is, and i want to like it too because i love the Bible, but the truth is that i dread it coming up in group prayer or having to practice it at all

because the whole practice depends on some word or phrase “jumping” or “popping” out at you so you can make that the focus of the rest of the prayer. most times, though, i get no “pops” as far as i can tell and the only way to “survive” the group prayer time and not ruin it for everyone else is to make something up.

are there any other “poppless” people out there, or am i the only one just hearing crickets?
what advice would you give for making the most of this particular prayer? is there maybe an alternate version for the “poppless” among us?

thx!
 
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Does the group forbid you to choose a passage ahead of time?
Because my impression of lectio divina is that a practitioner may choose a passage to reflect upon.
 
🤣 at your descriptions!

I went to something similar some years ago. What I can remember was we had a priest lead, we had prayers, and then one person read whatever Bible passage had been selected. From memory I think it was relevant to the liturgical time of year, maybe Advent, but not sure.
There were an average of 8 people in the group. The session was roughly an hour long I think, once a week for four weeks, if I remember rightly.

Anyway, we all had to be open to hearing what the Holy Spirit was wanting to say to us, so when listening to the reading, we were to note what thoughts came to us either to explain the passage further or its meaning or how we could see how to apply it in our lives.

Now with all that said - I only spoke up once!! There were a few who spoke up each time, even spoke up twice in one session especially when discussing these inspirations. On one occassion, Father started off with telling his inspirations, then it went round the circle and everyone had to say what theirs was!! 😇
So I can relate to not always “popping”! It can be awkward .🤔
 
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I understand. I have diligently tried to do it a number of times, and I still do it occasionally, but the idea seems to be, if you read a familiar Bible passage over three or four times thoughtfully, you will get some deeper or new insight about it, or you get deeper into the contemplation of it. In practice, I find that this rarely happens with me. Sometimes it just feels more like reading the same familiar Bible passage over four times slowly, for no good reason.

I understand that not all communities use Lectio Divina and that the Franciscans and St. Teresa of Avila actually used a different process, so it’s not the only way out there. I’m guessing that it just works better for some people than others.

If nothing jumps out at you then just pick some phrase that you can add something to the group discussion about and don’t stress about it.
 
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CRV said:
Anyway, we all had to be open to hearing what the Holy Spirit was wanting to say to us, so when listening to the reading, we were to note what thoughts came to us either to explain the passage further or its meaning or how we could see how to apply it in our lives.
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I’m always really dubious about these kinds of group Bible studies where everybody shares their insights about Bible passages that are usually really familiar. There are always some people who seem to have never thought about the familiar Scripture passage before or don’t understand a pasage that seems very obvious to me. Many of the insights shared always seem to me to be very basic primary school stuff. That’s not to say we can’t meditate on it in the Holy Spirit, but the first time I attended a Bible study I was really expecting to get some big new deep thoughts and not just the same ol’ discussion I’ve been hearing since first grade about how Jesus wants us to love our neighbor more or whatever.
 
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amoiesu said:
are there any other “poppless” people out there
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Me. I used to stress out about this so much that I finally went on an LD retreat in order to figure out what I was doing wrong. The retreat leader, a Benedictine monk and priest, reassured me that this happens to most people at least once in a while, and it’s okay. If God doesn’t seem to be saying anything, you’ve still spent time with Him, reading His Word. Simply thank Him for this.

In a group setting, it should be okay for anyone to say, “Nothing stands out for me.” No one should feel pressured to make something up. In fact, that happened to me in session during the aforementioned retreat. We were given a Scripture passage that said absolutely nothing to me. When my turn to speak came around, I said that nothing stands out, was thanked by the retreat leader, and then it was someone else’s turn. No drama, no anxiety. 🙂

I still do LD (solo), and I still come up blank a lot. I no longer view these incidents as negative, however, so there’s no more stress associated with it.
 
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I was dubious too, as this was back in 2011/12 I think, and it was the first one I’d been too. I admit I was curious to know what happened in these types of group prayer meetings as I hadn’t experienced them before. That was the one and only time I’ve been. Wasn’t something I was comfortable with personally.

Not sure, but think it was around that time that I bought a lectio divina Bible and tried to prayerfully read it myself. I found this particular Bible helpful in doing so - The Catholic Prayer Bible Lectio Divina Edition New Revised Standard Version The Catholic Prayer Bible, available from Paulist Press
 
Many “teachers” and “programs” published to help Catholics “pray” (I put these misapplied terms in quotes to express my frustration with them) - but many have redefined classical, traditional Lectio Divina to fit their own image and likeness. Read the first (that I know of) formal explanation of the ancient process of praying Holy Scripture - lectio divina - written by Dom Guido II, a Carthusian monk (who became prior) of the Grande Chartreuse monastery ~ 1100 AD, HERE.

A contemporary digital e-book that I’d recommend, describing and applying lectio divina is Encountering Christ in Holy Scripture with Lectio Divina (link to Amazon), author R. Thomas Richard.

Lectio is one method of learning how to listen to Scripture. We need to learn this, because most people read to hear themselves - we need to read the Bible very, very differently! We need to read Holy Scripture to hear GOD. When we learn to do this, and begin to do this, we “read” Scripture as we had never done before. It changes everything, when we begin to “read” - listen to - God.
 
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There are and always will be some ways of prayer that speak to us more than other. I have noticed that there is a difference in my prayer life if I am by myself, with a couple of others or in a larger group. Very rarely something “pops” in a large group. It also depends upon who are present in the group and who the leader is.

Personally I can’t pray the Rosary with other people and I don’t go to the priest who always (as in 90%) assigns me a decade of the Rosary for penance. Tonight I will have to endure one of the Litanies as we pray that after Mass during May.

Sometimes we just hear God more clearly in our own little room, alone.
 
HeDa said:
Very rarely something “pops” in a large group.
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This may be particularly true for LD. The retreat I went on was limited to 11 participants. That I know of, it’s the only retreat offered at that site that restricts the number of people who can attend to a quantity lower than full capacity.
 
Not every devotion “fits” every person.

We have an ocean of Spirituality and prayer practices.

Lectio is not my spiritual cup of tea. I prefer to simply read scripture and to think about it.

As far as prayer, I am more of a LOTH person. I love the structure.
 
I think that real LD is an individual prayer rather than a group prayer. It’s about you having a discussion with God, not a group of people. My wife complains that she does not like to pray LotH with me because she can’t stop and ponder when something strikes her.
 
On the other hand, the LOTH is meant to be prayed (chanted) in community. 📖 🙏

Praying the LOTH alone is of course fine too, but IIRC the default option for the LOTH is community prayer.
 
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I do quite like Lectio, but there are other forms of prayer that really don’t pop for me. It’s a good thing that there are a lot of options and different spiritualities in the church.

Don’t stress yourself or feel you have to lie about something standing out to you. That’s very counterproductive. The goal is to draw closer to God and advance in virtue rather than feel compelled to be dishonest. Is there a way you can excuse yourself from lectio when the group decides to do it?
 
Thanks. I was going to mention the same, having discovered it only a few days ago. It’s very hard to find the hardcover edition, so I’m thinking of getting the softcover one and then have it rebound. The paper quality is fine, and it uses NRSV-CE.
 
I have things pop out at me, but usually not at the “right” time. I fretted over the Mary and Martha story for months before I could figure it out!

Usually I might take something which niggles at me, as if telling me there’s something there.

A lot of times I find little nuggets somewhere other than where one would expect, like a good insight into the clouding of the intellect that sin can cause from an abortion advocate’s post on an article elsewhere.

So imo you are totally normal 😇
 
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When I went back to college I found a spiritual director. He gave me a different way of using lectio divina. I was used to journalling my emotions. It was actually the best way for me to express them.
He changed how I journalled. Starting with Romans, he had me use my scriptural text, the lectio divina verse as my first line in my journal. Don’t worry about where the scriptural verse takes you. Just write what ever comes to mind without judgment. You may need to read more than one or two lines of scripture before one becomes “highlighted.” Don’t worry about it popping out using this method. You are simply reading scripture one verse at a time, and meditating on that verse.
This is what Benedictine monks would do. They would find one verse of scripture in the morning and meditate on that single verse throughout the day. As of late, I have neglected this practice. Occasionally I will return to the practice of using lectio divina to journal.
I do continue to read 3 chapters of Scripture/day, usually after morning prayer. My Daily Bread is not a Catholic publication, but it does provide a reading schedule allowing a person to read the Bible in one year. Nothing in they present is contrary to Catholic teaching. The little daily blurbs are merely personal experiences. I also read the daily Mass readings.

Using lectio divina, as my Spiritual Director had me do, was not first time that I used scripture for journaling. I had discovered journaling as way to express feeling during the darkest period in my life. It was during that period of my life that I had gone on an Easter retreat. My retreat director had given me specific scriptural passages, not just verses, to read. For instance, I read the Book of Hosea. The directions were the same. Do not judge. Simply write. I would come back to her and discuss what I had uncovered or discovered. I was going on a number of retreats at the time, including an intensive journaling retreat.
 
DebCWil said:
the lectio divina verse as my first line in my journal. Don’t worry about where the scriptural verse takes you. Just write what ever comes to mind without judgment. You may need to read more than one or two lines of scripture before one becomes “highlighted.” Don’t worry about it popping out using this method. You are simply reading scripture one verse at a time, and meditating on that verse.
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This is what I do as well. Lectio is great for journaling. I also don’t worry too much about things “popping”. Some of my best Lectio has happen with scripture I was confused by or just curious about.

I also have done Lectio based on a theme. Your can find books that organize scripture by theme. So, I might look up scriptures about motherhood, for instance, and chose a scripture that seems relevant and go from there.
 
fide said:
lectio divina - written by Dom Guido II, a Carthusian monk (who became prior ) of the Grande Chartreuse monastery ~ 1100 AD,
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This monk was the focus of a discussion yesterday. He would begin his writing with something similar to ’ I am sitting in my cell contemplating…’ It is such a delight to read your reference to his work in this area. As you refer to, this work is one important standard of reference for the monastic contemplative community.
 
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