Lectio Divina

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PatienceAndLove

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Hello all!
I am looking to add Lectio Divina to my daily spiritual exercises, and I have a few questions on it.
What passages do I meditate on? Is it just up to me, or do I use the daily readings?
 
I’m fair sure you can use any you want. Or try finding a reading that you find yourself attached to in your current situation.
 
PatienceAndLove said:
Hello all!
I am looking to add Lectio Divina to my daily spiritual exercises, and I have a few questions on it.
What passages do I meditate on? Is it just up to me, or do I use the daily readings?
Click to expand...
Of course there is nothing that says you can’t read anything you would like. You could pick a book of the Bible to read and pray over. Not just read it to get through it, but perhaps just read a few verses or paragraphs and pray and read it again and let God speak to you.

You could also choose a spiritual classic to read. There you could read a few pages and pray and think about what you just read, what lessons or insights you can gain from it. For this I’d suggest sticking with books about the lives of the saints or books written by them.

Or to start off with you could read the daily Mass readings. That way you can unite your thoughts and prayers with the Church as she reads God’s word daily. You can pray and think over the same passages priests worldwide are doing the same thing with. It can also help you open up new worlds as readings you might not have connected together are connected for us by the Church.

ChadS
 
When I did Lectio a few years back, I focused on passages from the Gospel that were meaningful to me, or that troubled me. I used Lectio as a Lenten devotion: I picked a passage each day, meditated on it, and did some journaling about it. It was very cool. I’d read a quote from Jesus (for example), pray on it for a few minutes, write it down (I used my computer), then just sort of go where it led me. You’ll be amazed by what you think about…or perhaps, are inspired by! It’s a wonderful exercise. In fact, just writing this paragraph is reinspiring me to do it again this year!

Good luck and God bless!
 
Thanks for the info!

I had googled it, and read-up on the practice on several sites, but I wasn’t sure if there was a tired-and-true method that most ppl use.

I think I will start by meditating on the daily Gospel.

Y’all have been most helpful!
 
PatienceAndLove said:
Hello all!
I am looking to add Lectio Divina to my daily spiritual exercises, and I have a few questions on it.
What passages do I meditate on? Is it just up to me, or do I use the daily readings?
Click to expand...
Up to you.

(I usually just pick something…others recommend also a “lectio continua” that is to take one book …say a Gospel…and begin at the beginning and go all the way through …or one could use one of the daily readings from the liturgy)

Here though is something to read:

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.html#The_God_Who_Speaks

sections 86-87 in particular…but I recommend reading the whole document 🙂
 
Here is a website put out by the Order of Carmel to help with Lectio Divina.

Scroll down and look at the box on the righthand side of the page. Select “Lectio Year A” then select the desired month and day.

It has an opening prayer, the reading which is the Gospel for the day, some Reflections to meditate on, some personal questions to meditate on, and a concluding prayer.

Hope this helps.
 
I think that lectio divina goes hand in hand with your reading of scripture and other spiritual texts. For example, read a chapter of the bible (or the daily readings) every day and also a passage from the Catechism or another spiritual book. Pick a passage from your reading that stands out to you – a paragraph or even a few words – and use that for your lectio.

Alternatively, as suggested by others, read continuously through the scriptures, do the liturgy of the hours or a devotional (like Magnificat), or the daily readings. You’ll learn to meditate by meditating.

It pays to experiment a little. Some people respond strongly to the Psalms and gospels. Others love the letter of Paul. Yet others love the Old Testament prophets. Almost no one loves Leviticus and Numbers. I love meditating on the Catechism, believe it or not. Find what nourishes your soul. You’ll have days (or longer…) when nothing seems to speak to you. That’s ok – it’s just a part of prayer, and God uses dry times in meditation to form you too.
 
PatienceAndLove said:
Hello all!
I am looking to add Lectio Divina to my daily spiritual exercises, and I have a few questions on it.
What passages do I meditate on? Is it just up to me, or do I use the daily readings?
Click to expand...
I’ve taken up Lectio in the last year. I’ve been taking a slow stroll through John’s gospel, from about 6 - 10 verses each day. I’m in John 17 right now.

My testimony is that it works extremely well and has resulted in God “opening my eyes” to several key points that have caused me to grow spiritually.

Here’s a guideline I use, I pieced it together from several sources on the net.
General advice: Select the Bible passages in advance. Choose an appropriate time and place so to fully engage without distraction. Use this time and place every day, and “defend” it on your schedule. It needs to be quiet - you need silence to be able to listen to God.

Four P’s:

• Passage: from Scripture – Have the passage picked and ready.
• Place: sit where you are alone and uninhibited in response to God’s presence.
• Posture: relaxed and peaceful.
• Presence of God: be aware of it and acknowledge and respond to it.

Lectio divina steps:

• Step 1: Lectio (read), and involves reading the Scriptural passages slowly, and attentively, several times if necessary.
• Step 2: Meditatio (editate). In this the reader takes the passage and reflects on it more slowly. Consider the details of the passage, and in what ways God was present. “What does the passage say about God? What does this passage mean to me?”
• Step 3: Oratio (prayer). Pray over the passage. The operative question during this step is, “Now that I reflected and gained some meaning into the passage, what do I want to pray for?” You may be prompted to offer prayers of thanksgiving. You may need to pray for someone else. Perhaps you realize you should pray for a change in behavior.
• Step 4: Contemplatio (contemplation). One remains in silent contemplation, accepting Christ’s presence and embrace. This is a time for us to listen for God’s quiet voice deep within us. If nothing else, it is a time to sit and rest in God’s loving presence.
 
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