“Lectio Divina is a contemplative way of reading the Bible. It dates back to the early centuries of the Christian Church and was established as a monastic practice by Benedict in the 6th century. It is a way of praying the scriptures that leads us deeper into God’s word.
“We slow down. We read a short passage more than once. We chew it over slowly and carefully. We savour it. Scripture begins to speak to us in a new way. It speaks to us personally, and aids that union we have with God through Christ who is himself the Living Word.”
Lectio Divina is Latin for “divine reading.” It traditionally has five steps. It’s a practice you can do on your own as an individual or together with others as a group.
- Reading. Read a passage slowly and carefully within the Bible.
- Prayer. Having a loving conversation with God.
- Meditation. Thinking deeply or swelling upon a spiritual reality within a text.
- Contemplation. Resting in God’s presence.
- Action. Go and do likewise.
It’s a practice you can do on your own as an individual or together with others as a group.
- One individual reads the passage slowly.
- Each person identifies the word of phrase that catches their attention (1minute)
- Each shares the word or phrase around the group (3-5 minutes, no discussion)
- Another person reads the passage slowly (From another translation, if possible)
- Each person identifies where this passage touches their life today (1 minute)
- Each shares (3-5 minutes, no discussion)
- Passage is read a third time (Another reader and translation if possible. Or evenanother language)
- Each person names or writes: “From what I’ve heard and shared, what do I believe God wants me to do or be? Is God inviting me to change in any way? (5minutes)
- Each shares their answer (5-10 minutes, no discussion)
- Each prays for the person on their right, naming what was shared in othersteps. (5 minutes)
Preparation: Have your favorite eBible and notepad (journal). Arrange yourself in a comfortable place where you will not be interrupted. Open to the selected Bible passage. (Focusing on a few verses will generally be more productive than reading long passages.) Then:
- Begin with prayer. You prayer can be as simple as the one I often use: “Lord, help me to hear what you know I need today.”
- Read the passage slowly and thoughtfully twice; once for familiarization, once to “listen.”
- During the second reading, watch for the word or phrase that reaches out to you, grabs you, that shimmers in your mind’s eye.
- Hold onto the word in your memory. Don’t analyze why you happened to choose it. Merely observe the word or phrase.
- Be still and listen. Following the second reading, be still and listen. Use no less than two minutes of quiet. If your mind wanders, draw it back to scripture.
- Write. Following your time of silent listening, write in your journal the word or phrase that grabbed you. At this point, no other comment is necessary.
- Read the passage slowly again. Watch for your word or phrase. On occasion, the phrase may change. If a different word or phrase grabs you, listen to it. Let the Spirit of God lead you in the process. Sit silently again for a minimum of two minutes.
- As you pond your word or phrase, observe what emotion it creates in you. Observe how the word/phrase connects into your life. How does it hook you?
- At the end of your time of quiet, write in your journal just two things: your word/phrase and the emotion it created in you.
We are a group of families striving to live an authentic faith free from artificial social constructs. We do not go to church, rather, we are the church. For 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we struggle with and how to grow in this reality. We are Liquid.