Lectio Divina

the Book of Christ

Opening the "Book of Christ"

Voices is meant to be a resource for personal prayer. The key to personal prayer is to have a listening heart. "Speak Lord, your servant is listening." Of the many ways the Lord's voice speaks to us the Word of Scripture is preeminent.

In the July/August issue of the Word Among, which we have as one of our links, there is an article entitled, 
"Opening the Book of Christ". It deals with the subject of lectio divina, which is a way of approaching the reading (and listening) to sacred scripture. I recommend this article to you. Here are some excerpts from the article. 

If we let ourselves get caught in this information-age trap, we run the risk of approaching everything, even the Bible, as a “thing” to be analyzed, a set of texts that we can tackle with our minds alone.

In contrast to this functional approach to Scripture stands the ancient practice of lectio divina, or “sacred reading.” This is the way the Christians of the early Church read Scripture. Rather than looking at a biblical text as something to analyze and master, lectio divina can help us encounter the text and, in the process, encounter the Lord himself. It teaches us that the Bible is a living, divine word that can form our lives, not just a book of useful information. Through lectio divina, we learn to read the Bible not just for information, but primarily for transformation.

Let the divine word open your heart and probe your thoughts, fears, hopes, and dreams. Let the word of God gradually change you and form you more and more into the image of Christ.

So the practice of lectio divina teaches us to be personally involved in this communication. Every word we read in Scripture, everything we see in our imagination as the stories unfold, involves us. It makes us participants, not just observers.

As you learn lectio divina, you will find yourself reading reflectively, lingering over every page, letting the words reach deeply into your heart. And you do this by listening “with the ear of the heart” (The Rule of St. Benedict).

LINK TO THIS ARTICLE