Lectio Divina

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." -- St. Jerome, A.D. 340-420 "To get the full flavor of an herb, it must be pressed between the fingers, so it is the same with the Scriptures; the more familiar they become, the more they reveal their hidden treasures and yield their indescribable riches."-- St. John Chrysostom, A.D. 347-407 "The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New" -- St. Augustine, A.D. 354-430 "All troubles of the Church, all the evils in the world, flow from this source: that men do not by clear and sound knowledge and serious consideration penetrate into the truths of Sacred Scripture." -- attributed to St. Theresa of Avila, A.D. 1515-1582 Lectio Divina (pronounced "Lec-tsee-oh Di-vee-nah") means "Divine Reading" and refers specifically to a method of Scripture reading practiced by monastics since the beginning of the Church. The early centrality of reading of Sacred Scripture, and then meditating and praying over its meaning, is evident in the 48th chapter of the Rule of St. Benedict (A.D. 480-453), a book written by the Great Saint to guide monastic life. But it was an 11th c. Carthusian prior named Guigo 1 who formalized Lectio Divina, describing the method in a letter written to a fellow religious. This letter, which has become known as Scala Paradisi -- the Stairway to Heaven -- describes a 4-runged ladder to Heaven, each rung being one of the four steps in his method of Bible reading. Those steps, and Guigo's brief descriptions of them, are: lectio (reading): "looking on Holy Scripture with all one's will and wit" meditatio (meditation): "a studious insearching with the mind to know what was before concealed through desiring proper skill" oratio (prayer): "a devout desiring of the heart to get what is good and avoid what is evil" contemplatio (contemplation): "the lifting up of the heart to God tasting somewhat of the heavenly sweetness and savour" Through the practice of Lectio Divina by monastics in group settings, three other steps are sometimes added to the four above such that the steps become: statio (position) lectio (reading) meditatio (meditation) oratio (prayer) contemplatio (contemplation) collatio (discussion) actio (action) The Steps in Detail Statio First, we arrange a place so it is restful, warm, and non-distracting. This may involve the lighting of candles, the burning of incense, the shutting of doors and drawing of curtains -- whatever makes one feel calm and at peace. Then we assume a bodily posture that is conducive to prayer and reading. We breathe slowly, focusing on the Holy Name of Jesus and nothing else, until we are relaxed and able to focus our attention solely on Scripture. If our minds wander, we gently bring our attention back to the Holy Name of Our Lord, breathing in and out rhythmically. Note that, unlike in Eastern prayer which seeks to empty oneself to be open to some great "Nothing", we are ever mindful of the One Almighty Triune and Transcendent God, and are trying to calm ourselves so that what He might reveal to us through His Word may more easily be perceived. It is good if the place chosen for Lectio Divina is a comfortable area chosen just for this and other prayerful activities. The presence of relevant icons and other visual aids to meditation can be of great benefit. Now pray a prayer to the Holy Ghost, such as this one: A Prayer Before the Reading of Any Part of the Holy Scripture Come Holy Ghost, fill the hearts and minds of the faithful servants, and inflame them with the fire of Thy divine love. Let us pray: O God, who by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of thy faithful servants; grant us in the same Spirit, to discern what is right, and enjoy His comfort forever, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth, one God, with Thee and the same Spirit, world without end. Amen. Lectio When we are relaxed and in a contemplative mode, we trace the Sign of the Cross on the book of Scripture, kiss the Cross we traced, and then open it to read. Some may want to focus on Scripture from that day's Propers. Others may want to read the Bible straight through, starting with Genesis. Others may want to focus only on the New Testament or the Psalms. We aren't trying to "accomplish a goal" of reading X amount; we read what is easily digested at that time. Whichever selection we choose, we read it with our minds, slowly, gently, coming to an understanding of the words themselves. Having a solid orthodox Catholic commentary (pre-Vatican II commentary with Imprimatur or the rare, well-chosen post-Vatican II commentary), a nice Concordance, etc., in order to get a good grasp of the meaning of the actual words -- their historical cultural context, their etymologies, the Fathers' thoughts on the relevant Scripture, etc. -- is imperative. We should always approach Scripture with the mind of the Church, in the spirit of the Ethopian eunuch who asked Philip to guide him: Acts 8:30-31 And Philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet Isaias. And he said: Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest? Who said: And how can I, unless some man shew me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. We should always keep in mind Peter's admonition that "no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20) and that Scripture can be difficult to understand, something "which the unlearned and unstable wrest...to their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:16). If you come to a verse you don't understand, or that you understand in a way that is contrary to Catholic teaching, seek traditional Catholic commentary on it. Any apparent contradiction between Scripture and Catholic teaching is just that: apparent, and not real. As an example, even a simple verse such as one that refers to Mary's "firstborn" will be misunderstood if one is ignorant of Jewish law, as are many Protestants who believe that reference to a "firstborn" means there must be a "secondborn," and who then go on to deny Mary's virginity. Seek a Catholic commentary which would refer you, in this case, to the Old Testament law of the "firstborn" and will teach you what that word really means (see Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:14-15, Numbers 18:15 and research the term "pidyon ha-ben"). At any rate, in Lectio, we are reading for the literal sense of the words, trying to understand the reality the writer of the text intended to convey. Meditatio Now we meditate on what we have read, perhaps even reading it again, visualizing it and listening for the aspect of it that reveals the Divine Mysteries. We want the deeper, spiritual meanings of the words now, and read for its anagogocal (or "eschatalogical") sense and its typical (or "allegorical") sense -- i.e., we consider types and anti-types, shadows and symbolism in order to understand the deeper reality the Holy Ghost intends to convey by arranging nature and history as He did, thereby inspiring the writer of the text to write as he did. Oratio We ask God to for the grace to be changed by what we have read, to come more fully into being what He wants us to be, and to help us apply the tropological (or "moral") sense of the Scripture to our lives. Contemplatio We rest in gratitude for God and His Word. Collatio If we are engaging in Lectio Divina with others, we discuss what we've learned. Actio We live what we have learned. Consider engaging in Lectio Divina with your family, perhaps on the Lord's Day each week (if not daily). Discuss Scripture together, encouraging even the littlest ones of your family to participate (the very small can draw pictures of the stories you are reading). Make the Bible a familar and integral part of their lives. Bibles and Commentary Finally, please, please, use a solid translation of Scripture! The Douay-Rheims version is the traditional Catholic standard in the English language; the Latin Vulgate, translated from the Greek and Hebrew by St. Jerome (A.D. 340-420 ), is the "official" Scripture of the Church. I strongly encourage you to get a copy of the one of these you are able to best understand, and use it exclusively for Lectio Divina, family devotions, etc. Though the Vulgate and Douay are not perfect translations, they are vastly superior to most modern translations, even so-called "Catholic" ones, which can be quite modernized -- not only with obvious things such as "inclusive language," but with subtle changes that can profoundly affect one's understanding of God's Truth. As an example: I Corinthians 9:5 reads: Have we not power to carry about a woman, a sister, as well as the rest of the apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? But in the 1991 New American Bible, a translation approved by American Catholic Bishops, the same verse reads: Do we not have the right to take along a Christian wife, as do the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Kephas? And which is the right translation? The words translated as "a woman, a sister" in the Douay, and as "Christian wife" in the NAB, are "adelphên gunaika" in the Greek. "Gunaika" means both "woman" and "wife," just as "femme" does in French; "adelphên" means "sister." St. Paul used "adelphên" to modify "gunaika" in order to make clear that he was not referring to "wives," Christian or not, but to female disciples such as those that always followed Jesus -- women who are referred to as "gunaika" in Matthew 27:55-56, Luke 8:1-3, etc. The new "Catholic" translation is one written by "Catholics" who want to attack celibacy. And so it goes. For more on the out and out heresies of the New American Bible -- the Bible used as the basis for American Novus Ordo lectionaries -- see this article (off-site, will open in new browser window): New American Bible: Is It Good for Catholics? [PDF]. As said, the best all around English-language Bible to have is the Douay-Rheims, but if you can get the version of the Douay-Rheims that includes commentary by Fr. George Leo Haydock, all the better. Printed originally in 1812, this complete Bible comes in two volumes and includes not only Fr. Haydock's commentary, but the commentary of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church throughout. It can be purchased here (link will open in new browser window). For a nice but less complete Bible commentary for the average layman, see A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture by Bishop Frederick Justus Knecht, D.D. (844 pp. Link will open in new browser window). Here are a few online tools to help you (will open in new browser windows): Douay-Rheims Bible The Vulgate The Unbound Bible Douay Concordance Bible Citations in the Summa Odds and Ends A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful, who, under the usual conditions and with the veneration due the divine word, make a spiritual reading from Sacred Scripture. A plenary indulgence is granted under the usual conditions if this reading is continued for at least one half an hour. To read more about how to read the Bible, see "Providentissimus Deus," by Pope Leo XIII, and "Spiritus Paraclitus," by Benedict XV. Serious scholars see "Divino Afflante Spiritu," by Pope Pius XII. See also the eighth way of prayer listed in The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic, an account of the Saint's modes of prayer as recalled by his spiritual children. ...and finally, how about reading a short, charming account of an 8th or 9th c. Irish monk's study of Scripture -- with his kitty-cat? Read this account here, off the "Catholics and the Animal World" page.