Lectio Divina
- by: Mark Moore 18/08/2010
Lectio Divina is the ancient practice of spiritual reading. The classical formula of lectio divina was taught by a 12th century monk named Guigo II.
“One day when I was busy working with my hands I began to think about our spiritual work, and all at once four stages in spiritual exercise came into my mind: reading (lectio), meditating (meditatio), prayer (oratio) and contemplation (contemplatio)...” -- Guigo II, Scala Claustralium
Guigo continues...
“Reading, as it were, puts the solid food into our mouths, meditation chews it and breaks it down, prayer obtains the flavor of it and contemplation is the very sweetness which makes us glad and refreshes us.”
I find lectio divina to be one of the most helpful practices in my daily commitment to sit still before the Lord and draw close to him. Below are two resources that I hope will help you begin to explore this practice in your own life.
First, a helpful article From the IgnatianSpirituality.com website.
This article briefly explains both lectio divina and gospel contemplation. Fr. Leonhardt explains these two forms of prayer for those new to the practices.
Second, a sermon that I preached in a series on Praying the Psalms.
I hope these two resources will help you in your journey toward Christlikenss.
