Lectio Divina 
Articles that are related to, or teach, Lectio Divina.
Pray Often and Read Often
For those who practice it, the experience of lectio sacra sharpens perception, enriches understanding, rouses from sloth, banishes idleness, orders life, corrects bad habits, produces salutary weeping and draws tears from contrite hearts . . . curbs idle speech and vanity, awakens longing for Christ and the heavenly homeland. It must always be accompanied by… Read More ›
Six Great Mysteries of the Bible
The Old Testament answers some of the greatest questions of all time—where did we come from? Why do we desire the good yet do evil? Why do our souls yearn for eternity while our bodies yield to death and decay? Yet, the Hebrew Scriptures leave so many other tantalizing questions unanswered. These mysteries have nagged… Read More ›
Scripture Should Lead to ‘Personal Encounter With the Lord of Life’
VATICAN CITY (EWTN News/CNA)—Pope Benedict XVI spoke today about Psalm 119 as a wonderful discourse on the breadth and depth of man’s relationship with God. The Psalmist’s song “voices the range of sentiments which fill the hearts of those who pray: praise, thanksgiving, trust, supplication and lament, all within the context of a heartfelt openness… Read More ›
Saint John’s Bible Completed
The Washington Post acclaimed the completion of the Saint John’s Bible with Hallelujah! in a headline. Abbot John Klassen OSB and Father Bob Koopmann OSB happily announced the completion of The Saint John’s Bible at a press conference at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) on Thursday, September 15. The Bible is a monumental work:… Read More ›
Silence allows people to hear God
Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Aug 10, 2011 / 12:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- We need to make time for silence in our lives if we are to pray and listen to God, said Pope Benedict XVI in his weekly general audience, August 10. “Silence is the environment that best promotes recollection, listening to God, meditation,” he told… Read More ›
The Purpose of Reading
Reading should serve prayer, should dispose the affections, should neither devour the hours nor gobble up the moments of prayer. When you read you are taught about Christ, but when you pray you join him in familiar colloquy. How much more enchanting is the grace of speaking with him than about him! Gilbert of Hoyland
Three Keys to Hearing God’s Voice
Pope Benedict XVI tells us that as much as we may like quick answers, we can gain clarity on the enigmas of life only as we take the time to immerse ourselves in the word of God. So in this article, we want to look at how we can meet Jesus, the living Word of… Read More ›
Pope Benedict “teaches” Lectio Divina
… the greatest attention was paid to lectio divina, which is truly “capable of opening up to the faithful the treasures of God’s word, but also of bringing about an encounter with Christ, the living word of God”. I would like here to review the basic steps of this procedure. It opens with the reading… Read More ›
Scriptures need to be read and understood in the same spirit in which they were written
The Scriptures need to be read and understood in the same spirit in which they were written. You will never enter into Paul’s meaning until by constant application to reading him and by giving yourself to constant meditation you have imbibed his spirit. You will never understand David until by experience you have made the… Read More ›
The prayerful reading of sacred Scripture and “lectio divina”
… The word of God is at the basis of all authentic Christian spirituality. The Synod Fathers thus took up the words of the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum: “Let the faithful go gladly to the sacred text itself, whether in the sacred liturgy, which is full of the divine words, or in devout reading, or… Read More ›