Lectio Divina - Sacred Reading

Lectio Divina is praying the Bible. It is to approach Scripture as the Word of God and to try to deepen our understanding of it.

Lectio Divina is reading Scripture, meditating on what has been read and praying from what has been read.

The Second Vatican Council says in the dogmatic constitution Dei Verbum:
“All Christian faithful should gladly put themselves in touch with the sacred text itself, whether it be through the liturgy, rich in the divine word, or through devotional reading, or through instructions suitable for the purpose and other aids which, in our time, with approval and active support of the shepherds of the Church, are commendably spread everywhere. And let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together; for ‘we speak to Him when we pray; we hear Him when we read the divine saying.’"

Saint Benedict expects the monk to spend two to three hours in Lectio each day.

Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. He is present in the Old Testament in a hidden way. St Augustine says that the Old Testament is pregnant with Christ. He is clearly present in the New Testament. Our reading of Scripture should be an encounter with Christ.

Christ is God in Word which contains all God’s revelation. St Paul affirms that in Christ all God’s promises have received their ‘Yes’ and have come true. The God who spoke in many times and in many ways is the One who has spoken to us definitely in these last times in Christ. Saint Irenaeus of Lyon was right when he said that “Christ assumes in himself the long story of humankind obtaining for all of us the sum total of salvation.”

Nicholas Cabasilas speaks of Scripture as the ‘representation of Christ.’ By that he means that in Scripture Christ speaks for himself and in doing so he puts us to the test of satisfying our eyes and our hearts with his presence.

So then Lectio Divina is the way of seeking Christ ‘the One I look for in the books,’ Saint Augustine says. Origen speaks of Lectio Divina as ‘consuming the broken bread’ and Saint Gregory Nazianzus speaks of it as ‘consuming the Paschal Lamb.’
(Enzo Branchi, Prior of the Bose Community )

Lectio Divina is not just study, no matter how pious that study might be. It’s not research for a sermon or conference, rather it is strictly non-utilitarian time spent with the Word of God for personal spiritual profit, for the salvation of one’s soul. The very term Lectio Divina (reading from God) reminds us of the cardinal truth that the Bible is indeed divine revelation. Moreover Lectio Divina is not just research into God in Word as an object of knowledge but rather a sustained effort to be open to what that word says to me here and now.
(Terrence G Kardong OSB, Benedict’s Rule )