One of the most soul nourishing spiritual practices that I do is ‘lectio divina’ or sacred reading.
‘Lectio Divina is an encounter with God mediated through the voices of the text and the senses of the reader.’ – Sister Mary Margaret Funk, Our Lady of Grace Monastery.
On the website, Humility Matters, Sister Mary Funk provides a thorough outline on the practice of lectio divina and describes three types of revelatory texts we can work with in the practice – scripture, nature and experience.
Traditionally, lectio is the first of a four-part process of spiritual practice:
- Lectio (reading/listening) — prayerful, slow, heart-centered reading of a sacred text;
- Meditatio (meditation)— deliberate pondering of the message in the text;
- Oratio (prayer)— responding to God’s message with honest, sincere prayer;
- Contemplatio (contemplation)— allowing the prayer to dissolve into wordless, thoughtless contemplation, or simply resting in the Divine presence.
- by Carl McColman on the Website of Unknowing.
Although lectio divina is an ancient Benedictine practice, it can be used within any religious or spiritual tradition. If you are working with a sacred or revelatory text, any inspired book (or scripture) can work.
I practice lectio divina in the morning after coffee and prior to any other spiritual practices – and often times, do this exclusively. It should be noted that lectio divina is a slow process – when you work with an inspired text, it’s not like regular reading. I find myself reading a phrase or a paragraph or two and then this naturally moves into the ‘meditatio’ stage where I’m just connected…in a space of communion. For the ‘contemplatio’ time, I often am inspired to write what’s coming to me. The stages seem to naturally progress without any conscious effort on my part.
For those who are looking to deepen their connection with the Divine, I can enthusiastically recommend this practice.
Lectio Divina Resources:
