lectio divina
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
AUDREY LAYMAN AND MEGAN DONAHEY
Lectio Divina
BACKGROUND/HISTORY
Means “Divine Reading” Way of praying the Scriptures Form of Christian contemplative prayer Regular practice in monasteries by 6th
Century Two different forms: Monastic and
Scholastic Purpose: “To enter into conversation
with God and cultivate the gift of contemplation”
MONASTIC FORM
Reading Reflection Responding Resting
SCHOLASTIC FORM
Developed in the Middle Ages Hierarchical order Reading Reflecting Responding Resting
THE STEPS
Lectio (Reading) Meditatio (Meditation/ Reflection) Oratio (Prayer/Responding) Contemplatio (Contemplation/Resting) When monastaries use Lectio Divina in group prayer
and reflection, there are steps added Statio (Position) Lectio (Reading) Meditatio (Meditation/ Reflection) Oratio (Prayer/Responding) Contemplatio (Contemplation/Resting) Collatio (Discussion) Actio (Action)
STATIO
Find a place that lacks distractions Calm Center yourself Peace/Serenity Focus on Jesus Experience: Similar to Yoga
LECTIO
Reading Don’t set goals to read a certain amount Read slowly with meaning May need to seek Catholic commentary on a
certain verse Experience: We looked to each other to help
explain what the verse meant.
MEDITATIO
Meditating on the text Rereading Ask yourself “What parts of this text
reveal the Divine Mystery?” Experience: We reread the text to find
the deeper meaning and its importance to our spirituality
ORATIO This is our prayer to God Our time to talk in the conversation with
God “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 moral sense of the Scripture to our lives.”
Experience: Interesting to ask God to be changed into what He wants us to be based off of what we had read and how it touched us
CONTEMPLATIO
This is a time to rest Gratitude for God and His word Experience: This stepped was rushed
and kind of skipped over. We thought of it as Savasana pose.
COLLATIO This step is only done when in groups Talk to the group about what you had
experienced and read and what it taught you
Experience: We did this form of prayer together so we discussed what it taught us
ACTIO
Living out what you learned Being a good Christian/ Catholic
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Lectio Divina." Fish Eaters: The Whys and Hows of Traditional Catholicism. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://www.fisheaters.com/lectiodivina.html>.
"Contemplative Outreach: Lectio Divina." Contemplative Outreach: Contemplative Outreach Ltd. Centering Prayer Resouce. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_practices_lectio>.