Week
one of the MOOC “Jesus in Scripture and Tradition” begins with a lesson in
Lectio Divina. It is defined in the course as “the combined practice of scriptural
reading, reflection or meditation, then prayer and further thought”. The practice
dates back to the 3rd century. Fr. Daley of Notre Dame University
explains the practice as follows. Begin by reading selected bible text a couple
of times, slowly. Use your imagination and try to put yourself in the scene of
the text. Visualize the setting down to the small details. Get involved and
become part of the scene. End with a prayer and journal your thoughts.
I searched online to learn more about Lectio Divina and
found some interesting background on Lectio Divina from the IgnatianSpirituality website, a service of the Loyola Press. They write, “This method
of prayer goes back to the early monastic tradition. There were not bibles for
everyone and not everyone knew how to read. So the monks gathered in chapel to
hear a member of the community reading from the scripture. In this exercise
they were taught and encouraged to listen with their hearts because it was the
Word of God that they were hearing.”
I am familiar with this type of spiritual reading and now
have a name for it. Mother Angelica, foundress of EWTN talks about scripture in
this manner all of the time. She brings the gospel to life through her stories that
I listen to on Mother Angelica Live (EWTN show).
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