Lectio Divina

Using the Lectio Divina
Lectio ( to read) Divina (Divine)
Advocated by Fathers of the Church.

In preaching and believing, words come alive
1 Tess 2:13
Full meaning
Particular audience, specific situation.
Holy Spirit is important coz Holy Spirit helps us to grasp the full meaning

We require the disposition necessary
1.Humility
2. Silence
3. Recollection

Use effectively for community prayer.
4 steps of Lectio Divina
1. Reading - Lectio
2. Meditation - Meditatio
3. Pray - Oracio
4. Contemplation - Contemplatio

Convert scripture into prayer
E.g. John 4:10 If you only knew
Use text you are familiar with so that you can reflect deeply

Ask for sense of God's presence -> Holy Spirit
1. Choose a text of scripture
Easiest way use text of daily mass.
Awaken you heart to pray.
Read slowly meditatively
Keep on repeating the text. Re-read a few times with reverence and attention

2. Meditate - Discursive prayer
Using the intellect - Reading, Remembering, Recalling
To be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in you heart.

3. Prayer of the heart. From the head to the heart.
Effective prayer - allowing feelings of the heart to be felt.
Talk to God as a friend, intimate manner. -> Be conscious of God's intimate love
Pray like a child -> spontaneous. From the insights you get from the text

4. Contemplation - prayer of simplicity
Prayer of quiet. Just listening. Just being there
It's the heart that makes us do things, not the mind