Lectio Divina

By Fr Luke McNamara, OSB

Glenstal Abbey

Lectio Divina or sacred reading is of central importance to monastic life. One has only to look at chapter 48 of the Rule of St Benedict to see that much of the monk’s day, both in the morning and evening is devoted to sacred reading, perhaps 3 to 4 hours or even more. The reading is mostly from Scripture, the Word of God and thus is sacred. This provides both during the day and night, holy and useful thoughts to the monk, a divine vocabulary and indeed some understanding of God. The silence of the night allows for ongoing meditation and the activity of the day allows for the application of the Word. Chapter 48 is entitled “of the daily manual labour” and yet says more about reading than work. The reading is not the rapid mental activity that we practice today. It is a slow, repetitive and physical process, involving the speaking of the words and memorising them. Much of the time the monk doesn’t even read and simply listens to a brother reading. The reader or hearer internalises what is read, the very words of God. He or she learns to inhale and exhale God’s words carried by God’s Spirit or Breath (Pneuma), and thus is conformed ever more to Christ. This is the goal of all monks and of all Christians.

It is useful to explore the meaning of the term “lectio”. It comes from the Latin verb “legere” (to read) which originally meant to list out loud the roll call of the soldiers. This gives us the name legion and collection etc. It later came to mean “to speak” and then “to read”. The idea of an ordered gathering of letters and words helped the transition and is perhaps useful for us to retain. Reading involves a careful gathering of all the elements of a story or even sentences or words. The Greek equivalent “anagignosko” (to read, or to recognise) is even richer in meaning. The root verb means to know and the prefix suggests repeated efforts to acquire this knowledge. It can even imply a rest after each attempt. Careful and repetitive lectio leads us to knowledge and beyond it to recognising the truths of our existence and our place before God.

Guigo the Carthusian 1083-1136 wrote a letter outlining Lectio Divina. The process is likened to a ladder reaching from earth to heaven with four rungs, reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation. These four rungs are climbed in succession to reach paradise, hence the name that is sometimes given to this letter, the ladder of paradise, or scala paradisi. He compares the four steps using Luke 11:9-10 and likens reading to seeking, meditation to finding, praying to knocking and contemplation to having the door opened. He also uses more vivid images: reading puts whole food into the mouth, meditation chews it and breaks it down, prayer finds its savour and contemplation is that sweetness that so delights and strengthens. This classic four fold method has imposed itself in the tradition though more simple methods have since emerged. The only way to learn lectio is by doing it and like the 2 food above, the Word needs to be digested, savoured and tasted. The practitioner of lectio derives spiritual sustenance but after tasting its sweet savour develops a hunger for more.

Let us take three examples: Psalm 1, John and 1 Cor 3:9-15

The first example (Psalm 1):

The psalms form a significant part of the daily prayer of monks and indeed of this book. They are sung slowly and meditatively every day and every line becomes intimately familiar to the monk. The first of the psalms is in a sense an introduction to the whole book of psalms. It presents two paths to follow, that of the just or that of the wicked. It is a challenge not to sit on the fence but to opt for the path of the just.

Psalm 1

1 Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners, 2 but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night. 3 He is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields it fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall prosper. 4 Not so are the wicked, not so! For they like winnowed chaff shall be driven away by the wind. 5 When the wicked are judged they shall not stand, nor find room among those who are just; 6 for the Lord guards the way of the just but the way of the wicked leads to doom. The psalm thus presents two ways but also two destinations. The way of the Lord begins and leads ultimately to happiness and that of the wicked to doom. The just man is happy from the outset if he avoids all contact with the wicked. The psalm warns against the slippery slope of 3 increasing contact with the wicked. The innocent man first follows, then lingers and lastly sits with the sinners. At each stage he is losing momentum and becoming fixed in his new surroundings. At first he takes occasional advice then he spends time with them and lastly becomes one of them. The contagious power of sin is manifest.

The just man is indeed happy as he avoids sin and devotes his time to enjoying and contemplating the law of the Lord. This law is summarized in the book of psalms and this first psalm is thus an invitation to read and pray all the psalms. The contrast between the two paths is starkly portrayed in a diptych or double image of the blooming tree, its leaves and fruit, and the dry barren winnowed chaff. The tree is rooted in the ground whilst the chaff blows away in the wind.

The last part of the psalm moves to the final judgment. The situation of the wicked is reversed. Whereas before they tried to entice the just into their company, now they can find no place among the just. They have become so used to sitting and complaining or criticizing that they can no longer stand and see the truth. They depend on no one but themselves and so cannot see God. They flounder in their own machinations.

The psalmist says that the “Lord guards the way of the just”. This is the knowledge that carries him through all the trials he will describe in later psalms. He knows God through listening to him each day in prayer and assimilating his life-giving law.

The psalm begins with a key word, happy or blessed. It brings a blessing on those who say it and shows the way to becoming truly happy. Happiness is the goal of everyone. All want and desire happiness. It is part of human nature. God shows the way to true happiness, the meditation of his law. This meditation sprouts roots in the human person that reach into the deepest recesses of personal history where each one reads the story of his or her life with God. Meditation also sprouts shoots and buds that turn to God himself, the source of life and light and become ever more verdant with this contact.

In time, prayer surfaces as a fruit of such meditation. The words of the psalm spring forth to provide the vocabulary for the prayer ‘let all his works prosper’. This prayer may be made for oneself or for another. It is a prayer using the very words of God, the words of the psalms that Jesus prayed regularly. It is a prayer that springs not only from the psalm but from the meditation of the personal relational history of the individual and God. The prayer is God’s but the person’s also. It is a true communication between the human and the divine. Who better to exemplify such communication than Jesus Christ? When a Christian prays this psalm it is through, with and in him. It is a foretaste of the ultimate goal of life, union with God.

What might be remembered from this psalm? Who makes space in their life for the law of the Lord? What place does God’s word have in their life? Have they made prayers of thanksgiving for blessings received or perhaps taken the three steps, of following, lingering and sitting, and then come to repentance? There are some who ponder God’s law day and night and their lives are indeed a blessing and their leaves never fade. There are others who are challenged by temptations and find themselves increasingly trapped in crime or vice. 4

Perhaps the prayer of those who read this psalm might be directed to those who find themselves in such difficult situations.

The second example (John 1:35-46) and a second way of Lectio:

A second way of doing Lectio Divina is to becomes silent and prepare to listen and then to read a passage slowly and afterwards to pause and reflect on the passage. What word or phrase emerges as the one that is important for today? Keep this word or phrase and read the text a second time and see what question emerges around this word or phrase for life, or for relationships with others or with God. Sometimes the text may provide a number of questions directly as in the following example. At other times life experiences will elaborate on the word or phrase to construct a personal question. After some silent reflection read the text again with the question in mind. What response might be given to the question? The text and life experience may suggest something. The response may be a reflection, a prayer or may suggest a concrete action. An active relationship develops between the reader and the word of God.

The Call of the Disciples: John 1:35-46

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter). 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." 46 Nathaniel said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

No two people relate the same way to others. Each person has distinctive relationships with everyone else and with God. God has a personal relationship with each person and no one can replace another, in this specific role. In lectio no two readings will be similar because of the differences in relationships. Each reading is personal.

In the above passage a number of questions are present but it is the words “come and see” which resonate most strongly. Perhaps it is because they are repeated, or perhaps it is because once spoken they are obeyed (“they came and saw…”). They have a direct force that time and distance cannot diminish. They are as insistent now as when first spoken. They are fuller 5 than the simple “follow me” spoken to Philip and answer the innate human curiosity to know or see.

These repeated words could generate many questions: “What are you looking for?”; “Where do you live?” What are you looking for you in your life? Is it possessions, or is there something more? There is a limit to the satisfaction that possessions bring. There is a longing that they cannot fill. Where do you live begets the question who do you live with, or may I come and be a friend to you? The focus has shifted from possessions to relationship. This is closer to satisfying us. Friends are far more valuable than possessions. A very special relationship forms between husband and wife. Even here though there is the space for a further relationship with someone whose love never changes but is the sure foundation for every person’s being. The two disciples stayed with Jesus till 4 O’clock or the tenth hour which is the perfect time. From where does this perfection come?

What is there to go to or to see? In the story the disciples go to see where Jesus is staying and remain with him. They are attracted to something. They spend all day with Jesus. The focus in the story is not on a house or place, it is on Jesus. They spend their time with him. What is special about Jesus that they commit to him so soon? What happens to them after meeting Jesus? What happens to the contemporary reader of the story when he or she meets Jesus and spends time with him?

The answer is perhaps in the words that emerged at first: “come and see”. Philip the disciple at the end of the story uses the very words of Jesus. He has followed him and learnt much in this first contact. He just as Andrew earlier recognises in Jesus the one about whom Moses and the prophets speak. Philip goes further than Andrew. He uses the very words of Jesus to call Nathaniel. He not only recognises Jesus’ greatness as Andrew did, but has become transformed on meeting Jesus and become more like him. Philip is the same man he was before Jesus called him and yet he is changed. He is a disciple of Christ and brings Christ to others not just in his teaching but in his being. He is so united to Christ that Christ’s words become his own. Can the contemporary reader be so changed? Christ is present in the Scriptures and his effective Word is equally present today as to the disciples in the story. The challenge is to listen to the Word and to allow it become the Word for today in real life situations and challenges. Come and see and enjoy the perfect peace Christ brings. This is what meets the deepest human desires, what people really want and where they want to live.

The third example (Romans 12:1-8):

This text is from St Paul’s longest letter, that to the Romans. This is the beginning of a section where Paul addresses the Romans urging them to action and encouraging them. Such a call and encouragement is perhaps much needed at all times in the life of every generation. This opening section prepares the ground for such action.

Romans 12:1

I urge you, then, brothers and sisters, remembering the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, dedicated and acceptable to God; that is the kind of worship for you, as 6 sensible people. 2 Do not model yourselves on the contemporary world, but let the renewing of your minds transform you, so that you may discern for yourselves what is the will of God -- what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 And through the grace that I have been given, I say this to every one of you: never pride yourself on being better than you really are, but think of yourself with sober judgment, recognising that God has given to each one his or her measure of faith. 4 Just as each of us has various parts in one body, and the parts do not all have the same function: 5 in the same way, all of us, though there are so many of us, make up one body in Christ, and as different parts we are all joined to one another.

“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice”. This phrase seems to be rather difficult. What does it mean? Paul suggests that this is the approach of sensible people! People are not to offer themselves to God according to the standards of the world but just as they actually are. There is no need to pretend to be a superstar or to be better than anyone else. There is no competition before God, for he knows everyone better than they know themselves. There is no point to pretence before God. This is a huge relief. God meets people in their life situation, however difficult it may be. When might people offer themselves as a living sacrifice? There are more obvious examples of the martyrs. There are also high points in people’s lives, such as ordination, baptism, marriage where people might sense that they are giving offering themselves as a living sacrifice. There are the regular days of minding children, helping elderly relatives, giving time to someone in need perhaps after doing a long day’s work, when these moments can be offered as living sacrifices. There are opportunities every day for everyone to offer themselves. It requires attentiveness and a willingness to give of their time.

One can offer one’s body to God, by the myriad of prescriptions listed later in the letter to the Romans. Fundamentally all such offering involves “loving the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Dt 6:5). This is manifested by intention, word and deed. This offering makes the person whole through the letting go of distractions and false hopes, and taking up the work of Christ in the world. The person gradually comes to meet Christ, the source of his or her life and energy and thus becomes a living sacrifice.

How can a sacrifice be living? Jesus has shown us the way. He offered himself on the Cross and died and rose again. He is present perpetually before the Father as a living sacrifice interceding for mankind. At Mass the faithful offer themselves and the gifts and so unite themselves to the living sacrifice par excellence, Jesus Christ. So united the people become an acceptable and living sacrifice to God.

The phrase living sacrifice might have seemed at first a paradox. It however accurately encapsulates the necessary renunciation of obstacles in life and the acceptance of the challenge to live fully the role that God has made for each person, not what one might imagine that role to be. God knows each person intimately and gives to each what is necessary to fulfill the role to which he or she is called. It is up to each person to listen to God’s Word to discern the unique role that God has reserved for him or her. 7

In the later verses 3-6 there is a shift in emphasis, a call to being humble and to recognizing the gifts of others as we are one body with them. Where might this be seen? Where does it happen? Where might it be experienced? This evokes grace filled memories, where humble cooperation is seen, scenes that touch the heart. At a mass for physically handicapped children, one child realised one of the others was too hot and went over in his wheelchair and with his mangled hands attempted to unzip the jacket of the other. Another example is that of the widow comforted by her young son. A more personal case would be that of someone wronged who comes offering forgiveness. There are also memories of sin when pride and lack of appreciation of others’ gifts is more prominent. The child not selected to play for either team, the neighbor not invited to the party, the work colleague whose dedication and generosity is taken for granted, or the husband or wife who is unfaithful. It is a struggle to meditate on this passage in a way that evokes memories of experience. It is possible to see this text fulfilled in experience but it takes some work to recognize it, especially as the fulfillment of the text that is lived or seen lived is likely to be partial rather than total.

In this second part, God recognizes each person as different and as fulfilling a part of his plan in the world. There is a place for everyone with his or her strengths and failings, as there is a place for every part of a body. Each part has its specific place and role and no part can substitute for another. Many may not be ready to fulfill this role at present due to pressures of work, or tension in relationships or just a very mixed-up situation with no obvious means of resolution. God gives to each person his or her measure of faith, the amount that is necessary for their lives. The situation may seem impossible but God opens another door when all others seem closed. The person needs to be become aware of God’s action in his or her life and those of others. This should re-orientate the way others are seen. The relative merits and qualities given to each are for the building up of Christ’s body. They are gifts received from God and not personal strengths or attributable uniquely to the person. This humble attitude unites everyone and also joins everyone to the exemplar of humility Christ himself.

Conclusion:

Prayer is about relationship, the person’s relationship with God. All relationships require contact and communication if they are to be living. There are times for silence but all relationships require verbal communication and active listening. Lectio Divina is one of many but perhaps the most privileged way of such verbal communication with God. It is for this reason that St Benedict asks that monks devote so much time to it. 8

Ch 4:55 You should take delight in sacred reading and often turning generously to prayer.

Ch 42:5 The great silence after Compline

The last activity before compline, is listening to the reading of Cassian, lives of the Fathers, or of scripture.

49: How Lent should be observed in the monastery:

Ch 49:4 We can achieve this as we should if we restrain ourselves from bad habits of every kind and at the same time turn wholeheartedly to the prayer of sincere contrition, to lectio divina, to heartfelt repentance and to self-denial.

48: Daily Manual Labour:

Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore all the community must be occupied at definite times in manual labour and at other times in lectio divina.

From Easter to the first of October from the fourth to the sixth hour should be given to lectio divina.

From the first of October until the beginning of Lent they should devote themselves to lectio divina until the end of the second hour. Then after the community meal they will spend their time in reading or learning the psalms.

Lent: The morning will be given to reading till the end of the third hour. Each member of the community is given a book from the library to read thoroughly and in a conscientious way.

Seniors to inspect during time of reading, to check that all are assiduous and concentrating on the reading.

Sunday is the day on which all should be occupied in lectio divina.