On Friday, we celebrated St. Benedict’s feast day. St. Benedict was the founder of the first Benedictine communities in the 6th century. Monasteries and religious life (monks and nuns) have existed since the earliest days of the church, but it was centered around the deserts of Israel. St. Benedict is called the “Father of Western Monasticism,” because he organized religious life in a way that we would still recognize it today, and he brought it out of the desert. St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchinson, Conception Abbey in Missouri, and Clear Creek Abbey in Oklahoma are monasteries in the tradition of St. Benedict.
One of the most important traditions that St. Benedict gave his monks, and, through them, to the whole church, was what we now call “lectio divina”. This is the practice of reading scripture and meditating on it slowly. It is an excellent form of prayer, and one which I practice regularly. I find it an especially good form of prayer for when I am in the Adoration Chapel, and I try as much as I can to use it when I am preparing my homilies. I encourage you all to try out this form of prayer!
The first step, before praying, is to select a scripture passage. You don’t want it to be too long. If you don’t know where to start, I recommend the Sunday Gospel or a favorite story from the Gospel. Next, prepare your mind. Ask the Holy Spirit to assist you or recite a line from the psalms such as, “God, come to my assistance! Lord, make haste to help me!” After that, we get into lectio divina.
Reading: Slowly and attentively read through the passage you’ve selected. Try and remember the words, phrases, or images that stick out to you. The traditional approaches recommend reading through the passage four times. Different things may stick out each time, or the same things might. This is fine. After reading the scriptures, most of the time in lectio divina is spent moving between meditation and prayer.
Meditation: Sit with the scripture for a while. We aren’t seeking to make a theological study of the scripture; we are seeking to allow it to fill our hearts with the love of God. During this phase, we ponder the passages, the words, the phrases, the images. We allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in our hearts and guide us as we ponder these things.
Prayer: After listening to the Word, we ask God to show us what he desires us to see in the scripture. Perhaps the passage we have read inspires prayer within us. Perhaps the passage only inspires us to pray, “Lord, I am getting nothing from this!” Either way, at this point we prayerfully respond to whatever invitation God has given us.
Contemplation: This phase does not always occur, but this is an even deeper savoring of the scriptures in our hearts. Contemplation is a type of silence where God speaks to our hearts in words that are deeper than human speech. If God invites you into this type of prayer, it is a time to just enjoy and delight in the gift you have been given. Don’t worry about trying to force yourself back to prayer or meditation.
You really need at least 30 minutes to do lectio divina, but in a pinch 20 minutes will work. When I pray a holy hour in the chapel, I’ll usually dedicate about 40 or 45 minutes to the practice of lectio divina on a particular passage.
Fr. Matt