Lectio Divina.

Lectio Divina or Sacred Reading is a simple way of reading the Gospel and relating it to our everyday lives. It was developed in the 4^th and 5^th centuries by the Benedictine monks. Lectio Divina is done in three stages:

1. Reading: We read the passage aloud, slowly and reverently, listening to the sacred words and allowing them to sink into our consciousness. Putting the text in context and clarifying words or expressions where necessary, can help our understanding of the passage. Read the story again. A word , a phrase, a metaphor or an image may strike us as we read or we may feel drawn to anyone of the "characters" or actions of the story. The oftener we read the text the more attuned we become to its rhythm, its phrasing, its imagery, and it becomes for us an even richer source of meditation and prayer.

2. Meditation: We allow the passage to stir up memories within us so that we recognise in it our own experience of life or that of people who have touched our lives. We ask ourselves where is this happening to-day or where have we experienced this in our lives in the past or are now experiencing it in the present?

3. Prayer: Arising out of the meditation and the memories we will be moved to pray. Sometimes our prayers will be of thanksgiving when we remember situations of grace where God was active through ourselves or someone else. Sometimes our prayers will be of humility when we remember situations of sin, where we failed to let God be active through us. Sometimes our prayers will be of petition, asking God to be active in cases of need and deprivation or when we become discouraged. As we become more accustomed to Lectio Divina we will find ourselves praying in the words of the passage. If we continue to pray in this way we may find ourselves repeating over and over a phrase from the passage. This is called contemplation ,where we find ourselves at rest in the truth of the passage.

Lectio Divina is most fruitful when we do it in conjunction with the readings for the following Sunday. Our prayer becomes part of the universal prayer of the Church and listening to the Word being proclaimed on Sunday becomes a far more meaningful experience.

Christian Brothers' Monastery, New Road. Ennis.
Phone : 065/6821471

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