Lectio Divina

LECTIO-DIVINA

Lection Divina is an ancient and powerful way of praying with scripture. It is so simple that it can be used every day. Yet it is also powerful, drawing forth deep riches from The Word of God.

Following five steps, preparing, listening, reflecting, responding and acting on The Word, this prayer is like a dialogue with God. The choice of scripture passage is up to you – you can use the Gospel of the coming Sunday, the Gospel of the day, a passage chosen at random or work your way through one book of the bible day by day.

1.    Prepare to Hear the Word

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Son of the Living God.
Teach me to listen to what you tell me in the Holy Scriptures.
Let me hear your voice and discover your face in your Holy Word.
Amen.

Period of stillness and silence as we prepare to receive The Word.

2.    Listen to The Word – Reading

First reading of the text: listen for a word or phrase that stands out for you. Silently let The Word penetrate your heart.

3.    Reflect on The Word – Share

Share the phrase which has stood out for you. Do not comment on others’ contributions or elaborate on your own; just listen and let the phrase stay with you. Let The Word of God speak into your heart and allow silence in between each contribution.

4.    Respond to The Word – Prayer

Second reading of the text.

Reflect: What is the passage telling you about your life? What have you learned about God from the passage? What is God calling you to do?

Share your prayer which emerges from the text aloud.

Concluding Prayer: Glory Be or Gloria.

5.    Act on The Word

Take The Word into your daily life with action based on your reflection.

Author: Francine Pirola

How do you pray with Scripture? Have you felt a bit intimidated or overwhelmed by the prospect? What fruits have you gained from it? Tell us in the comments below!


Share this story, choose your platform

Francine Pirola

Comment Policy

We love to hear your stories and ideas. Please keep your comments respectful, your suggestions productive and published under your own name. More info here

About

Sign up FREE to CathFamily

FREE weekly eNews curates seasonal topics making it easy for parents and catechists to locate and prepare faith-filled and fun activities.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Get Social

Recent Posts

Donate

CathFamily is an initiative of the Parish & Marriage Resource Centre (PMRC) Australia.. The PMRC Relationship Education Foundation is a registered charity that supports marriage and relationship education activities. All donations in Australia over $2 are tax deductable. All of the administrative work of the Foundation is provided by volunteers and other support infrastructure is ‘gifted’ by other organisations.