The Direction of Intention My God, give me the grace to perform this action with you and through love for you. In advance, I offer to you all the good that I will do and accept all the difficulty I may meet therein. St. Ann, Pray for us St. Francis de Sales, Pray for us.

 Latin for Divine Reading  A traditional Christian practice of scriptural reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's Word.  What it is NOT ◦ Academic study of Scripture ◦ Bible Study and faith sharing ◦ A simple interior spiritual practice

 The roots of this practice date from the early 2 nd century  Origen in the 3 rd Century firsts writes about its practice ◦ Teaches it to St. Ambrose who in turn teaches it to St. Augustine ◦ Quickly spreads among the women and men of the desert (Mary of Egypt and Anthony of the Desert) and early monasteries of both the east and west.

 Middle Ages ◦ Practiced by monks, nuns, laity and clerics ◦ 14th century - Gerard of Zutphen Dutch lay man and mystic writes On Spiritual Ascents ◦ 16 th century – Martin Luther advises the practice  The Present ◦ 20 th century – Pope Paul VI and Pope Benedict XVI recommend the laity should undertake the practice of Lectio Divina

 Beginning: Silence ◦ Finding a place to pray ◦ Free from distractions ◦ A consistent time ◦ “Hear, O Israel!” – The need to listen  Lectio – The Reading ◦ Reverential listening ◦ Listening both in a spirit of silence and of awe. ◦ We are listening for the still, small voice of God that will speak to us personally - not loudly, but intimately. ◦ Slowly, attentively, gently listening to hear a word or phrase that is God's word for us this day

 Meditation  ONCE WE have found a word or a passage in the Scriptures that speaks to us in a personal way  “Ruminate” – Like a cow!  The Virgin Mary “pondering in her heart” what she saw and heard of Christ (Luke 2:19).  Take in the word - that is, memorize it - and while gently repeating it to ourselves, allow it to interact with our thoughts, our hopes, our memories, our desires. ◦ We allow God's word to become His word for us, a word that touches us and affects us at our deepest levels.

 Prayer – Dialogue and Consecration ◦ Dialogue  Both speaking and Listening ◦ Consecration  In Baptism we are set apart as Priest, prophet and King  All prayer is made because of the priestly role we assume at our baptism  In this consecration-prayer we allow the word that we have taken in touch and change our deepest selves.  We hold up our most difficult and pain-filled experiences to Him, and to gently recite over them the healing word or phrase He has given us in our reading.  In consecration-prayer, we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God.

 Contemplation ◦ FINALLY, WE simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. ◦ Wordless, quiet rest in the presence of the One Who loves us has a name in the Christian tradition - contemplation. ◦ Once again we practice silence, letting go of our own words; this time simply enjoying the experience of being in the presence of God.

 Many early Christians added a final step  Resolution ◦ A decision to bring the internal to the external, ◦ Contemplative and Active ◦ Could be as simple as a resolve to recall throughout the day what it was we did during Lectio Divina ◦ A resolution to put into practice in some small or large way what it was we reflected on.

 Personal Practice  Communal Practice  Taking the Sunday Readings ◦ Or part of them as a starting point  The Passion Narratives – during Lent  The Resurrection Accounts during Easter  The Infancy Narratives during Advent/Christmas