Lectio Divina: Praying the Scriptures - Part 2

In the first post on lectio divina, we looked at its origins, value to the Christian and the basics of its practice. There are, however several other things that are worth thinking about.

How do we choose suitable passages for lectio divina?
One of the potential problems of lectio divina comes with selecting suitable Biblical texts. At one level, there is nothing wrong with using our favourite passages of the Bible, using lectio divina as a way of exploring their riches, and allowing God to speak to us through them. But we must be careful that we don't just stick to those passages that we like or choose ourselves. This is because we can get into the situation where we start to choose what we want God to be saying to us - a 'pick your own' approach. We need to find a way of choosing texts that is less subjective.

As Catholics, we believe that the Bible is God's gift to the Church, to a believing community. The fact that we are part of that community and not just an individual alone with God is important. Our interpretation of the Bible must be carried out within the Church. One of the best ways of choosing the texts for lectio divina is to use the texts that the Church gives us in the lectionary. We may want to make it part of our daily prayer to spend time in lectio divina with the Gospel of the day. Or we may even prefer to take the readings for the following Sunday, and go back to them several times. Either way, this means we are open to allowing the text that is given to speak to us, to give us a message that comforts, stirs, disturbs us.

What resources are available to help with lectio divina?
This website can be used to find the readings of the day, arranged according to date.

There are also many books available, and two in particular are really worth reading:

• David Foster OSB. Reading with God: Lectio Divina. Published: Continuum, 2005. – This is a superb book by a Monk of Downside Abbey in England. It is well written and clear, but not overly complicated.
• Mariano Magrassi OSB. Praying the Bible: Introduction to Lectio Divina. Published: Liturgical Press, 1998. – This is a little ‘heavier’ than Foster’s book, but is a really fine book by the late Archbishop of Bari, Italy.

Some tips:

• There are many websites about lectio divina, but few that give well written, in depth accounts. Be discerning! It can easily get to the point with prayer that we spend far more time reading about it than doing it. Once we know the basics, we just have to try, and persevere.
• For some people it might help to be guided by one who has some experience of lectio divina. Such a person may also be able to provide help by suggesting particular passages that might help reflect on particular questions or problems that life poses.

If you are unsure where to start, and don't want to launch into the cycle of daily readings, any one of the following passages might help:

Genesis 2:4-9
Isaiah 55:6-9
Matthew 7:7-11
Matthew 15:32-39
1 John 4:7-16