Lectio Divina · Prayer

Lectio divina is Latin for "divine reading" or "sacred reading". It is not Bible study, though it does not despise study, and it is not speed-reading for content. It is reading a short passage of Scripture slowly, in God's presence, so that it becomes a conversation with him. The Catechism describes it as reading and meditating on the Word of God so that it turns into prayer (CCC 1177), and names it as a classic form of Christian meditation (CCC 2708).

Why pray with Scripture

The Church believes that in Scripture God speaks to his children with love (CCC 104). The Second Vatican Council urged all the faithful to read the Bible often, and to read it with prayer, so that it becomes a dialogue: we speak to God when we pray, and we hear him when we read. It recalled St Jerome's warning that ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ (Dei Verbum 25; CCC 133, 2653).

Lectio divina is the oldest way the Church has of doing this. It grew up among the Desert Fathers and in monasteries, where the monks' day was built around the slow reading of Scripture.

The four steps

In the twelfth century, a Carthusian monk, Guigo II, prior of the Grande Chartreuse, described this practice as a ladder with four rungs. The Catechism quotes the summary associated with him: seek in reading and you will find in meditating; knock in prayer and it will be opened to you in contemplation (CCC 2654).

Lectio (reading). Read the passage slowly, more than once, ideally aloud. Notice which word or phrase catches you. Do not hurry on.
Meditatio (meditation). Stay with that word or phrase. Turn it over. What does it say? Picture the scene. Ask why it touched you, and what it says to your life today.
Oratio (prayer). Speak to God about it, in your own words. Thank him, ask him, tell him honestly how the passage makes you feel, including resistance or confusion.
Contemplatio (contemplation). Be quiet with God. No more thinking or talking; simply rest in his presence, as a friend sits with a friend. This step is a gift, not an achievement. If nothing seems to happen, that is fine.

The steps are not a rigid procedure. Sometimes you will move back and forth between them. Many people add a fifth: a small, concrete resolution to carry the word into the day.

A worked example

Take John 1:35–39. John the Baptist is standing with two of his disciples when Jesus walks past. John points him out as the Lamb of God, and the two disciples begin to follow Jesus. Jesus turns, sees them, and asks: "What do you seek?" They ask where he is staying. He answers: "Come and see." They go, and stay with him that day.

Reading. Read the passage slowly, perhaps three times. Suppose the question "What do you seek?" stands out. These are the first words Jesus speaks in John's Gospel.

Meditation. Imagine the scene: the two men, uncertain, walking behind a stranger, and the stranger turning round. He does not ask who they are, or whether they are worthy. He asks what they want. Now hear him ask you. What do you seek? Comfort? Answers? Forgiveness? Him? Notice that the disciples do not give a clever reply. They ask where he lives. They want to be near him.

Prayer. Talk to him. "Lord, I am not sure what I am looking for. I think I want you to fix things, more than I want you. Help me want you." Or: "Thank you for turning round when I followed you at a distance." Whatever is true.

Contemplation. Rest in his invitation, "Come and see." No words now. Just stay with him, as the disciples did that afternoon.

Resolution. Perhaps: today, before I start each task, I will pause and ask what I am really seeking in it.

That might take fifteen minutes. It does not need to take longer.

How to begin

Choose a short passage. Five to ten verses. The Gospel of the day's Mass is ideal, because it joins your prayer to the Church's; a daily missal, or the readings on a Catholic website or app, will give you it.
Choose a time and place. Fifteen to twenty minutes, without the phone.
Begin by asking the Holy Spirit for help. Scripture is read best in the Spirit in which it was written (CCC 111).
Do not aim to cover ground. One phrase, truly received, is enough.
Keep a notebook, if it helps, for the word that struck you and your resolution.

Going deeper

How Catholics read the Bible: reading Scripture with the Church.
What prayer is: meditation and contemplation in the Church's teaching.
The Rosary: another school of slow meditation on the Gospel.
In the Catechism: CCC 2653–2654 on the Word of God as a source of prayer, and CCC 2705–2719 on meditation and contemplation.