For Week of April 5, 2021
“Reflective reading of the Bible to lead us into prayer has been a practice in the church from the earliest centuries. It can take many forms, from singing the Psalms as community, to reciting the Lord’s Prayer, to a systematic reading of each section of a book with pauses for reflection and prayer. This last method is often called lectio divina, from the Latin for “divine reading.” Spiritual writers describe it in a variety of ways, but all agree that it has a definite pattern to it. That pattern is described here briefly as four steps:
1. A slow and thoughtful reading of a passage from the Bible.
2. A time of reflection and thinking about the meaning of that text to me as a reader.
3. A period of prayer to God to bring its message or wisdom to fruit in myself.
4. A decision on what I should do in my own life as a result – that is, an action plan or decision to change or improve.”
(Lawrence Boadt, CSP)
This week each day use the following portions of scripture to practice, lectio divina:
MONDAY
Psalm 1
TUESDAY
Psalm 27
WEDNESDAY
Isaiah 6
THURSDAY
Jeremiah 29
FRIDAY
Matthew 5
SATURDAY
Colossians 3
SUNDAY
Hebrews 11