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