Skip to main content

Lectio Divina



There is a practice in the Benedictine monastic circles called "Lectio Divina." The point of this practice is to read God's Word (The Bible) and let it speak to you as the Living Word. What can happen is that the Scriptures can become relevant to you in a way you never imagined and you can receive an interpretation or explanation from the Holy Spirit that no one has gotten before!

I believe in Lectio Divina. While I revere the Holy Fathers who wrote the Four Gospels, Acts, and Epistles. I believe the same God, who is the Same revealer of all Truth and wisdom back then is revealing things to his people today! The radical truth is that St. Peter and St. Paul are no different from any follower of Christ today. I know, I may have just have alienated or ruffed feathers, but hear me out before offense takes root. What makes St. Peter and Paul special is their proximity to Incarnate Christ. Peter walked with Jesus in the flesh, while Paul had vision and expanded the Church all the way to Rome. But the same Holy Spirit that dwells in them dwells in us and subsequently can teach us and reveal the deep mysteries that baffle those who reject the Spirit.

I believe the canonized Bible is God breathed and has 99% of the answers regarding the Christian walk. However I believe 1% is reserved for the Jesus and The Holy Spirit to reveal to us the answers to the 99%! We have a direct link to the divine and can with His help devise the answers to questions that have baffled theologians and confused Christians throughout the centuries. To do this, we must study God Word (The Bible) and let the Lord's Spirit reveal as we reveal the spiritual realities and revelations hidden in parables and in even simple and straight forward words.

I was saddened the other day when I saw someone who was so intent to meet a priest and be taught. I wanted to say as St. Peter did, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God's special possession." (1 Peter 2:9). The concept that we need these special priests who go to Bible college and are ordained comes from the Levite priests of the Old Testament! Every Christian is a royal priest because the High Priest of Melchizedek dwells inside us (1 Corinthians 6:19, Romans 8:9) and His name is Jesus Christ! (Hebrews 7:17)

For Jesus was speaking about us when he said to His Disciples  on Resurrection Day, "Yes, you believe because you see me, but more blessed are those who believe without seeing." (John 20:29). There is a blessing upon us followers of Christ who believe without seeing. And yet, the Lord is kind and will reveal much to those who are his disciples of this day and time.

Lectio Divina divides into four practices. Firstly  there is "Lectio" which means read. Then "Meditatio" which means meditate on the reading. Then "Oratio" which means pray or speak the Word. Then finally "Contemplatio" which means contemplate the Word. Reading the Word of God can fall into deep study where like scholar you look up scriptures in Lexicons, or it can mean to read it simply and let it soak in your soul. meditating on the Word of God is the process of letting the words be "written on your heart and mind," (Hebrews 8:10, Hebrews 10:16). Praying the word of God can be powerful, for the enemy could not prevail against Jesus in Wilderness when He would say, "It is written.." (Luke 4). Additionally, praying the word or orating/reading aloud the word has an effect that just reading silently does not. For hearing learners it helps to read aloud, but the Word of God is powerful and to speak it is to invite the Lord's presence. Finally, contemplating can range from one word to a short sentence or paragraph. It is when something catches your attention, moves you, and you find your thoughts drawing back to that verse and those words.


I encourage every follower of Christ to read the Bible daily and let the Lord through Lectio Divna reveal to you something that will build your spiritual life, open your eyes, and even be a word to share with others. The Word of God is alive! It speaks because it comes from the Lord (Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Potrait of Jesus: What Christ Looked Like

What was Jesus’s appearance? Pseudo-historians at National Geographic and other publications argue that Jesus’ humanity was of Arab or African descent. This is impossible because Jesus our God was Son of David according to His flesh, “He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord (God),” (Romans 1:2-4), and King David was described as the following, “So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy [red, ruddy, from the word admowniy {ad-mo-nee'}; from 'adam ; reddish of the hair or the complexion red, ruddy], with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he. So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came ...
4 comments
Read more

Dispensationalism

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) was a man who did two things, he took 70th week of the Book of Daniel and stretched out to the End Times, and he was the father of  Dispensationalism , a belief system that God dispenses different peoples with separate blessings and covenants. According to Darb'ys doctrine of Dispensationalism, God dispenses different covenants. There are total of seven dispensations that divide the history of man: I. Dispensation of Innocence (prior to the Fall, "Do not east of the Fruit of Good and Eve, Eden), II. Dispensation of Conscience ( You must assuage guilt and sin with blood sacrifices.) III. Dispensation of Human Government (Multiply and Subdue the world, example the Tower of Babel Gen 11:1-9, and Genesis 1:28). IV. Dispensation of the Promise (Dwell in Canaan, Jerusalem) V. Dispensation of the Law ("Obey the Law of Moses and the Prophets"). VI. Dispensation of Grace (The Church, Jesus Christ has come...
Post a Comment
Read more

Orthodox Christianity and Messianic Judaism

There is a divide between the two sides of Christianity. One is lined by a rosary, the other with tallit (prayer shawl). In the west we tend to come from a Greco-Roman understanding of The Bible and Jesus Christ. We are saturated with images of the Crucifixion and see through the red lens of Calvary. Now The Messianic or Jewish perspective is becoming more prevalent as people begin to study the roots of the Christian faith. After all, Jesus was a Jew and his Twelve Disciples were all Jews of different sects and positions in society. By studying the Jewish roots of Jesus we come to understand the ancient customs, practices, rites, and traditions that are featured in the Old and New Testaments. We learn in Jewish tradition that a Rabbi had to be ordained by two rabbis and that when Jesus was asked, "by who's authority do you say these things?, (Luke 20:2)" the Pharisees were asking who had ordained Jesus and where he got his yoke (teachings), and Jesus responds, "wh...
Post a Comment
Read more