LECTIO: An Introduction

It is not my intention to explain what Lectio Divina is or how to practice it: there are many excellent introductions on the subject online. 

So why do I practice Lectio Divina?

As a diocesan priest dedicated to intense pastoral activity and teaching, I discovered, over the years, that both activities could become an end in themselves, which undermined my ministry and its significance. 

Unsure of who I was becoming, I doubted myself. This questioning strengthened as confreres abandoned or lived their personal fondness and aversion. 

Deciding to explore my vocation: its tempestuous passages and disappointments, I had to decide my future as a response:  a step in discipleship. 

Despite the turbulence, the Prayer of the Heart is a constant companion, challenging me not to hide myself. 

The witnessing of a dishevelled old priest who struggled with the snow to reach his church on the edge of  a forest, contested: Qui totum vult, totum perdit - changed my course.

What are the benefits of the Lectio Divina? 

  1. The stillness of the heart: a hidden life focused on union with God through Jesus Christ by eliminating useless noises that attract my attention and manipulate my energies.

2. A gained consciousness that we stand together as a Church when praying in its name: solidarity in prayer.

3. It allows me to enter into a silence that enlightens my doings.

4. To be with God all the time: a tangible experience that illumines my heart with hopefulness, trust, and committed love.

5. To discover in my routine the willingness to do what needs to be done joyfully.

6. To discover that God alone suffices, which entailed the freedom to seek Him quietly. This is a learning experience of discovery because to find my heart in God is what freedom is about. 

7. It helps me to focus on my preaching: to highlight what really matters and how to share it effectively.  

Martin