18 Lectio divina, Part I ‘The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us . . . to live’ (Titus 2.11–12). This New Testament passage speaks of Christ as grace personified who teaches humanity to live. If the Spirit is the great instructor in Christian life, Scripture, a sacrament of the will and the Word of God, can be seen as the element that transmits the Spirit’s teaching. Certainly, this refers to Scripture interpreted in the Holy Spirit, Scripture read in a spirit of prayer. Lectio divina, which finds its roots in the Jewish tradition of Bible reading and the patristic hermeneutic legacy, is the art of making the transition from a biblical text to our life. Because it helps us make this transition, lectio divina is a precious tool that can help us bridge the gulf we often observe in our churches between faith and life, spirituality and daily existence. It is an existential hermeneutic of Scripture that leads us, first, to turn our gaze towards Christ and search for him through the biblical page, and then to place our own existence in dialogue with the revealed presence of Christ and find our daily life illuminated, filled with new light. The four steps of lectio divina – lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio – represent the progressive deepening of our understanding of the biblical text. Our act of reading becomes an encounter with the living Lord, dialogue with him, and the exposure of our life to the light of Christ, who gives order to our existence.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 09:03:06 +0000
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