Posted on by Kurt Bodling

formative reading

“Formative reading is the kind of reading that nourishes the life of the spirit. Contrast that with other more typical approaches to reading. Often our approach is informational as we look for ideas and facts to enlighten the mind. Or our approach may be recreational as we just relax and enjoy the story line. At times our approach may be literary as we appreciate or analyze the text for its intrinsic quality and attributes. Or again, our approach may be exegetical when we try to understand the ancient text in its ‘there and then’ meaning.


“Formative reading is slowed down and reflective. It is inspirational rather than informational, and more qualitative than quantitative.


“Formative reading calls for an attitude of receptivity, the grace of appreciation, and participatory engagement.


“The chief requirement of formative reading is to move from a mainly argumentative, rationalistic fault-finding mentality to an appreciative, meditative, confirming mood. We are called to move past challenging or rebuffing the text to a savoring of its timeless values. We are called to listen with inner ears of faith to what God may be saying or doing.


“Formative reading calls for a posture of docility and humility as we accept the gift of enlightenment coming from beyond our control. We expect not only to be touched by what is read, but transformed by it.”

Sager, Allan H. Gospel Centered Spirituality: An Introduction to our Spiritual Journey. (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1990), p. 101.

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the Bible in solitude

“The Psalms are the true garden of the solitary and the Scriptures are his Paradise. They reveal their secrets to him because, in his extreme poverty and humility, he has nothing else to live by except their fruits. For the true solitary the reading of Scripture ceases to be an ‘exercise’ among other exercises, a means of ‘cultivating’ the intellect or ‘the spiritual life’ or ‘appreciating the liturgy.’ To those who read Scripture in an academic or aesthetic or merely devotional way the Bible indeed offers pleasant refreshment and profitable thoughts. But to learn the inner secrets of the Scriptures we must make them our true daily bread, find God in them when we are in greatest need–and usually when we can find Him nowhere else and have nowhere else to look!”

Merton, Thomas. Thoughts in Solitude. (NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1958 ; pbk ed 1999), pp. 126-127.

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Bible in Benedictine monasticism

“We are struck by the extraordinary authority conceded to the biblical word, by the time and attention devoted to the reading of the word. The Rule of St. Benedict prescribes a total of from two to three hours each day to be devoted to lectio divina, the personal, meditative reading of the Scriptures.”

Barnhart, Bruno. “Monastic Wisdom, the Western Tradition” in Belisle, Peter-Damian, editor. The Privilege of Love: Camaldolese Benedictine Spirituality. (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2002), p. 65.

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deep reading / divine reading

“In order to learn to keep silence and to nourish it with the presence of God, we should develop the practice of lectio divina, which is a moment of silent listening, contemplation, and profound recollection in the light of the Spirit. Lectio divina is a great river that carries all the riches accumulated over the course of Church history by the fervent readers of God’s Word.

“Lectio divina is never solely our own reading. It feeds on the interpretation of those who have preceded us. The monk, the priest, and the deacon are accustomed to it by the Divine Office itself [in the Office of Readings], which has them listen to the Holy Book and then afterward to the commentaries of the Fathers of the Church. These commentaries are sometimes very different. They can seem austere, disconcerting, and strange to our contemporary mentalities. But if we persevere in lectio divina and silent listening to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches, our effort will be rewarded by unheard-of jewels and riches.” (p. 240)

Sarah, Robert Cardinal with Nicolas Diat. The Power of Silence Against the Dictatorship of Noise. With an Afterword by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Translated by Michael J. Miller. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2017), p. 240.

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reaching contemplation thru reading

“While on earth we come, through meditation on the Incarnation and redemption, to a contemplative experience of God that is not, however, a vision of His essence. . . . [F]or Cassian the way to contemplation is through meditative reading of the Bible.”

[And, interestingly, for Martin Luther, too.]

Merton, Thomas. “The Humanity of Christ in Monastic Prayer.” (1963) in Selected Essays. Edited with an introduction by Patrick F. O’Connell. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2013), p. 155.

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your ‘to be read’ book list

“Emma has been meaning to read more since she was twelve years old. I have seen a great many lists of the drawing-up, at various times, of books that she meant to read regularly through — and very good lists they were, very well chosen, and very neatly arranged — sometimes alphabetically, and sometimes by some other rule. The list she drew up when only fourteen — I remember thinking it did her judgment so much credit, that I preserved it for some time, and I dare say she may have made out a very good list now. But I have done with expecting any course of steady reading from Emma. She will never submit to anything requiring industry and patience, and a subjection of the fancy to the understanding. Where Miss Taylor failed to stimulate, I may safely affirm that Harriet Smith will do nothing. You never could persuade her to read half so much as you wished. You know you could not.”

Jane Austen, “Emma” chapter 5.

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stick with it

“Continue on with what you are doing; labor perseveringly in My vineyard, and I Myself will be your reward. Continue your writing, reading, singing, lamenting, keeping silence and praying, and bearing your troubles bravely; for eternal life is worth all these combats and more.

“Peace shall come at a time known only to the Lord. And it will not last a day or a night as we calculate time; there will be light everlasting, infinite glory, unbroken peace and undisturbed rest.”

Imitatio Christi, Book 3, chapter 47, paragraph 2

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to read like this

“By the reading of Scripture I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green, light is sharper on the outlines of the forest and the hills and the whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music in the earth beneath my feet.”

Merton, Thomas. The Sign of Jonas. (San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 1981), p. 115-116. (written on 8 August 1949)

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and a time for every purpose

“Once again I’m having weeks when I don’t read the Bible much; I never know quite what to do about it. I have no feeling of obligation about it, and I know, too, that after some time I shall plunge into it again voraciously. May one accept this as an entirely ‘natural’ mental process? I’m almost inclined to think so; it also happened, you know, during our vita communis.”

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Letters and Papers from Prison. The Enlarged edition. Edited by Eberhard Bethge. “A Touchstone Book.” (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997), p. 234. Bonhoeffer to Eberhard Bethge, 19 March 1944

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Take up and read!

“There are times when ten pages of some book will fall under your eye just at the moment when your very life, it seems, depends on your reading those ten pages. You recognize in them immediately the answer to all your most pressing questions. They open a new road.”


Merton, Thomas. The Sign of Jonas. (San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 1981), p. 305. (this text written 10 October 1950)