Note: This Camaldolese abbot really shows Scripture at the center and core of the Christian spiritual life. All the spiritual disciplines, practices, and exercises spring from and revolve around the Word of God. Scripture itself is the source and norm. Lectio isn’t merely another spiritual practice, way to pray, thing to do. He calls it “a way of being.”

Quote:
“Lectio divina is a ‘spiritual exercise,’ a way of living, thinking and praying that involves one’s whole being and spiritual progress in human life. Spiritual ‘exercise’ in the monastic tradition is not a spiritual ‘retreat,’ but the spiritual orientation that transforms my being every day. In this light, monastic life is an ongoing spiritual exercise. Lectio divina, then, is a way of being that deeply changes how one lives. It is the traditional center of monastic life.”

Source: Barban, Alessandro. “Lectio Divina and Monastic Theology in Camaldolese Life” in Belisle, Peter-Damian, editor. The Privilege of Love: Camaldolese Benedictine Spirituality. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2002, page 47.