Posted on by Kurt Bodling

the truths of lectio are heart truths

Note: Lectio divina takes us to, and uncovers, the spiritual heart of a text, which may well be, and usually is, different from the literal, exegetical center. The latter is head knowledge more than heart knowledge. But does this mean that lectio truths are personal ones and not as applicable to the larger Body? That would mean that the spiritual heart of the text could be different for each of us. Well, why not?

Quote: “All of this spiritual exercise in reading, repetition and hearing makes sense if we discover the center of the text. What is the center? In lectio we do not search for the textually central spot, but that spiritual center that gives the text a contemplative sense. Such a center can be a sentence, a verb or series of verbs, a teaching, etc. In other words, this center is not always the exegetical center. It is the heart of the text for me, right now, in my present spiritual path. That center we discover in our lectio is a gift of the Spirit, a spiritual intuition that comes from God, not from our intellect. In the beginning, it is not always easy to uncover the spiritual center of a text.” (p. 56)

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.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

centrality of lectio divina

Note: Camaldolese prior Alessandro Barban highlights the centrality of lectio divina among the Christian spiritual disciplines. It is the core around which all the rest of spiritual life circles. He is writing about his Camaldolese monks, but the thought applies to us all as we are able in our various stations in life.

Quote:
“Every day we monks live in important spiritual practices, such as stability, attentiveness or mindfulness, meditation, silence, prayer, obedience, purity of heart, simplicity, openness, and many others. But lectio divina is the center of our monastic life. Monastic practices are not simply things to do. They are dimensions of the Spirit. If we cannot live these dimensions, we are not really monks.” (p. 59)

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.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

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.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

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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Lectio divina at the center

“Every day we monks live in important spiritual practices, such as stability, attentiveness or mindfulness, meditation, silence, prayer, obedience, purity of heart, simplicity, openness, and many others. But lectio divina is the center of our monastic life. Monastic practices are not simply things to do. They are dimensions of the Spirit. If we cannot live these dimensions, we are not really monks.”


Alessandro Barban. “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), p. 59.