Lectio divina

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The Lectio divina (Latin, literally "divine reading") is a method of praying meditation on Bible texts .

history

The desert fathers already practiced this type of written prayer. Since then, lectio divina has been practiced mainly in monasticism for centuries. A systematic representation of the method of lectio divina is the work Scala claustralium (before 1150) by the Carthusian monk Guigos II. He describes lectio divina as the monks' ladder to God. Using the Bible verse “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you! ”( Mt 7.7  EU ) he explains the four stages:

  1. Lectio divina
    lectio (reading): The careful reading of a passage from the Bible.
  2. meditatio (meditation): The prayer chooses a verse from the section that particularly appeals to him. He repeats this verse over and over and meditates on it.
  3. Oratio (prayer): Reading is listening to the word of God, meditation is thinking about it. The answer to God's address follows in prayer.
  4. contemplatio ( contemplation ): Lingering in dialogue with God ideally leads to contemplative fellowship with God.

These four levels are reminiscent of the doctrine of the fourfold sense of writing .

The Protestant theologian August Hermann Francke (1663–1727) presented the method of meditating scriptural prayer in his book Brief Lessons on How to Read the Holy Scriptures for True Edification . This way, Protestant Christians also got to know this approach to Holy Scripture - albeit not under its Latin Catholic name.

In the Catholic Church, it was only recently that Christians outside of the monasteries discovered this reading prayer or praying reading for themselves. The Second Vatican Council , which emphasized the importance of the Bible as the word of God in the spiritual life, made a decisive contribution to the spread of lectio divina . The Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation “ Dei verbum ” recommends lectio divina . Pope Benedict XVI recommended this method and expressed his hope that its application "could bring about a new spiritual spring in the church".

literature

See also

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  1. ↑ August Hermann Francke: Brief Lessons on How to Read the Holy Scriptures for His True Edification . In: Voice of Faith. Archives of the fathers.
  2. ^ Dei verbum, nos. 25 and 26.
  3. ↑ Benedict XVI. recommends 'Lectio Divina' . Website kath.net. Retrieved September 14, 2013.

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