The ancient monks developed a practice of slow, prayerful, and peace-filled reading of scripture to obtain a sense of how God is speaking to each of us today. We monks of Assumption Abbey continue to practice this prayerful use of Scripture called Lectio Divina (Sacred Reading). In a fast paced, sound bite world, it requires real discipline, a concerted effort, to slow down. It is said that “familiarity breeds contempt” and this can be true even in our relationship to the Holy Scriptures. We grow familiar with them to the extent that they may fail to fascinate us, jar us, shake us up, as they might a first-time reader. Thus we must slow down.

We must read them again, as if for the first time. We must set aside our assumed competence and read again. The ancients crafted a practice described in four
steps, which might be rendered in English as Reading, Pondering, Praying and Contemplating. Any person may discover fresh love for the Scriptures with this
method called Lectio Divina. Many of us will use the readings for the daily Mass for our daily lection, but any book of the Bible or other spiritual readings may be used.

Reading (Latin, lectio): Read a paragraph or two, slowly. Read it again. Read it a third time. You might read from a less familiar translation, even a non-English translation if you are multi-lingual. Take time to let the words soak in. Is there a specific word that jumps out for you today? See the people, their garb, their actions. Ask God to open your eyes to this bit of Scripture
in new ways. What does the text say to you today?

Pondering (Latin, meditatio): Close your eyes and ponder what you just saw and heard. Do you sympathize with any particular character? Have you been in their shoes? Do you have faith (or doubts) as they do? How do you encounter Jesus in the text? Is he reassuring you? Chiding you? What does the text say to you?

Praying (Latin, oratio): Respond to Jesus in prayer. Let yourself be moved to greater faith, to greater trust, greater detachment. Is your habitual form of prayer
weighted on the side of petitioning? Perhaps this praying with Scripture, called Lectio Divina, may help you balance your petitioning prayers with prayers of
repentance, of gratitude, of praise. What do you say to God?

At this point it should be noted the steps of Lectio Divina are not strictly linear. One need not always spend the first couple of minutes Reading, the next minutes Pondering, then some minutes Praying. The steps have a logical order. They are a good guide. But the Spirit blows where it wills.

Contemplating (Latin, contemplatio): According to centuries-old monastic tradition, humans practice the first three steps (above) with the help of God’s grace. This fourth step, say the spiritual masters, occurs as God quite takes over. This step, as the culmination of Lectio Divina, is beyond us, but may be given as gift by God, when God so moves. The most we can do is be well disposed to let God so move. What will God do in you?