Lectio Divina: Falling in Love with the Bible by Listening, Contemplating, Praying and Resting
The early Christians received the scriptures as a gift. They knew that the sacred words were to lead to a deeper communion of love with their source, the Living Word of God
The Bible is an invitation into an encounter with the living God for every Christian. Its words are not a formula to obtain "success" in life, but an invitation into a communion of Love with the Living Word which is meant to bear the fruit of a new way of living in the Lord. The Bible is not some-thing, but reveals "Some-One".
Pope benedict Holds the Book of the Gospels
PrintCHESAPEAKE, VA. (Catholic Online) - I am moved by the number of people who have come to speak with me since the celebration of the Easter Vigil because they want to learn how to pray and draw closer to God. In the midst of the barrenness of our age and the disillusionment it is engendering, people are turning to God. They are discovering that the hunger in their hearts can only be satisfied by the Bread of Life. People are turning to the One who offers the meaning of Life and communicates Himself to us. One of the ways that happens is through the Bible, the Sacred Scripture, the Word of God.
In the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum (The Word of God), issued by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, we find these words, "(I)n the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life." (Paragraph 21) This is the key to reading the Bible. The Living Word, Jesus, speaks to us through the written word.
Years ago a gathering of scripture scholars was held in Rome at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. The group sought what they called a "kneeling exegesis". I did not attend the conference but the name stuck with me. Exegesis is a word which refers to the study of the bible. It has taken turns in the last 100 years, some good and some bad. I loved the phrase "kneeling exegesis" because it speaks to what should be obvious, but sadly is not; only through prayer can we encounter the living Word of God in the written words of the Bible.
The Bible is at the heart of the Church's worship, faith and life. It is the "Book of the Church." Christianity is not about "me and Jesus" but me in Jesus. Through Baptism we come to live in His Body, the Church. When God chose to reveal Himself He did not throw a book out of heaven. Rather, the Word was made Flesh. He became one of us. Through the Incarnation - which includes the entirety of the life, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ- a new creation began. We are incorporated into living, Risen Christ when we are baptized into His Church. We become members of His mystical body and we enter into that new Creation, beginning right now.
The Church is not some organizational afterthought put together after the Resurrection of Jesus. It is the plan of God for the salvation of the entire human race. The Church is the Body of the Risen Christ and the seed of the kingdom to come. Through baptism into His death and resurrection all men and women can become sons (and daughters) in the Son. The Church is the new family into which we are reborn through the womb of that Baptismal font. This is why we call the Church "Mother". In the Church we live our lives in Him, with one another, for the sake of the world. She is meant to be the home of the whole human race.
God has entrusted the Bible to this Church. It was first received by the early Church in the form of the Old Testament books, the Gospels and the letters of the apostles that were "circulated" (that is what the word "encyclical" means) among the early Christian communities. Later, the Canon" (which means "measuring stick"), we currently have was finalized within the Church. It is intended to govern her life and worship. It is the guide for her in carrying forward the redemptive work of Jesus on earth until He comes again.
The Bible is an invitation into an encounter with the living God for every Christian. Its words are not a formula to obtain "success" in life, but an invitation into a communion of Love with the Living Word which is meant to bear the fruit of a new way of living in the Lord. The Bible is not some-thing, but reveals "Some-One". In the words of St. Paul to Timothy, all Scripture is "inspired" by God. (2 Tim. 3:16) The Greek means "God-breathed".
As a young man, I searched for meaning and purpose in my life beyond the emptiness and materialism of the age. My search eventually they led to an encounter with the One who is the "Way, the Truth and the Life" and home to the Catholic Christian faith. One of the first fruits of this encounter was an unquenchable attraction to the Bible. I wanted to understand its meaning for my life. I spent nearly two years in a Benedictine Monastery where I began reading the Fathers of the Church and practicing what is called "Lectio Divina". It has carried me for years as I have continued the journey of following the Risen Jesus in His Church.
The early Christians received the scriptures as a gift. They knew that the sacred words were to lead to a deeper communion of love with their source, the Living Word of God. Early theologians were mystics. My favorite definition of a ...
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I would also like to add to the reading of the Bible, the "Catechism of the Catholic Church"--which references the Bible throughout, as well as other Magisterial Teaching. We cannot separate the two; Jesus gave us both the Bible and the Magisterium ("He who hears you, hears me..." Lk 10:16) to guide us in this world. But we cannot walk in "the Way" if we do not know--if we do not learn (and/or are unwilling to learn) what Jesus has to tell us even today about how we are to conduct ourselves in this world (cf. Rom 13:13 and 1Peter). Thank God, not only our Pope, but our Bishops are now also starting to speak up, loud and clear--so grievous are the matters of faith and morals that our President is imposing on us via unjust civil laws!
Deacon Keith: The Spirit moved as I read your words. Blessings...
Reading the Bible enlightens the mind and strengthens the will. St. Paul exhorted the early Christians (and us) to "let the Word of Christ dwell in you abundantly...." (Col 3:16) That can't happen if we don't read it frequently--not just "listen" at Sunday Mass.
Thank you, Deacon, for such clear instructions. Through the mercy of God I have experienced so much of what you describe. I love silence, I read Scripture daily, and I enjoy the presence of the Lord. Our faith is really a love relationship.
This is one of the most beautiful and inspiring articles I have ever read. Thank you so very much!
This article is one of the best Catholic Online has ever published. No truer words were ever published, except of course the Holy Catholic Bible. The part of; "...living "in" Jesus says it all. There is no excuse for any believer not to take the time each day to grow in His Word. We all need to remember and do just that.
The Holy Word is the way to build a personal relationship with The Heavenly Father and not only that, it's food for the soul. The Holy Word shows us how we are to pray and how we should have faith in The Heavenly Father. The Bible is a good source of understanding, how we should living as children of God. So, when we read the Holy Word, let's keep in mind that, it is giving us a way to Eternal Life in The Kingdom of Heaven.
God Bless
We Christians are so fortunate to have been given the blessing of the gospels. Not only did God come into our world to redeem us but He provided those who were not present during our Lord’s redemptive lifetime a way to “see” and “witness” His act of salvation for mankind through these inspired accounts and testimonies.
These divinely ordained chapters captured God’s plan of redemption and allow us a deep insight into the spiritual life of “the people of god” and their interaction with the creator as Jesus moved among them gathering His “disciples” and establishing His “church” on earth.
The painful history along with jubilant triumphs and hopeful anticipations of the people of the Old Testament are combined, enriched, and bought forth into the life and light of Jesus Christ in these revealing gospel narratives. These, along with the other books of the New Testament, literally gave us the building blocks for the foundation of our Christian faith. For his people the Creator’s true and loving nature along with our path to him is now clarified and openly revealed when with and by the Holy Spirit His “Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. We believe and accept Jesus as The truth, The light, and The way for man’s salvation and eternal life with our triune God.
The Father has graciously given us, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as divinely portrayed in the gospels, our spiritual passport and lifeline compass to eternal bliss with Him. As promised by Jesus himself, guided by the Holy Spirit, Christ’s church with paternal love and care presents this gift of faith to everyone who will acknowledge His beloved Son.
It is only by the grace of god that any of us are allowed the free will to hear the word, see the light, or discover the way available to us. But to those of us who with our free will are privileged to witness these an awesome immortal choice is placed before us. For to follow in the footsteps of Christ is to surrender to the cross, accept our baptismal passport, and to hold fast the course portrayed in the gospels…our Christian compass.
God in His infinite wisdom allows each of us to go our own way as any good father would do for his child in the name of freedom. His divine wisdom however contains divine love, a love we humans can only imagine or barely grasp when absorbing the gospel message. For here we see a love far beyond our mortal capacity. A love so deep that even the heavenly angels are in awe……..so much so that Lucifer himself refused to believe it!
Christ’s journey of love was a lifetime of humbly surrendering to humanity, our humanity. He willingly accepted the Father’s mission of salvation for mankind through His ultimate “personal” human sacrifice. In spite of its brutal consequence He held fast the course, praying thusly in the garden “Father, if it be thy holy will…” and finally on the cross “Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit”. The gospels lead us to an understanding that God is love; God defines love, as evidenced in His saying to us His people “What greater love is there that one lay down his life for his friends?”
We can clearly see in the Holy Scriptures this heavenly love triangle. The Trinity’s mystery begs understanding as the Holy Spirit, assisted by our blessed mother, offering the Fathers heavenly love divinely “personified” in Christ our savior… “For He so loved the world…..” Deserved or not, this is our Father, this is Love, this is our Hope. How blessed are we!
I ask this question sincerely. How many prospective students (Protestant or Catholic) enter seminary training as atheists and then are converted after exposure to scriptures?
I would really like to know the answer to that question. It seems to me most if not all (can an atheist even get past the first few discernment periods?) students are of faith before they enter training and take up the religion they entered with when they leave (in the case of Protestants, putting out their own shingle).
I think this is an important mystery to contemplate. Just how good is the bible at converting secular students in the 21st century? What are the implications if it's shown to be awful at the task?
Deacon Keith says it in the Truth "Christianity is not about me & Jesus but me in Jesus again stated of the manner "For before the foundations were laid GOD choose each one in His Christ". In the olden days it was impossible, to know God, true even today by the Contemplations of the mind & the only way to understand Him is through Christ Jesus, to His words seeing me is seeing the Father, even to seeing Him in the Glorious state or the transfiguration state, His original image which comes by Him, cause it is not we who chose Him but He who chooses us, all to & only for the Glory of the Father, but then to the seeing is to also know Him, which name was revealed to Moses as the "I AM" the name not in time but if brought in time would read I was, is & will be, which name again is to life wherein there is no death, that which has no beginning or end, which cannot be contemplated by the Human Mind. Since the Mission of Jesus is to the Father & only to Him, to the Life, is to destroy death which cause is Sin, to our redemption back to The Good Lord & to all this is the Son come as man, his death & Resurrection to our Life, death & Resurrection in Him through our faith , brought about by His word as the living word & to get to live in Him is through the word, with the help of the Holy Spirit in its gifts, which word again comes to us by the way of God which is not to interpretations, but to revelations. .