Lectio Divina

Monday was my first experience doing Lectio Divina. In fact, it was my first time ever even hearing about it. 

I looked it up and another source described it as “divine reading”.  After applying lectio Divina to Sonny’s Blues, I definitely could see how it could benefit me in my time reading Scripture. Because again, it emphasizes not only reading text through one time and assuming that you received what the message was. It challenges you to really “soak it in” and “consume” what the text has to offer. 

In application to scripture, I believe that if you truly desire to be knowledgeable and receive wisdom from it, you should push yourself to not be lazy and take the time to genuinely study God’s words and give them the opportunity to speak.

We read a couple paragraphs from the story and applied this concept to it. 

I liked the way that Wikipedia compares this process to “Feasting on the word.” 

Lectio: taking a bite

Meditatio: chewing on it

Oratio: Savoring the essence of it

Contemplatio: it is digested and made part of the body

Lectio (Listening to the word): After reading the text out loud, I wrote down “But the man who creates the music is hearing something else, is dealing with the roar rising from the void”

Meditatio (Reflecting on the word): We read the text aloud again. My thoughts that I wrote down were “the music meant something different to him because it came from HIS soul, he experiences a avoid that we cannot begin to understand, the roar of his pain overtakes the sound of the music we are hearing, our voids cause us to relate to the music in a different way therefore the music “sings” to us differently as well”

Oratio (Responding to the word): We read the text aloud for the third time. The prayer that I wrote was “Help me be more aware of the importance of people’s words. Help me to recognize when people’s words are expressing a need or hurt they are feeling. Rid of me of only hearing what my flesh wants me to hear. Give me divine hearing. Give me sensitivity to those still, small voices. Lastly, give me the desire to be in silence with you. Help me treasure it, because I know that you do.”

At the end of this, I thought a lot about the importance of silence with God. I often find myself uncomfortable with silence or just distracted by silence. 

However, God wants that time with us, a time where even his whispers can be heard.