Saints LightLectio Divina: How Do You Pray with Scripture?
Lectio Divina is reading a short Scripture passage slowly, pondering a word that stands out, answering God in prayer, and then resting quietly with him.
What this lesson teaches
- In Scripture God speaks; in prayer we answer him.
- Lectio Divina has four steps: read, meditate, pray, contemplate.
- Use a short passage, such as the coming Sunday's Gospel, and read it slowly.
- It is listening, not studying, and not a way to get random messages.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 2653
- CCC 2654
- CCC 2708
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: Psalm 118:105 (119:105 in most modern Bibles); Luke 24:32; 1 Samuel 3:10 (1 Kings in Douay-Rheims).
A sample question from this lesson
What are the four traditional steps of Lectio Divina, in order?
- Study, summarize, memorize, teach
- Pray, read, decide, act
- Contemplate, read, meditate, pray
- Read, meditate, pray, contemplate
Show the answer
Read, meditate, pray, contemplate. The ladder described by Guigo II and summed up in CCC 2654 is reading, meditating, praying and contemplating.
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Lectio Divina
- Latin for 'divine reading': praying slowly with a short passage of Scripture.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"Lectio Divina: How Do You Pray with Scripture?" is lesson 5 of Learning to Pray. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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Related lessons
- How to Start Reading: A Realistic Plan (The Bible)