+MY EXPERIENCE OF LECTIO DIVINA 18 Oct. 2026
Let me say first of all that I am grateful to share a few reflections with you on Lectio Divina for it is one of the three basic ingredients of my monastic way of life. The other two are our prayer (public & private) and manual labor. Lectio greatly enriches the other two ingredients of our way of life.
From my experience, I think spiritual life is a lot about becoming aware of what is going on in our minds all day long. What takes place in our minds is what is coming out of our hearts. If we are in touch with our thoughts as the early monks such as Anthony, Cassian and Benedict remind us, we can begin becoming aware of what is really going on deep down in our hearts. If we are going to be God’s servants, truly following his Son Jesus, we must become aware of all the subtle movements of our hearts for this is the way that we come to that purity of heart that is so pleasing in God’s sight.
Our Lectio Divina allows us to be constantly exposed to God’s truth and love. To do so is to be fed spiritually, to be constantly open to the presence and action of the Holy Spirit. It is in this way that we allow our hearts to be filled with divine life and become adept at discerning the presence and action of God in our daily lives. Lectio, especially the reading of sacred Scripture enables God to speak to us, convey that wisdom by which we can direct the whole of our lives.
This morning at Vigils I had several experiences of Lectio Divina. As we prayed psalm 18, the words “So in them [the decrees of the Lord] your servant finds instruction; great reward is in their keeping. But who can detect all his errors? From hidden faults acquit me.” If by prayer, lectio and work we hear the decrees of the Lord, our lives are transformed. God’s Holy Spirit is continually seeking to enter the whole of our lives. As we experience this, we realize how great the reward of opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit’s presence and movement is. The Holy Spirit illuminates those hidden selfish interests and frees us of their power over us. Thus, we are empowered to continually live that love St Paul speaks of so beautifully in 1 Cor 13:4 ff where we are told of how “love is patient, love is kind, is not pompous, is not inflated, is not rude, does not seek its own interests.” God is ever seeking to transform each one of our lives so that we live by a love that reflects God’s own inner life. To do so not only transforms our own lives but those of all those around us. Each of us has been made in the very image and likeness of God, called to be sharers in God’s very own life.
Another moment this morning when I found my heart deeply touched by the living and active Word of God was when we listened to Sirach 14:20-15:6 being read. There we heard how meditating on wisdom changes our lives, how happy one is “Who ponders her ways in his/her heart and understands her paths. Motherlike she will meet him, like a young bride she will embrace him, nourish him with the bread of understanding…” I could go on and on about this reading but I think my point has been made.
What I do not like to admit are the subtle ways I find myself avoiding Lectio Divina on a regular basis. I suspect that because of the ways it demands real concentration, of being fully present to the word I avoid it as a discipline. There are a lot of other things I would like to do and allow myself to become distracted by internet. Though I know this is a very nourishing practice, I find myself avoiding it by setting my own list of priorities. As wonderful a way it is, to die to myself so as to live to God, I still keep on avoiding it and I would like to make this confession so that I might make more efforts at keeping my priorities straight.
One final word I would add is that of my coming to the end of my Lectio while reading Insane for the Light by Ronald Rolheiser. It has been a very enlightening book, and the final chapter goes into a summary of the Spirituality of St John of the Cross which I think is as good as one will ever find. Our faith as Christians takes us into ever new depths of spiritual experience. If we follow its lead, we come to see the limits of human understanding, but our hearts are filled with God’s tender and most loving presence.