1- What does 'LD” mean?
'Lectio' in Latin means: 'Reading'.
'Divina': means 'spiritual' or 'divine'.
Note 1: LD (Lectio Divina) is traditionally applied exclusively to the spiritual reading of the Scriptures.
Note 2: It is called 'divina' because without the direct, 'divine', intervention of the Holy Spirit, this cannot come about.
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What is LD?
It
is the time we dedicate to sitting down, listening to what Jesus
wants to say to us, and putting it into practice.
Practising
LD is meeting the Risen Lord who comes everyday to my room to speak
to me personally and change me.
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What is the basis of LD?:
LD
is based on the “daily Bread” that the Lord gives us essentially
during the first part of the Mass: the Liturgy of the Word of God.
Note:
We have either two readings (week days), i.e. First Reading and
Gospel, or three readings (Sunday, Solemnities) i.e. + one extra
reading.
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What is LD's place in our Spiritual Life?
LD
is the most powerful boost to our Spiritual Life.
Well
practised it ensures a steady growth.
Without
it, our Spiritual Life is greatly undermined.
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What is the goal of LD?
Its
daily goal is to generate a real transformation in us.
It
helps Jesus' words to become incarnate in us, so that Jesus grows in
us.
We
start to act with Him and through Him in new and previously
unexperienced ways.
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Is Jesus calling everybody to practise LD?
Yes.
He emphasised, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (Matthew 4:4).
Note
1: He said: "man", not, "some men".
Note 2: It is equally true that there is a moment in our lives where, by
the grace of God, we become more aware of the vital importance of
listening to Jesus' Word and putting it into practice.
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When do we practice LD?
The
best way is to do it is on a daily basis, preferably in the Morning.
Jesus advises us to petition God to "Give us this day our Daily
Bread".
Usually
we start with as little as 10 minutes a day, and the practice grows
to reach about an hour.
8- What are
the stages of LD?
There are two
stages in LD:
1- To listen to
Jesus' Personal Word for us .
2- To put it into
practice.
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Which texts do we use?
The
best method is to use the readings of the Mass of the day. They can
be found online and in the following: a liturgical calendar, the
Bible, the Missal, or a monthly magazine dedicated to the Mass eg
Magnificat...
For
a person who is not acquainted with the Scriptures, it is better to
start by reading the main books of the New Testament, and some
important texts from the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah,...),
and do the lectio on those texts, a paragraph or section per day.
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What is the best way to start it?
1- to sit in a quiet place
2- to place myself in the presence of Christ and enter into my conscience so I can hear the voice of God
3- to consider Jesus' desire to speak to me
4- to repeat my choice of Him today as my First priority
5- to give myself to Him, unconditionally.
This stage should only take a few minutes.
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What conditions does LD lay down?
The
true desire to respond to Jesus' Call for me, and the willingness to
change, to convert.
Jesus
explained: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the
sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to
repentance."" (Luke 5:31-32)
12- Is it enough to
read the texts once to allow Jesus to talk to us?
The
first reading is necessary in order to understand the passage in
general, or we could risk applying our own analysis of the text,
which, in turn, will colour prayer itself. The text merely has to
have a minimum of clarity for you, as with stained-glass, to allow
Jesus' Light to come through.
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How can we really listen to Jesus?
It
is important while reading to ask for the Holy Spirit. Before this,
we need to fully accept that on our part we need to do our utmost to
listen to Jesus, as if it all depended on us through our reading,
focusing, rereading, understanding the text, digging deep. Then
immediately after, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to help us listen
to Jesus with his unique direct intervention, as if all depended on
Him.
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How does the process of Listening unfolds?
When
the supernatural Action of the Holy Spirit is initiated, we notice
that it is as if Jesus is highlighting a part of each text, making
it more alive, more meaningful to us that day, using these words to
talk to us.
15- How can we be sure
that it is Jesus who is talking to us, not ourselves?
When the highlighted
parts of the two (or three) texts we are reading start to say one
thing to us. This gives us 95% certainty that He is speaking not us.
Jesus, using the two texts to talk us, invites us to change and do
something we were not doing before.
16- What characterizes
the supernatural Intervention of the Holy Spirit?
There is a difference
between understanding the text with our mind and having a new
understanding, alive, because of the intervention of the Holy Spirit
who sheds a new light through what we are reading. Now the same word
of the text starts to give out a divine sap, an inner light, a
meaning that we were not seeing before, and this meaning touches our
heart, our will, our life, some area of our being, asking it to
change, offering its healing.
17- What are the
criteria of discernment?
The main criterion to
discern that it is the Holy Spirit who is acting is when we notice
that miraculously the two texts are saying the same thing (often
using different words).
This action of the Holy
Spirit tastes new, coming from Above; it is practical, i.e. it
touches some area in us; it is little, just that day's step to be
done, just the change the Lord wants to make in us today; and which
still often sounds impossible to implement without His help.
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What can He ask us to do?
There
is an infinity of things He can ask us to do. In fact He is our
Healer. It is the Holy Spirit who builds us anew. He can ask us to
forgive a specific person; He can ask us to entrust a burden to Him;
He can show us his mercy...
19- Can the outcome be
a general indication or does it have to be clear?
The initial meeting of
the two texts in one meaning is but a general light: mercy,
forgiveness, love, patience, attention,... But this general
indication leaves us with no practical act to perform, and may lead
to our thinking process taking over and dominating LD.
The fruit of LD is a
specific daily act inspired by the Holy Spirit, an incarnation of a
clear word in us. Jesus does not remain in the vague and the
uncertain. He came to guide us, He is our true Shepherd. (for a more developed explanation see here)
20- How does the
general indication become a clear one?
Jesus' Word can be
compared to a ball of light and love, about to become incarnate in
us. When we perceive the general light of the Holy Spirit, we must
allow it to go, first, through the mind in different stages as we
start to understand God’s will, (say ‘mercy’), then, through
insistent begging, we see very clearly where it touches us in the
will (‘forgive this particular person’), until finally we
understand which act He wants us to perform. (for a more developed explanation see here)
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How do we implement what He asks us?
Yet
again the direct help of the
Holy Spirit is vital in order to put into practice the Word received
by Jesus on the specific day. When Our Lady asked the Angel how the
Incarnation would come about, he replied: "the Holy Spirit will
come upon you" (Luke 1:35). The Holy Spirit is the Master of the
Incarnation of the Word in us. The case for LD, in a nutshell, is
that it is a Word, a Light, an Indication, a Message, that we receive
on a daily basis, so that Jesus the Word of God will grow in us.
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What change occurs in us on a daily basis?
The
Word of God feeds and transforms our Mind and our Will. Our Mind is
enlightened by the Word of God, our Will is healed in one specific
area.
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What is the relationship between the Word of God and the Holy Spirit?
'The
sword of the Spirit is the Word of God' (see Ephesians 6:17) How does
this 'sword' work?
"For
the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
(Hebrews 4:12)
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How does the Word of God allow the Holy Spirit to fertilise our mind?
It
is in the Word of God passing through us that the Holy Spirit offers
crucial attributes to the mind: "wisdom" to see things as
God sees them; "understanding" of the Word of God, and its
connection with previously received words; "knowledge" of
what it means in my world on a practical level; "counsel"
on how exactly to apply it that day.
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How does the Word of God allow the Holy Spirit to fertilise our will?
The
Holy Spirit also offers to the will: "piety", showing how
today's act will be led most fervently by that new received word;
"fortitude", drive and power to put it into practice;
"delicate attention to God's will" ("filial fear of
God") to be grounded in his Word and not to disregard it.
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How does LD influence our day?
LD
unifies our day under its supernatural light. We often notice that
the whole day is like varying illustrations of the same light we had
received in the morning. The Lords teaches us throughout the day how
that same light fecundates different aspects of our daily life,
reflections of it echoing throughout the day.
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What are the steps of the first part of LD?
The
listening process in LD can be summarised in the following 5 steps:
Active phase: seeking understanding
1- Read (1) in order to understand the text
Listening phase: asking for the help of the Holy Spirit
2- Read (2) in order to discover Christ’s will
3- Read (3) until I see only one light
4- Read (4) until the light becomes clear
5- Write down the words or sentences from the readings that touched me
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What are the steps of the second part of LD?
The
implementation process (putting into practice the word received) can
be summarised in the following 5 steps:
1- Asking the Holy Spirit’s help in order to put into practice the Word
2- Giving thanks, being immersed in Him
3- Putting into practice the Word received
4- Echoes during the day
5- At the end of the day: giving thanks.
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How can we summarise LD?
It
is literally a real act of love and a way of discerning if we really
love Jesus or not: "whoever loves me will keep my words"
(John 14:23)
