During the first two weeks of the great Synod in Rome, the bishops gave short ‘interventions’ on different aspects of Sacred Scripture.One that a number of bishops mentioned was the practice of lectio divina.
This spiritual exercise is popular in many parts of Ireland.
These bishops gave accounts of how lectio divina is carried out and the profound effects it can have on those who take part.
Auxiliary Bishop Santiago Silva Retamales of Valparaiso, Chile explained. “it does not pretend to be a Bible course, but rather, an encounter with Jesus in sacred Scripture.” In Chile, he affirmed, the meetings have brought "moments of great communion."
He described the various steps involved in this exercise:
To create the proper environment an open Bible is placed on an ambo and each participant brings their own Bible.
The Holy Spirit is invoked so that "as the Word was made a book," as in the experience of the first Christian community, so now "the book becomes Word."
A Bible passage is given and prepared with reflection questions to go deeper in the understanding of the text.
Then there is a moment of silence so that each participant can personally reflect on the passage.
They are encouraged to annotate the parts that are difficult (using question marks) and underlining verses they consider of particular importance.
In this way they discover the key points of the passage, sometimes with the help of their guide.
They read the passage again, putting exclamation marks beside those verses that invite them to actions or changes of attitudes and asterisks beside those that help them to pray.
After this they move on to meditation and ask questions that apply to their lives. They begin to pray from and with the word of God and what has been lived in the encounter with the Word, that is, with Christ.
Finally, time is left for contemplation, aided by silence or music.
What is important, the bishop said, is that "Jesus takes hold of me, looks at me and I at him, an exchange of gazes."+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Sotto Voce
(Source: CIN)