Lectio Divina can also be done in a small group. I once experienced this with the Dominican Sisters. Someone read the passage aloud slowly, and then we observed a period of silence for individual reflection/meditation. Then each person, if she wished, may share something that stood out for her. Another person then read the same passage again aloud slowly, and the process repeated. We read the passage three times, and continued with reflection and sharing each time. There was much silence and pauses throughout the process. It was interesting how the same passage may have quite different message to each person. At the end we ended with prayer. There was a leader who gently facilitated through it. I personally felt it was a refreshing experience.
Lectio Divina at first may seem like an abstract, mystical practice that is hard to grasp, but I think we just have to start with baby steps. Like any meditation practice, it ushers us to into a slower rhythm than we normally used to. I have a hard time with it because, by myself, I have a tendency to want to get through the passage as quickly as possible, like reading any other book, then search in my head whatever clever insight I can come up with on my own, instead of really just sitting with the text and ruminate on it. At times things would just flow out of me, and I knew it was really the Holy Spirit, but that doesn't happen all the time, or even most of the time, I think. It takes discipline to quiet down my own thoughts. I find that it helps to just focus on the phrase/words that stood out for me, and keep them in mind as I go on through the rest of the day. Sometimes those text take on new meaning when seen in the context of a daily situation. I think that's the transformative element that JB mentioned.
Thanks for the insight, Maria!
Does anyone else have experience with this practice and have insights to share? Has anyone attempted this practice since Carol mentioned it last week?
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