The Christian spiritual traditions extending back to the first centuries after Christ practice, as far as I can tell, three main forms of prayer: Liturgy, centering on hearing the Scriptures and on the Eucharistic Presence of Christ; spiritual reading, especially using the Scriptures of Israel and the Church (our Bible), as well as the writings of the Christian Fathers; and thirdly, often present under and with these two forms, contemplative prayer: simple mindfulness of the Presence of God here and now.
In this brief essay I center on the practice of spiritual reading, or what in Latin has been known as “lectio divina.” The literal meaning of lectio divina is “divine reading,” and that phrase is highly rich in meaning, as we shall briefly consider. In the previous essay we encouraged the faith to develop the habit of praying the Psalms, the collection of Israel’s prayers that for nearly twenty centuries now has been "the prayer book of the Church” as well as a prayer treasury of Israel. By no means do we wish to exclude the reading of the Law of Moses, the prophets, other Old Testament writings, the Gospels, or the letters of the Apostle Paul, and so on. But for prayer in common and alone, the Psalms provide a source that is at once highly diverse (with ample food for all tastes and needs), often profound, sometimes challenging one’s faith and understanding of Christ, and truly nourishing to the soul that is attentive while it prays the Psalms.
Being attentive while reading is essential in spiritual reading, or “divine reading.” The human mind must be attentive to the words on the page, or the reading is not spiritual-intellectual, but just “going through the motions,” moving eyes mindlessly over black ink spots on the page. Such “reading” is empty and a waste of time. When one does spiritual reading, he or she is attentive, seeking wisdom, longing for the Presence of God, and trusting that the LORD God is present in and with the praying mind. Justly is this spiritual exercise known as “divine reading,” for when the human mind truly engages in this kind of reading, the one reading is aware that the Divine Mind, the I AM, is present in and with the human mind as one reads. Such reading is prayer indeed, for the human seeker becomes aware of the hidden Presence of the One sought--the Presence of God--in and through the activity of spiritual reading.
Let me try to develop this insight, for it is crucial for prayerful reading. When one reads the Psalms for the sake of growing in the love and knowledge of God, then it is the LORD Himself who is moving one to read, it is the LORD who nourishes the soul, it is the LORD who is both the one sought and the ever-present mover in the search. In divine reading, one is not primarily praying to God, although that is one aspect of this spiritual exercise, and perhaps what most beginners are more conscious of as they read. Beginners think that they are praying to God, and with this sense is often a conviction that it is right and just to pray to God. Without denying this dimension of divine reading, what makes it truly divine is that this prayerful reading is first and foremost the work of the Holy Spirit praying in one’s heart, and moving one to read the words on the page, and nourishing the mind and heart as one reads. In divine reading, the human-divine union is being actualized, so that the one praying could say, paraphrasing the Apostle Paul, “I am praying, yet not I, but the Spirit of Christ (or Christ) is praying in me.” Indeed, it is trust in the divine Presence as moving this activity that makes it genuine prayer, and it is an awareness of divine Presence as one reads prayerfully that makes it truly “divine reading,” lectio divina.
Divine reading is essentially an iconic activity. Just as one is aware that the living God is attending to the human being who stands before and venerates an Icon, so the person reading the Psalms as spiritual reading is aware that the God sought is the One present. One may “hear” the voice of God in and through the Psalms, or One may sense the divine Presence stirring in the unseen depths, in the “heart of hearts.” But perhaps especially in stillness, as the mind is absorbed in reading, one becomes aware of the living truth: “You Are,” or “You are here,” or in other words expressing the divine-human-union-in-distinction: One, yet two; together, yet distinct; You and I-in-You.
In this brief essay I center on the practice of spiritual reading, or what in Latin has been known as “lectio divina.” The literal meaning of lectio divina is “divine reading,” and that phrase is highly rich in meaning, as we shall briefly consider. In the previous essay we encouraged the faith to develop the habit of praying the Psalms, the collection of Israel’s prayers that for nearly twenty centuries now has been "the prayer book of the Church” as well as a prayer treasury of Israel. By no means do we wish to exclude the reading of the Law of Moses, the prophets, other Old Testament writings, the Gospels, or the letters of the Apostle Paul, and so on. But for prayer in common and alone, the Psalms provide a source that is at once highly diverse (with ample food for all tastes and needs), often profound, sometimes challenging one’s faith and understanding of Christ, and truly nourishing to the soul that is attentive while it prays the Psalms.
Being attentive while reading is essential in spiritual reading, or “divine reading.” The human mind must be attentive to the words on the page, or the reading is not spiritual-intellectual, but just “going through the motions,” moving eyes mindlessly over black ink spots on the page. Such “reading” is empty and a waste of time. When one does spiritual reading, he or she is attentive, seeking wisdom, longing for the Presence of God, and trusting that the LORD God is present in and with the praying mind. Justly is this spiritual exercise known as “divine reading,” for when the human mind truly engages in this kind of reading, the one reading is aware that the Divine Mind, the I AM, is present in and with the human mind as one reads. Such reading is prayer indeed, for the human seeker becomes aware of the hidden Presence of the One sought--the Presence of God--in and through the activity of spiritual reading.
Let me try to develop this insight, for it is crucial for prayerful reading. When one reads the Psalms for the sake of growing in the love and knowledge of God, then it is the LORD Himself who is moving one to read, it is the LORD who nourishes the soul, it is the LORD who is both the one sought and the ever-present mover in the search. In divine reading, one is not primarily praying to God, although that is one aspect of this spiritual exercise, and perhaps what most beginners are more conscious of as they read. Beginners think that they are praying to God, and with this sense is often a conviction that it is right and just to pray to God. Without denying this dimension of divine reading, what makes it truly divine is that this prayerful reading is first and foremost the work of the Holy Spirit praying in one’s heart, and moving one to read the words on the page, and nourishing the mind and heart as one reads. In divine reading, the human-divine union is being actualized, so that the one praying could say, paraphrasing the Apostle Paul, “I am praying, yet not I, but the Spirit of Christ (or Christ) is praying in me.” Indeed, it is trust in the divine Presence as moving this activity that makes it genuine prayer, and it is an awareness of divine Presence as one reads prayerfully that makes it truly “divine reading,” lectio divina.
Divine reading is essentially an iconic activity. Just as one is aware that the living God is attending to the human being who stands before and venerates an Icon, so the person reading the Psalms as spiritual reading is aware that the God sought is the One present. One may “hear” the voice of God in and through the Psalms, or One may sense the divine Presence stirring in the unseen depths, in the “heart of hearts.” But perhaps especially in stillness, as the mind is absorbed in reading, one becomes aware of the living truth: “You Are,” or “You are here,” or in other words expressing the divine-human-union-in-distinction: One, yet two; together, yet distinct; You and I-in-You.
