A Lenten Lectio Divina Prayer Group

Lectio Divina? What is that, you may be thinking.

Well, it’s just a fancy Latin phrase that means “holy reading.” It is a traditional form of prayer during which we meditate on scripture passages. It’s really not intimidating, although it sounds like it is. I’m not going to explain Lectio Divina in depth, as you can find more than enough info in a web search. But I’d like to introduce the idea of “holy reading” as a Lenten practice.

Several years ago, I began simply reading the daily readings, which at the time I had sent to me via email. Now I use my handy Magnificat. As time went on and I kept up this routine, I found that I really started to learn the Bible.

Soon verses became familiar (which is how I can recall the verse from Hebrews below). Stories start to overlap. Themes arise. The personality and characteristics of God become clearer. And I begans to “hear” God speaking through His word.

It makes sense really. The daily readings are on a 2 year cycle, and Sunday readings are on a 3 year cycle. So, if you read the missal everyday for three years, you would read approximately 13% of the Old Testament and 70% of the New Testament (Read more here).

I think too few of us (myself included) spend enough time with God’s Word, and yet we hope to hear His voice amid the turmoil of our lives.

If we truly want to hear God, there’s no better place than to turn to the Bible, which is truly inexhaustible.

Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

And while I’ve been dedicated to the readings everyday (or at least 75% of the time), sometimes I don’t spend as much time as I would like actually listening to God in His word.

And that is why Lectio Divina is so important.

I was introduced to Lectio Divina many years ago in college during an Ignatian retreat. Through the years I’ve used it on and off, sometimes more fruitfully than at other times.

Since Advent I’ve been utilizing a book, An Ignatian Introduction to Prayer by Fr. Timothy Gallagher, to help me in the practice of holy reading. This book is a simple way to begin the practice of using the Word of God in your prayer time. You literally just flip to a reflection, open your Bible to the suggested passage and begin.

Ironically enough, while I was meditating on a passage during prayer a couple weeks ago, I had this inspiration to lead a group in practicing Lectio Divina for Lent. (I guess it’s not so ironic, as that’s the whole point of this practice…hearing God!!!)

So here’s my idea for a Lenten Lectio Divina prayer group, and I’m so excited about it!!!

I will be forming a small, closed prayer group, with the intention of learning and practicing Lectio Divina and meditation utilizing this book.

Our group will have “meetings” online using a Zoom call. (Yay for technology!) We will begin Lent with an initial meeting to introduce ourselves, and I will give a little instruction on how to use this book for meditation.

There will be one reading/reflection per week, so we will have plenty of time to spend on each passage. You can spend just a few minutes each day on it and ease into this practice.

At the end of the week at our meeting, I will lead the discussion and share some of my own personal insights. But my vision for this group is to foster sharing and group discussion. For this reason, I will be limiting the group to 10 participants so we all feel comfortable sharing.

All meetings will be recorded and posted on a private page. So if you miss a meeting, you’ll be able to watch it later. That being said – this group will be most successful if we can all commit to participating in most of the meetings.

If you have never participated in a prayer group, or you’ve never done Lectio Divina and meditation, you’re probably thinking, this is not for me. But that’s not true!

This is exactly for you, and I’m challenging you now to give it a try! You may find it is a fruitful experience. And you may be surprised at learning how God speaks to us through His word.

So now what? Fill out this form and answer a few questions for me about your availability. That’s it! At this point you are not committing. You’re just taking the first step and thinking about it.

And of course, feel free to contact me with any questions.