So
monks devoted a lot of time to the study of the Bible
as well as of other fields of knowledge in order
to listen to God's word as carefully as possible.
The time for lectio divina therefore came to include
study in a more general sense. But always the intention
was to teach monks to listen more attentively to
God in their lives. The world of the Bible teaches
us to see our own world, our work and relationships,
as the place where God continues to call us and all
things to find their fulfilment in him. This kind
of wisdom is more important than knowledge, and it
is learnt by deepening our understanding of God’s
love and realizing that he is the light which illuminates
our search for him in all things.
The Bible is the word
of life for a monk. We listen to it in the Divine
Office, and we use it as the source of our own prayer
and praise of God. When a monk does lectio
divina on his own, usually it involves reading a passage
slowly, always listening out for the way it 'echoes'
in his own heart. That is where meditation turns
into prayer. It may be prayer for himself, or for
others, a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God.
The word may draw him more deeply into himself in
the worship of God and the search for his will.
Traditionally this pattern
of prayerful reading came to be considered as having
four elements: lectio - meditatio
- oratio - contemplatio.
These could be translated as reading (or listening),
taking (or receiving) the word in our hearts, praying
with the word and wondering at it.
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