Lectio Divina is known as divine reading.
It's a staged process of reading and listening with the spirit,
Then meditating,
Then praying,
And then contemplating those words.
This early form of Christian prayer was used until around the 16th century.
It's an organic process that engages the mind,
Heart and spirit in a connective contemplation.
The original teachings encouraged this contemplation to promote a normal development of an authentic spiritual life and to nourish an internal desire to know God.
It was generally accepted that divine grace could be reached through this contemplative form.
However,
Around the 16th century,
When it fell into disuse,
It was designated at that time as not for ordinary people.
So the general public did not get access to this form of divine reading and prayer any further,
But it was reserved for the monastics who,
It was felt,
Engage with the divine and mystical presence of God.
However,
Today,
Most churches still engage in the first two stages,
Reading from a lectern,
Which incidentally was derived from the word Lectio,
And of course,
Verbal and silent prayer.
The final two movements are still practiced in some monasteries,
That being the meditation and contemplation.
So,
Settle into your seat and let's get ready to start.
The first stage is to be read and listened to with the spirit,
To allow yourself to be caught by a word or a set of words.
Again,
The second movement is to silently meditate,
To think about those words.
The third is to pray from the heart about the words and what you may have come to or what you may wish for.
The final stage is to stop.
Stop and open yourself up to the Holy Spirit and wait on God for any insight.
As we move through the stages,
I'll remind you of what to do.
But this contemplation is designed as a natural progression.
So please allow yourself to be moved by the flow of your own process and press pause on your device after each stage and then return to my guidance when you're ready to continue.
If you want to just not use pause and sit straight through,
That's fine.
And I'll give you two minutes silence after each stage before continuing on.
So let's begin.
With the first stage,
Which is reading.
I'll read the verse to you a few times.
And as you listen,
Allow yourself to be caught.
By something.
Allow yourself to be prompted by the Holy Spirit with some word or phrase.
The reading is taken from 1 Corinthians 6,
19-20.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in you?
Whom you have received from God.
You are not your own.
You were brought at a price.
Therefore,
Honour God with your body.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,
Who is in you,
Whom you have received from God?
You are not your own.
You were brought at a price.
Therefore honour God with your body.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in you,
Whom you have received from God?
You are not your own.
You are brought at a price.
Therefore.
.
.
Honor card.
With your body.
And now we meditate.
We think about the words or word and the meaning of them.
And now.
We stop thinking.
And allow our heart to be touched by those words.
Praying for help to understand more.
Allowing questions from your inner self to surface.
And now,
Quieting the heart and the mind.
And simply waiting.
Opening your whole being to a deeper contemplation.
And perhaps.
.
.
Receiving.
A deep insight.
As we move to a close.
Bearing in mind that our timing is not always God's timing.
And that whatever insight or revelation you may or may not have received It may not appear right now,
But it will make itself known to you in the coming days,
Weeks or months.
Thank you for sharing this time with me.
