It's official

How do you like this one ...

The practice of Lectio divina was discussed in the Vatican this past week as part of the Synod of Bishops which is currently taking place there. In fact, it was the Auxiliary Bishop of Valparaiso, Chile who made a very concrete presentation of this type of prayer to the Synod participants.

So in short, here's how it works, at least according to the Chilean experience:

1. Begin by preparing the environment where the prayer will take place. Specifically, an open Bible can be placed on a table and then prepare your heart, quieting yourself before God.

2. Next, call upon the Holy Spirit so that "as the Word was made a book," as in the experience of the first Christian community, so now "the book becomes Word".

3. Afterward, read a Bible passage and use prepared reflection questions to go deeper in the understanding of the text.

4. The fourth step involves actually reading the text. If there is a group of people present, one of them proclaims the Biblical text. Following the proclamation it is fitting to observe a moment of silence so that each participant can personally reflect.

Participants would then be encouraged to annotate the passage, using, for example, question marks beside passages that seem more difficult to understand and underlining verses they consider particularly important.

Thus, each person can discover the key points of the passage, or aids for understanding the passage can be offered.

Then read the passage again, marking it this time with exclamation points beside those verses that invite certain actions or changes of attitudes.

With an asterisk, mark those passages that help you to pray.

5. Then move on to meditation, following the exclamation points. As an aid, ask questions that apply to your life.

6. Next, begin to pray, using the asterisks -- to pray from and with the word of God and what has been lived in the encounter with the Word, that is, with Christ.

7. Finally, take time for contemplation, aided by silence or music. What is important, is that "Jesus takes hold of me, looks at me and I at him, an exchange of gazes."

Thus, the participants move to the last stage, "action," writing a word (for example, dialogue or help) that indicates to them the path to follow and share.

Based on this format, I'll start posting some scriptural references tomorrow, and invite readers to take the time to follow these simple steps, either alone or with a group of people. It will be interesting to see what the fruits might be. Stay tuned.