Lectio Divina – Revelation and Prophecy

This book by a practising Quaker is a concise introduction to Lectio Divina as ‘an ancient form of devotional reading, prayer, and contemplation which deepen and broaden spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and faith.’ The author defines it as reading with the indwelling characteristic of monastic life, which is the very opposite of speed reading for surface comprehension. She outlines a number of stages, beginning with lectio, followed by meditatio, oratio, contemplatio, scriptio, and finally ora et labora as walking meditation. The 16th century archbishop Thomas Cranmer provides a nice definition of contemplation as rumination, chewing the cud, ‘that we may have the sweet, spiritual effect, marrow, honey, kernel, taste, comfort and consolation of them (words).’ We should aim to pray with our whole being to reach that sense of indwelling that renews us.

The author proposes that lectio divina enables us to bridge the hemispheres of the brain, drawing on both modern and earlier teachers – Richard Rohr, Joan Chittister, Thomas Merton, Karen Armstrong, George Fox and Isaac Penington. She encourages us to reach into Being beyond the explicate and explicit, and to commit prayers and sacred texts to memory – learning by heart helps sink the mind into the one-pointed focus of the heart. (see p. 55) In this way we can really digest the meaning beyond what words can utter. There is a wonderful passage from Fox (p. 64) urging Friends ‘to stand still in trouble, and see the strength of the Lord… your strength is to stand still.’ I was also struck by Isaac Penington’s definition of love: ‘It is the sweetness of life; it is the sweet, tender, melting nature of God, flowing up through his seed of life into the creature, and of all things making the creature most like unto himself; both in nature and operation it fulfils the law, it fulfils the gospel; it wraps all in one, and brings forth all in the oneness.’ (p. 88) This is a valuable introduction to an important practice.