Holding Fast to the Word of Life: The Biblical Roots of Lectio Divina | Fr. Stephen Ryan O.P

The Thomistic Institute

Christianity, Society & Culture, Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Catholic, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Thomism, Catholicism

4.8 • 729 Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2024

⏱️ 34 minutes

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Summary

Fr. Stephen Ryan discusses the biblical foundations and spiritual significance of Lectio Divina, a practice of prayerful reading and meditation on Scripture. He outlines the components of Lectio Divina, including reading (lectio), meditation (meditatio), prayer (oratio) and contemplation (contemplatio), highlighting their interconnectedness and spiritual benefits. He also provides practical guidance for incorporating Lectio Divina into daily spiritual life, emphasizing its role in fostering a personal encounter with Christ.

This lecture was given on March 14th, 2024, at University of Virginia.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Stephen Ryan was born and raised in Boston and entered the Order of Preachers in 1987. He was ordained a priest in 1993 and, on completion of doctoral studies in Scripture, was assigned to the Dominican House of Studies in 2000. He teaches Scripture and the biblical languages.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Tomistic Institute podcast.
0:06.8	Our mission is to promote the Catholic intellectual tradition in the university, the church, and the wider public square.
0:13.1	The lectures on this podcast are organized by university students at Temistic Institute chapters around the world.
0:19.1	To learn more and to attend these events, visit us at to mystic institute.org.
0:24.6	The topic this evening is the alternating rhythm of reading and prayer that is at the heart of Lexio Divina,
0:34.6	which we might describe as the hidden ministry of prayer and the reading of
0:41.0	scripture. I'd like to make three simple points this evening. First, has been noted by Father
0:48.1	Luke Dysinger and others, Christianity has its own forms of meditation and Lexio-Devina.
0:55.0	It has roots in and flows from Scripture and the teaching of Christ.
1:01.0	Second, this Christian tradition of meditation differs in important ways from Buddhist or Hindu meditation.
1:09.0	It differs also from mindfulness training, the intentional present moment, non-judgmental
1:16.1	awareness.
1:18.2	What Christian prayer seeks and finds is living contact with the three-person God.
1:23.9	For now, St. Augustine said in a sermon, treat the scripture of God as the face of God, melt in its presence.
1:32.0	And the full text and the context of that is on your handout on the first side.
1:36.5	Third, Lexio-Devina can be practiced in a great variety of ways.
1:40.9	So the familiar four-step presentation from reading to meditation to prayer to contemplation
1:47.7	is pedagogically useful, but also misleading and limiting. With regard to prayer, St. Paul's words
1:57.1	in 2 Corinthians 3.17 through 18 are worth recalling. Now the Lord is the Spirit,
2:04.0	and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us with unveiled faces,
2:10.4	seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same
2:16.3	image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes
	...

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