lectio divina

Feb 1, 2021

Any person who prays is qualified to write these daily Food for Faith reflections. Sure it takes a bit of discipline to gather some thoughts and put these reflections into text on this page, but all credit is due to God and to the many people who live in relationship with Jesus and who share the fruits of their prayer with me.

The aim of these daily reflections is not simply that readers are simply inspired by the thoughts that I share and the comments of others. My goal is that every reader is inspired to turn to the source of all inspiration for themselves, the source being Jesus Christ.

The method of prayer I use to prepare the reflections on the scriptures of the day is a form of what is known in the Christian tradition as Lectio Divina. Don’t be intimidated by the Latin, it simply means ‘divine reading’ and is a great way of allowing the words on the pages of the scriptures to take root in us, feeding our faith and transforming our lives enabling us to grow in relationship with Jesus Christ.

A common form of Lectio Divina has several stages:

Lectio – prayerfully reading the chosen passage
Meditatio – meditating on the reading
Oratio – speaking to Jesus and listening for Jesus speaking to us
Contemplatio – moving deeper than the spoken words and knowing the presence and action of Jesus with us.
Actio – letting Jesus reveal a practical way for us to act in the day or two ahead

So FFF readers, today’s work is God’s work directly with you…

  • set 15 or 25 minutes to use this reflection (using today’s gospel reading) below as a guide for your own experience of Lectio. Turn off your cell phone, find a quiet spot, sit comfortably, and press play…

10 Comments

  1. Thank you Father, that was my first time doing a meditation. It was very moving. Thanks be to God. Amen

    Reply
  2. Thank you Fr John.
    That was great. Help me Jesus to see your face in the folk in my ‘bubble’.
    Jesus I surrender all. Please take care of everything.

    Reply
  3. Thank you Father John, for these reflections. They help me to retain a focus where it should be, during my day. I so appreciate them, especially your audio podcasts.

    Reply
  4. Jesus says, “As I brought Lazarus out of the tomb, so do I renew you when you Sseek me in prayer.”

    Reply
  5. Amen. Amen. God is truly present and alive “. .. you will always with the poor, I will not always with you.” Every moment of every experiences/ incidents is precious. It is the Divine Presence and an invitation to respond with Love – in the choice I make. To choose to let Jesus grow more in me and moving towards Jesus or to choose to move away from Jesus and let the devil in and takes over. Thanks Fr John

    Reply
  6. I so appreciate this time that provides the chance to be still,to listen,and hear what Jesus is saying to me, thanks to these meditations. When I really stop I hear so many messages. Today when I finished this time my phone went with a request of me which I was not keen to respond to but was immediately prompted to think again and willingly responded , the ways of God so wonderful.

    Reply
  7. Thank you Fr John. For helping me connect closer with my friend and saviour Jesus.

    Reply
  8. Thank you Father John, for this beautiful guided meditation today. It has made a real impact on my day. I am part of a weekly Scripture group that meets to unpack the scriptures using the Lectio Divina method. Of course we cannot meet under the current lock down, but this more than filled the gap. God Bless the work you are doing at this time. I would wish that the Lectio Divina would continue each day 🙂

    Reply
  9. Thank you so much Father John. Beautifully meditative.

    Reply
  10. Thank you Fr John, for bring Jesus and the scriptures into our homes.

    Reply

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