This article looks at "lectio divina" -- the spiritual reading of the Scriptures -- as it is explained in the fourth part of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The article was published at Suite101 for March 2000.
The fourth part of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is dedicated to prayer. It should not be surprising that the lectio divina is discussed in these pages since the "lectio" is a prayerful reading of the Scriptures. It is a conviction dating back to the Fathers that "when you read the Scriptures, God speaks to you; when you pray, you speak to God" (cf. CCC, par. 2653). Five paragraphs will serve as our basis for the discussion that follows, namely: pars. 2653, 2654, 2705, 2706 and 2708. The first two paragraphs (2653 and 2654) set forth the connection between prayer and the reading of Scriptures; the last three (2705, 2706 and 2708) deal with Scriptures as a source book for meditation.
Scriptures as a Source of Prayer.
The first two paragraphs under consideration appear under the title "At the Wellsprings of Prayer." The context, therefore, strongly suggests that we are here considering Scriptures as a source of prayer. Par. 2653 is a direct quotation of Dei Verbum 25, which contains two directives:
(a) to learn "the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:8)" by the frequent reading of Scriptures; and (b) that the faithful accompany such reading with prayer.
Contact with the Word of God par excellence (Jesus Christ) through the frequent reading of Scriptures must therefore be accompanied by prayer "so that a dialogue may take place between God and man." The "dialogue" is described in terms immortalized by St. Ambrose (De officiis ministrorum 1,20,88: PL 16,20; cf. Also in St. Augustine) as a speaking-listening in an exchange already described in DV 21 as that of a father and child.
Par. 2654 adds a nuance here by characterizing the attitude of the reader of Scriptures as that of a "seeker." It does this by introducing the lapidary phrase of Guy the Carthusian's Scala Claustralium, the classic work on the lectio divina:
Quaerite legendo
et invenietis meditando
Pulsate orando
et aperietur vobis contemplando.
Seek in reading
and you will find in meditation;
Knock in prayer
and it shall be opened to you in contemplation.
[Scala Claustralium 2,2: PL 184, 276. See complete note 5 of the CCC's Latin edition]
It is clear from these two paragraphs that any reading of Scriptures must be transformed into a dialogue with the One who is revealed in the sacred page. The "dialogue" is prayer that seeks, knocks and finds (cf. Mt. 7:7) through Scriptures.
Meditation and Scriptures.
"Christian prayer," states CCC, par. 2708, "tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ as in lectio divina..." Meditation, which is described as a "quest" (2705) that requires the "mobilization of faculties" engaging "thought, imagination, emotion and desire" (2708) must be sustained in its activity. The Catechism gives a priority of place to "the Sacred Scriptures, particularly the Gospels" as aids to meditation (2706)."
To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with ourselves. Here another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from thoughts to reality..." (2706)
In this phrase the Catechism draws from the Patristic tradition that regards Scriptures as a mirror of life. According to this view, the Scriptures aid us in discerning the meaning of the events in our lives. They are similar to a code that allows us to decipher the "riddle" of our existence. (In a previous article, we pointed out that when the Lord explained the Scriptures to the disciples on the way to Emmaus, he was actually shedding light on the "riddle" of Good Friday!) Hence the Catechism adds:
...To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that stir the heart and we are able to discern them. It is a question of acting truthfully in order to come into the light: "Lord what do you want me to do?" (2706)
Thus, by meditating with the aid of the Scriptures, the one who prays passes on "to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him." (2708)
To summarize...
We have just gone through five paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church dealing with Scriptures and prayer. It should now be clear.
(a) that one's reading of Scriptures must become a prayerful dialogue;
(b) that a prayerful reading of the Scriptures must lead to "the surpassing knowledge of Christ," and
(c) that a meditative reading of the Scriptures must lead the reader to a better grasp of one's reality before God, man, and the world.
Additional Notes:
1. A sample of a way by which Scriptures is read "as a mirror" can be found here.
2. Peter Kreeft points out two ways of appropriating the text of Scriptures (in the sense of CCC, par. 2706 indicated above), namely, the Ignatian and the Augustinian:
There are two ways to connecting the historical and the spiritual senses. The Jesuit method, from St. Ignatius' �Spiritual Exercises,� tells us to imaginatively place ourselves into the Gospel stories. The older Augustinian method tells us to look for elements of the story in our lives.
The complete text is to be found at this URL: http://www.catholiceducation.org/religion/re0008.htm
The Catechism seems to allow both traditions in par. 2705-2708.
3. The editions of the Catholic Catechism I used for this article are
English: Catechism of the Catholic Church (Manila: Word and Life Publications) 1994;
Catechismus Catholicae Ecclessiae (Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana) 1997.
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