+ 1. Preparation (Silencio)

An essential foundation of praying with Scripture is understanding the text's inspiration. When St. Paul declared that, "All Scripture is inspired by God (2 Tm 3:16)," in this classic reference to inspiration, God is the principal author, with the writer as the human collaborator. Thus, the Scriptures are the Word of God in human language. Inspiration is not only a charism given by God to the biblical writers, but it is a continuing feature of the biblical text. God continuously inspires the Bible, so whenever we approach it, the Holy Spirit within us leads us to listen, reflect, and understand deeply the inspired words given to us in Sacred Scripture.

Take a moment to be fully present in prayer. Release your mind of thoughts, expectations, and diversions. Unburden your heart of emotion. As you prepare for this time of contemplative devotion, close your eyes, decompress and state your readiness to hear from God in these moments with a short prayer. Ask God to help you recognize how to be the person He desires.

Choose a Scripture passage. You will read the chosen text four consecutive times, and each reading will be to exercise a distinct focus (read, reflect, pray, contemplate) that draws you deeper toward a divine encounter. Follow each reading with a short period of silence.

+ 2. Read (Lectio)

The Bible is the Word of God - divine instruction passed from God to us. Perceiving the fullness of God's wisdom, our opening response to Scripture must be to listen (lectio). When we approach Scripture with the "ear of the heart" as recommended by St. Benedict (Rule of St. Benedict, Prologue), we relinquish our intellectual aspirations preparing ourselves to encounter and hear God speak to us in the present moment. Regardless of how many times we have read Scripture in the past, we must abandon our expectations and agendas to hear God through the sacred text distinctively. Listening with the ear of the heart enables us to receive the wisdom God desires for us entirely.

Lectio Divina: Begin by reading the selected Scripture passage slowly and clearly. You may read silently or aloud but enunciate every word and pause between each verse. Let each word sink in and settle into the heart. As you read, listen for a particular word or scriptural verse that calls to you. Speak that word or Scripture verse to yourself repeatedly. Be content to listen without opinion or analysis. Allow for a moment of silence to accept and ponder God's intention for you at the moment.

Visio Divina: Begin by gazing at the selected image deliberately and precisely. Surrender your initial thoughts, impressions, and reactions to the picture. Be still, relax and open your heart and mind as an invitation to hear God's voice. Ask God to open the eyes of your heart, equipping you to recognize what God wants you to understand. Take a moment of silence to ponder how God is responding to you in prayer at the moment.

+ 3. Reflect (Mediatio)

Listening to the inspired Word leads us to reflection (meditatio). This examination helps us to understand the application of Scripture in the context of our lives. Because the Scriptures are a divine revelation, grasping it fully requires far more than an informational studies approach. By contemplating, reflecting, and praying with the sacred text, we allow for an encounter with God through Scripture. Scripture becomes a meeting place with the living God, and we present ourselves to the deeper intentions and grace God desires for us.

Lectio Divina: As you enter into the reflection, repeat the word or Scripture verse to yourself and rest with it. We want to encounter God through the text with our honest self and permit God to guide our beliefs, hopes, desires, thoughts, and needs. Repeat the Word or Scripture verse and place yourself into the context of it. Experience the passage from the vantage points of everyone involved in the parable message. Take several moments of silence following the reading and explore thoughts, perceptions, and conscious reactions. Enable the mediation to speak to you personally by pondering the experiences in your heart, reflecting on how it addresses you. Discern what God wants you to accept through this reflective mediation.

Visio Divina: Clear pre-conceived notions you may have of the image. Keep an approach of curiosity and reverence in our Lord. Allow your mind to wander and open your heart to contemplate the picture repeatedly. What is God asking you to experience with him? Observe the neglected details of the image and invite God to guide your understanding. What stirs within you? What does God want you to notice that you had not seen before? Ponder this divine vantage point and allow God's wisdom to transcend your understanding.

+ 4. Prayer (Oratio)

Prayer arises in our hearts as a result of having a desire to communion with God. We listen and respond in prayer to establish a dialogue between God and ourselves. As St. Ambrose said, "In lectio we listen to God, in oratio we speak to God."

Lectio Divina: Read the selected Word or Scriptural passage one more time, listening to your deepest inner and sincerest response to the text. Permit the moments of silence that follow this reading to enter into an intimate dialogue with God. Share with God your unfiltered sentiment of the reading. Surrender your heart in complete honesty. Are you enlightened, confused, angered, joyful, restless, sorrowful, at peace? Acknowledge how the reading has probed your true internal nature, and pay attention to how God is calling you to act in response to what you have felt. Permit yourself to be formed by the Word of God.

Visio Divina: Stare at the image. Allow your eyes to draw towards a specific portion of the picture. Note your feelings as you examine the whole and parts of the detail. Apply the moments of silence that follow this examination to enter into intimate communion with God. Surrender your heart in total sincerity. Share with God your actual perspective of the picture. What did you notice in the image, and what emotions, desires, and thoughts did it invoke? Surrender your heart in complete honesty. Recognize how the idea has stirred your true self, and be mindful of how God is inviting you to act in response to what you have felt.

+ 5. Contemplate (Contemplatio)

To be still in our heart and mind is perhaps the most challenging thing to achieve, but silence is the opening that points to God. In silent contemplation, we rest in the presence of the Lord and prepare our hearts to receive divine revelation.

Lectio Divina: Rest and surrender in God's presence. Clear your mind and heart of emotions and desires. Be still with God. Be appeased and at peace with a wordless and quiet rest. Let your silence become an invitation for Him to form you anew. In this silent contemplation, we open our hearts to the possibilities that God presents. Remember that contemplation is not your act or doing; instead, it allows God to act in you.

Visio Divina: Rest with the image. Release your mind and heart of emotions and desires, returning to a place of rest in God. You have given your response its complete examination, so now move into a time of waiting and resting in God's presence. Relinquish any expectations and let God shape you to His desires. Surrender and permit God to shepherd your heart.

+ 6. Incarnate (Incarnatio)

As you conclude your contemplative prayer of Lectio and Visio Divina, take a moment to acknowledge the experience as you transition from a state of contemplation to incarnation. Discern what God has disclosed to you within your divine encounter and live it out in the context of your life. What is God calling you to do? The act of obedience at this point is the basis of faith. Faith is our embodiment of God in the flesh. It deepens the presence of God within us as we endeavor to grow more like Christ. As you emerge from your contemplative prayer with Scripture, be intentional in living out the Word of God.