Follow Christ. Dave Nodar, Father Erik Arnold, Ally Ascosi

of Scripture. You’re not reading the Bible in order to get information into your head. You’re reading in order to encounter God personally. What is the living Word of God in Scripture saying to your heart?

      A method that helps us read Scripture with our hearts is an ancient practice called Lectio Divina (Latin for “Divine Reading”). This is slow, meditative reading of a single passage several times for the purpose of discerning its inner meaning for us personally. The four traditional steps of Lectio are reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation. The text is first read for meaning. This leads to meditation, where we seek to hear God’s voice in the passage. Then comes prayer, our intimate conversation with God. Finally, the text takes us into contemplation. “Words in this kind of prayer are not speeches; they are like kindling that feeds the fire of love” (CCC 2717).

      There are many variations to Lectio Divina. Often, the four traditional steps blend into one process of ever-deepening understanding and prayer.

      Following the example of the saints, one of the most powerful ways to read Scripture is to use our imagination to construct the entire scene, allowing the Holy Spirit to bring it to life in our hearts and minds. As an example, suppose you are reading the account of the healing of the blind man Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46–52). Place yourself in the scene. You are a bystander in the crowd watching these amazing events take place. You’re sweating in the hot sun. You smell the dust kicked up in the road. You’re jostled by other people in the crowd as everybody strains to see what’s going on. You hear Bartimaeus cry out to Jesus, and you hear the people in the crowd trying to shut him up. Then you keenly watch what Jesus does. You notice His tone of voice, His body language, His gestures as He asks the blind man, “What do you want me to do for you?” And you imagine Jesus asking you the same question, “What do you want me to do for you?” In that moment, as you respond, your prayer shifts to a deeply personal place in your own heart as you share with Jesus what you most hope and long for Him to do for you.