Lectio Divina is a way of prayerfully reading scripture which was devised by St Benedict. It involves listening with the ear of the heart to a scripture passage. Lectio invites us to listen, savour, and respond—not simply understand the meaning. We read the text slowly, savouring the words. It gives us something to ruminate on with the focus being on formation of the heart rather than intellectual curiosity. In the practice of lectio divina, the words of the text become alive and touch us in spontaneous ways that lead us more deeply into relationship with God.

Our Year of Prayer and Lectio Divina is supported by two other Benedictine values: Discipline and Obedience. Discipline is the value of being faithful. As people of constant prayer, we will remain faithful to our belief in God and we will grow in trust that our relationship with God is the way to fullness of life. Obedience is the ability to listen and then follow through with appropriate action. Prayer is not only about saying set words and asking God for things. The better part of prayer is being still and silent so as to hear God’s voice deep within our hearts. Upon listening to the call of God within us, we can discover what we must do. Our prayer leads us to appropriate, loving action.

In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, St Paul writes, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16-18). St Paul’s advice to “pray constantly” for our St Pat’s community means, as stated earlier, “to put God into everything we do.” We cannot go about our daily life and the only thing we do is pray. Putting God into all we do—that is, being enthusiastic—will be that which guides our every word and action. With God constantly in our thoughts, our actions become guided by love, peace, and joy. In this sense, then, our daily activities themselves become a form of prayer. Let us rejoice always and give thanks.

Angelo Gattone - Mission Coordinator