Welcome
Welcome to our Lectio Mission website. Lectio offers us a very powerful, traditional and creative means of deepening our relationship with God though Jesus Christ.
Lectio Divina means sacred reading: in other words, reading through which we encounter the presence and work of God, not merely as happening in the past but continuing to happen today in our lives and in our world.
The menu above explores in a simple and comprehensive way the Stages, Principles, Resources and Fruits of the Lectio way.
Our hope is that these pages will help you, your family and your community to experience the power of the Word of God to nourish inspire and to give life.
Video: The Lectio Experience
In this video, members of the Dominican Lectio Communities in Newry share how Lectio Divina has transformed their lives.
What is Lectio Divina?
It is simultaneously a way of:
- Bible reading: Through dialogue with life experience, the Word of God engages with what is going on in our own personal lives and in the world around us.
- Prayer: Having recognized the presence of Jesus today, it fosters spontaneous and authentic prayer.
- Contemplation: Gently leads to the deepest form of prayer— simple presence to the presence of God.
- Doing non-academic Theology: It leads to a greater understanding of the presence and work of God today; a deeper understanding of what it is to be human, and of the world as God longs for it to be.
- Community building: It promotes participation, inclusion, mutual respect, inter-dependence, and love.
- Church renewal: it revitalizes our experience of liturgy and sacraments. It has the potential to re-engage those who feel spiritually weary or disconnected from the Church.
Acknowledgment: I wish to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to Fr Michel de Verteuil CSSp,1930-2014, for his passionate commitment to the Lectio Mission. In his promotion of Lectio Divina Fr Michel puts great emphasis on life-experience and the recognition of Jesus Today in our lives and world. I hope that what follows faithfully presents and develops his approach to Lectio. – Fr Joseph Ralph OP