St. Michael Catholic Parish

As we arrive at Palm Sunday and begin Holy Week, our Lenten journey with Lectio Divina reaches its natural “next step”: living what we have prayed. Over these past weeks we’ve practiced the classic movements of sacred reading: listening carefully to the text (lectio), “chewing” on a word or phrase until it sinks in (meditatio), responding to God in prayer (oratio), and resting quietly in God’s presence (contemplatio). These stages are not rigid. In prayer they often overlap, circle back, and deepen over time.

As Lent draws closer to Holy Week, the Church invites us to slow down and go deeper. In this bulletin series we’ve been practicing Lectio Divina, a traditional way of praying with Scripture. We’ve learned to read attentively (Lectio), chew on a word or phrase (Meditatio), and respond to God in prayer (Oratio). This week we arrive at the fourth step: Contemplatio or “Contemplate.” Contemplation is not about saying more, but about resting quietly in God’s presence, allowing Him to work within us beyond words. Pope Benedict XVI described it as receiving God’s own way of seeing and judging reality, and then asking: What conversion of mind, heart, and life is the Lord asking of me? In contemplation, we don’t force the moment. We sit with the Lord and let His Word shape our vision until, little by little, we begin to see with “the mind of Christ.”

In this Lenten bulletin series we’ve been practicing Lectio Divina, a traditional way of praying Scripture. So often when we pray, we start by talking. Lectio teaches us to listen first. We began by reading (Lectio) slowly and attentively. Then we meditated (Meditatio), “chewing” on a word or phrase until it sank into the heart. Now we respond. This week we move to the third step: Oratio- “Pray.” Oratio is where the Word becomes a conversation with God. One simple guide is the acronym A.C.T.S.: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

Lent keeps leading us back to one simple place: an encounter with Jesus. For centuries, Christians have sought that encounter through sacred reading, or Lectio Divina. Last week we focused on the first step, Lectio (Read), and we were challenged to slow down and listen for what God is saying in the text. This week we move to the second step: Meditatio (Meditate). To “meditate” in the Christian sense doesn’t mean emptying the mind. It means filling the mind and heart with God’s Word. Medieval monks used a vivid image: masticating, or “chewing,” like a cow chews grass. In Meditatio we gently repeat a word or phrase, turn it over, and seek to draw out its nourishment. A single line can become a doorway into deeper conversation.

All through Lent, we follow Jesus into the emptiness of the desert. Our Lenten disciplines are not meant to be punishment; they are meant to make room for God. One of the best habits we can take up in these weeks is also one of the simplest: spending real, unhurried time with Scripture.