The Four Levels of Lectio

Lectio divina, the church’s most ancient way of reading Scripture, can be done both individually and in a group. Though not a rigid method, it traditionally involves four basic levels, or movements. In each one, the same Bible passage is read from a different angle. Here is how Pope Benedict describes the process in "Verbum Domini" (87):

1. Lectio, the first level, involves alert reading of the passage, with “a desire to understand its true content: what does the biblical text say in itself? Without this, there is always a risk that the text will become a pretext for never moving beyond our own ideas.”

2. Meditatio (meditation) prompts the question: What is this passage saying to us? “Here, each person, individually but also as a member of the community, must let himself or herself be moved and challenged.”

3. Oratio is the specific moment for prayer: “What do we say to the Lord in response to his word? Prayer, as petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise, is the primary way by which the word transforms us.”

4. Finally, in contemplatio (contemplation), “we take up, as a gift from God, his own way of seeing and judging reality,…

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