Lectio Divina - Renewing the Ancient Practice of Praying the Scriptures

By M. Basil Pennington

Find peace and guidance in the remarkable discipline of open listening.

Lectio Divina, a spiritual discipline practiced for more than a thousand years, has undergone a recent resurgence in popularity. Father Pennington introduces the method of contemplative listening that opens us to an experience of God's presence through the sacred scriptures.

In the ages when creating a book meant slaughtering a herd of sheep and spending thousands of hours laboriously handwriting the text, the ritual of Lectio Divina was a means for people to receive and contemplate the word of God. Scripture was spoken and repeating the words out loud allowed their meaning to be integrated into the heart and body as well as the mind. Lectio Divina embraces this rooting, through reflection, of the word in the flesh.

Basil Pennington, a leading figure in the revival of the Western contemplative tradition, brings substantial experience and insight to this contribution on Lectio Divina. Pennington traveled the world, teaching the contemplative gifts of Christianity as a founder of the Centering Prayer movement. As seekers grew in their meditative disciplines they sought Pennington’s guidance on Lectio Divina to help deepen their practices.

In this classic volume, a humble yet masterful guide shares the history, practice, and fruit of the potent process of listening to God.

2014 Paperback

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