Praying Scripture for a Change

The books I read and review for The Catholic Company tend to be deeper and more spiritual than those I review for others. Praying Scripture for a Change was no exception.

I was drawn in by the introduction entitled "The Problem of Prayer" and then relieved to find that I am not the only person to find prayer difficult.

Although not an easy read, I persevered to learn more about lectio divina (divine reading). The vineyard analogy used by Dr. Gray helped me to better understand the steps of lectio divina: lectio (reading), meditatio (meditating), oratio (prayer), contemplatio (contemplation) and operatio (practice/work).

One of my favorite quotes from the book is "The Fathers of the Church are blunt: 'When you pray, you speak with God; when you read, God speaks to you.'" No wonder I don't hear God often; I don't spend enough time with 'divine reading' of Scripture. I missed out on developing this habit during Lent but I have an entire Easter season to get started.

A suggestion to those wanting to incorporate lectio divina into their life using this superb resource - after reading the first chapter or two, skip ahead and read the second to last sections 'Where to Start in Scripture" and 'Practical Suggestions'. Those were questions I kept asking as I was reading the book and would have liked this information sooner.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Praying Scripture for a Change-An Introduction to Lectio Divina