Food is my love language. I want to feed hungry people. So this year I've created a fusion of food for your body and food for your soul. This will be a year of delicious recipes I'm making now combined with relatable reflections divine readings from the book of John. If you consume what I'm preparing, you'll be nourished. That's a promise. Join me if you're hungry.
Divine Reading and Question Asking
Divine Reading John 1: 14-18
Lectio Divina is a way of praying Scripture from the early monastic tradition. It means Divine Reading. Once a month, I will prepare a divine reading for you from the gospel of John to complement the reflection I sent you the previous week.
This pay-attention practice may be new for you or a favorite way to engage with the Word. You will engage in listening and imagination. You get to ask questions and wonder why a particular word, phrase, image, or interaction stands out. Finally, you get to have a conversation with God about how to integrate what you heard.
“There were not Bibles for everyone and not everyone knew how to read. So monks gathered in the chapel to hear a member of the community reading from the Scripture. In this exercise, they were taught and encouraged to listen with their hearts because it was the Word of God that they were hearing.”
Ignatian Spirituality, Praying With Scripture
The following are the Latin words representing how to engage as you listen to the passage four times.
Lectio - Read slowly; Listen thoughtfully.
Meditatio - Break it down, make it personally relevant
Oratio - Pray it, ask for the grace of the word you heard to move you toward deeper union with God
Contemplatio - Gazing at length, resting in God.
Sometimes, by the grace of God, one can see or experience the Word as a mystery to savor. The Word exposes us to the Divine Presence, to God’s truth and benevolence.
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Choose the NLT or The Message version of the reading. Click on the highlighted passage above. Listen and follow the steps below. You will listen to the passage four times and respond four different ways.
If it helps, write down what you hear. Record the questions, feelings, or images that come to you.
Read.
Slowly and thoughtfully, listen to the Scripture passage the first time. What word or phrase captures your attention and grabs your heart?
Reflect.
Slowly and prayerfully, listen to the passage again. What is God saying to you in this passage? What is God offering you or asking you? What feelings are you noticing?
Respond.
Listen to the passage again. Speak to God about your feelings and insights. Offer these to God.
Rest.
Listen to the passage a final time. Sit quietly in God’s presence, asking, “What are you saying to me?” Rest in God’s love, and listen.
Hi! I'm Laura DeGroot, The Caffeinated Woman
Food is my love language. I want to feed hungry people. So this year I've created a fusion of food for your body and food for your soul. This will be a year of delicious recipes I'm making now combined with relatable reflections divine readings from the book of John. If you consume what I'm preparing, you'll be nourished. That's a promise. Join me if you're hungry.
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