Q: Hello from Malaysia! Our group has been practising twenty minutes of Centering Prayer followed by Lectio Divina ( with the 4 movements – Read, Reflect, Response and Rest) for some time. There is a suggestion from someone that we could start with Lectio Divina followed by twenty minutes of CP in place of the 4th movement ie. the first 3 movements of LD followed by CP. Thus not doing the 4th movement. Is it advisable to follow this suggestion?
A: Thank you for your question. Remember whatever one does out of love of The Lord is pleasing to God. However, to be true to the tradition of Lectio Divina as we understand it is this: Lectio is a conversation, a relationship. In any conversation there are the words and there is the person. That is why Lectio Divina has the four moments; the first three moments we seem to be in charge – I read, I reflect, I respond ( connected to the words ) but when we come to the final moment – we rest – ( we connect to the person); I allow the Spirit to take charge and that is why I say ‘we’. It gives the Spirit a chance to complete the conversation by allowing the conversation to go deeper and become transformative. I would suggest the 4th moment not be Centering Prayer – that would interrupt the conversation.
You might read a similar Q&A posted on the website here: Q&A with Fr. Carl J. Arico Archive: Related to Lectio Divina
