Denver Catholic

5 DENVER CATHOLIC | NOVEMBER 14-27, 2015 Cover Story INSTANTLY WEEKLY INSTANTLY WEEKLY All Stories. All Devices. All Free. Simply enter your name and email address at: Denvercatholic.org/subscribe SEMI• MONTHLY DAILY HOW TO READ SCRIPTURE: LECTIO DIVINA The Denver Catholic Biblical School teaches its students a practice called lectio divina as a way to prayerfully read Scripture. Use the following steps as a guide next time you read Scripture. 1 Lectio (reading)—slowly read the Scripture passage, listening carefully. 2 Meditatio (meditation)— reflect on those words that captured your attention during the reading. 3 Oratio (prayer)—respond in prayer to the words Jesus spoke to you during the Scripture. 4 Contemplatio (contemplation)—rest in the presence of the Lord, focusing your attention completely on God. fit into all of that. "[Bible literacy] is fundamen- tal. You can't substitute it for anything," Lebish said. "There's nothing in our religion that makes sense without Bible literacy." The Bible can be a very intimidating book. As Pope Francis recently wrote in the intro to the YouCat Bible, it's an "extremely dangerous" book full of so much richness and history that it can be di'cult to know where to even begin, especially for some- one who's diving in for the first time. Any reader who's looking to start a consistent Bible-reading regiment might consider beginning with the daily Mass readings, Lebish suggested. They are great primers for the bigger picture of the Bible and are readily available in missals, online and even smart phone apps. It can be a di'cult undertaking in these‹modern fast-paced and busy times, but forming a habit of reading Scripture daily is absolutely key if one wants to grow in the faith and fall more in love with Christ, Lebish said. "There's a depth to Scripture study not just as an academic enterprise but as a way of life," he said. "The reading and praying of Scripture needs to be part of the fabric of our daily lives." LECTIO DIVINA The Denver Catholic Biblical School teaches the concept of‹ lectio divina as a way to read scripture actively and prayer- fully. It contains four stages: reading the passage aloud (lectio), reflecting on the passage for a short time (meditatio), responding to the passage in prayer (oratio), and finally, resting in and con- templating what was read (contemplatio). Pope Paul IV wrote in the Vatican II document Dei Verbum, "in the Sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children and talks with them." Sacred Scripture is a direct channel of conversation with God himself, and one that's readily available to each of us; it's just a matter of opening the Bible and entering into that conver- sation with God. "Once you enter into the beauty of reading Scripture, it becomes addictive," Lebish said. The Denver Catholic Biblical School celebrates its 35th anniversary next year. It teaches almost 1100 students in 43 dižerent locations. Enrollment opens in summer 2016. For more information, visit sjvdenver.edu/programs-of-study/ biblical-school. « 1 | Daniel and Alzbeta Volk and their two daughters, Colette, 2, and Antonia, 5, have a tradition of reading the Bible together as a family. PHOTO PROVIDED BY DANIEL VOLK

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