Rereading a verse three times, slowly: lectio divina for everyone
In our age of speed, we read fast, we skim, we move on to the next thing. The Bible doesn't always let itself be read that way. There is a very ancient practice, lectio divina (“divine reading” in Latin), which consists in reading a text slowly, several times, taking the time to listen to it. This quest offers you a simple version of it: rereading a single verse three times, slowly.
What it looks like in your day
Choose a short verse. Just one. For example: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Then do three readings, each with a different intention:
- First reading: listen. Read the verse in a low voice, slowly. Ask yourself: what does it simply say? Which words come back? Nothing else.
- Second reading: stop on a word. Reread, and let one word or expression “catch” your attention. Stay on it: “shepherd,” “want,” “not.” What does it evoke for you today?
- Third reading: respond. Reread one last time and answer God in your own words: a thank-you, a question, a request, a confession. “Lord, I feel like I'm lacking everything right now. Help me trust you.”
You can then stay a minute in silence, saying nothing. The lectio divina tradition knows four movements: reading, meditating, praying, contemplating. The three readings above are a light adaptation of it.
If you are short on time, three minutes are enough. If you are a beginner, don't look for the theological meaning: simply look for what speaks to you. If you are shy, you can murmur the verse without saying anything else.
What the Bible says
The Bible describes this slow reading as a source of happiness:
“מ MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.”
“It is my meditation all the day”: the psalmist is not content with reading, he ruminates with joy. The prophet Jeremiah uses an even stronger image:
“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.”
“Thy words were found, and I did eat them”: the word is food. And in Luke's Gospel, Mary offers us a discreet but telling example of what meditating means:
“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”
Mary “pondered them in her heart”: a to-and-fro movement, unhurried. Lectio divina does nothing else: going back over in your heart what God says.
The first psalm, incidentally, speaks of the person who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night (Psalms 1:2). Biblical meditation is not an invented exercise: it runs through all of Scripture.
Pitfalls to avoid
Looking for a mystical experience. Lectio divina is not meant to produce extraordinary sensations. If you feel nothing, you haven't missed anything: you read slowly, and that is already a lot.
Making the verse say anything at all. Letting the text speak doesn't mean projecting your ideas. Keep an eye on the meaning of the passage: reread the context, with a note or a different translation if needed.
Rushing to the “lesson.” We tend to want to draw a moral in thirty seconds. The first reading must remain listening. Let the text exist before asking it for something.
Taking a verse that is too long. To begin with, one sentence is enough. A passage that is too long scatters your attention.
The guilt of silence. If your thoughts drift, gently bring them back to the verse. It is not a failure: it is the nature of the exercise.
Take one verse today, just one. Read it three times, slowly, with three different intentions. Then leave a silence.