LECTIO DIVINA with ST.

AUGUSTINE
Objectives
At the end of the lesson the students will be able to:
1. Know the dynamics of praying the Lectio Divina
with St. Augustine.
2. develop a closer encounter with God through the
Word of God that leads to ones conversion.
3. Translate the ARSE into concrete actions everyday
INTRODUCTION The Word of God was always
the nourishment and foundation
for St. Augustine. The different
conversion which he had done
all through his life were always
inspired by the prayerful and
meditative reflection on the
Word of God.
The Word of God should be
the compass of the Augustinian
man, which should guide him in
his prayer and life towards the
encounter with God.
Five (5) simple steps so that you can do Lectio Divina
with St. Augustine and, like st. Augustine, you may
resolve to conform your life to the Will of God, because
outside of Him we will not encounter happiness, because “You
have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they
find rest in You. (Conf. 1,1)
Augustinian Recollect Spiritual Exercise ARSE

1. Lectio
2. Meditatio
3. Oratio
4. Contemplatio
5. Communicatio
1. LECTIO

The first step is the Reading of the Word of God,

because St. Augustine said, “ Your prayer is a
dialogue, when you read (the Bible), God speaks to
you, when you pray, you are the one who speaks to
God” (En. Ps. 85,7)
a. To read from the heart

it is not about a superficial Reading, only to see what it

means. It must be read from a very special place. Not only
because you must choose a quiet place where you can feel at
peace. But also because this Reading must be done from the
heart: “When you wish to pray go into your inner room (Mt
6:6). St. Augustine comments: “what is this inner room but
the heart itself (S.dom. M. 2,11) T oread not only exteriorly.
b. To read a short text –

it is not the time to prolonged spiritual Reading,

but for meditative one. Select a short text. A
text: “short by the number of its words, but
great by the importance of its content” (En. Ps
86,1)
c. To read with a welcoming disposition-

the attitude with which you ought t oread is from your

longing for God, recognizing with humility, that
everything come from God and that before Him we are
nothing but beggars; He knew that you were a beggar, and
as father of a family enormously rich in spiritual and
eternal riches, He exhorts and tells you; Ask, Seek , cAll “
(S. 61,4)
d. To read in silence
it is necessary to silence all voices in the interior of the
heart in order to hear the voice of God. We can live deaf
to the voice of God because of the many distractions of
our life. St. Augustine said: “You called me, You shouted
and You destroyed my deafness” (Conf. 10,38). “In
Silence I ardently searched for You and great were the
voices that the contrition of my heart raised to Your mercy
(Conf. 7,11).
e. Tolle, Lege (Take and read; Conf. 29)

it is the moment of Reading your own life in the light of

the Word of God, as St. Augustine did, and allow
yourself to be enlightened by it, in order to know
yourself in the light of God. As St. Augustine said:
“That I may know myself, that I may know You.” (Sol
2, 1)
2. Meditatio

a. To meditate is:
To turn the text over and over in the mind “to
ruminate on it”. St. Augustine says that those
who belong to God are like the pure animals
which were in Noah’s ark, because “they
ruminated” (En. Ps. 141, 1).
b. To Meditate is:

To allow myself to be challenged by the Word

of God, so as not to resist the Will of God.
What does ‘Your Will be done’ mean? Let it be
done in me I may not resist Your Will (S. 56, 7).
c. To Meditate is:

To know that the text is addressed to me in my

own situation. It is God’s letter to me. The Bible
are “the letters that the Father Who is in the
Homeland (heaven) sends to us” (En. Ps. 64,2).
d. To Meditate is:

To allow the Spirit: “top ut on you His fire,

that you may recieve his motion, enlighten
you and raise you to His love”.
3. Oratio

a. It is the time of responding to the Word of God

with the affection of the heart: When we pray to God
(…) it must be a clamor from the heart. The clamor
from the heart is a strong desire which, when it is
done in prayer, expresses a great affection. (En. Ps
118, 29,1).
b.It is the momento of responding to the Word of God,
by speaking Little and loving much: Speaking much
during prayer is like dealing about a necessary
business with superflous words (…) prayer consists in
knocking with full perseverance and affection of an
ardent heart at the door of Him to Whom pray” (Ep.
130, 20).
b.It is the moment of responding to the Word of God,
by speaking Little and loving much: Speaking much
during prayer is like dealing about a necessary
business with superflous words (…) prayer consists in
knocking with full perseverance and affection of an
ardent heart at the door of Him to Whom pray” (Ep.
130, 20).
c. It is the moment of responding to the Word of
God, by considering if Christi s the center of my life
and I love Him with my whole being. When I adhere
to You with all my being, there Will be no more
pain, nor labor for me, but that my entire life Will be
alive and filled with You”. (Conf. 10, 28, 39)
d.It is the momento to respond to Word of
God, by remembering that I am a pilgrim of
the City of God and with my desire to reach
God: “Your desire ( for eternal life) is your
prayer; if the desire is constant, prayer is also
constant (En. Ps. 37, 14)
4. Contemplatio
a. My inner eyes are opened in order t osee the beauty of
God: “There is a certain beauty that we see with eyes of
the heart, and we love it and we are inflamed” (En. Ps.
64,8).
b. My inner self is opened to contemplate how my life and
being are embraced by God and how I embrace God: “To
embrace the love of God and to embrace God with love”
(Trin. 8, 12).
c. My inner self is built by God in the contemplation: “We
speak exteriorly. God builds in the interior”. En. Ps.
126,2)
d. My inner self contemplates and has confidence in God:
“I belong to the Omnipotent in such a manner(…) that He
enlightens me and saves me, and I fear no one outside of
Him” (En. Ps 26, 3)
5. Communicatio

a. The Encounter with God leads me: to share with my

brothers the joy of the encounter wih God: “We cannot
remain silent… raise up the ineffable voice of joy (En.
Ps. 102, 8)
b. The encounter with God leads me: to communicate
the love of God: “If you love God, stir to the love of
Goda ll those who are with you: (En. Ps. 33, 2,6)
c. The encounter with God leads me: to see the presence of
Christ in all those who surround me: “Christ who is rich in
heaven, has desired to be hungry in the por” (En. Ps. 75, 9)
d. The encounter with Christ leads me: to see the presence
of God in all things: “Lord I love You… but also the heaven
and the earth adn everything that is contained in them,
behold from all parts they tell me tol ove You” (Conf. 10, 8).
My God, Let me remember You with gratitude (Conf. 8,1)

Oh my God, let me remember You with

gratitude and Confess unto You Your mercies
bestowed upon me. Let my bones be filled with
with Your love, and let them say, Who is like
You, O Lord? You have loosed my bonds, and
how You have loosed them I will declare.
I will offer unto You the sacrifice of
thanksgiving. All who worship You when they
hear these things shall say: Blessed be the
Lord in heaven and earth, great and
wonderful is His name. Amen.