What Is Lectio Divina?
Lectio Divina is an ancient monastic practice meaning “divine reading” or “holy reading.” It is different from ordinary study; here, you do not analyse Scripture or spiritual texts, you pray with them. You let the words become a doorway into God’s presence.
The practice follows four movements: Read, Meditate, Pray, Contemplate. Teresa of Ávila used this method extensively with Scripture, and she would be delighted to know we can use the same approach with her own writings. The Interior Castle, in particular, becomes a rich text for lectio divina because Teresa wrote it as prayer, from prayer, for people learning to pray.
How to Pray with Teresa’s Text
Set aside 23 minutes. Find a quiet space. Settle your body and breath. Then begin.
LECTIO (Read) – 3 minutes
Choose a short passage from the Interior Castle, just a paragraph or even a single sentence. Read it slowly. If possible, read it out loud; hearing your own voice speaking Teresa’s words creates a different kind of attention. Let the words land on your heart rather than analysing them intellectually. Do not rush. You are not trying to “get through” the text.
Sample passage to try (Interior Castle, First Mansion, Chapter 2):
“It’s important to realize that the Source of that brilliant light at the centre never loses its beauty and radiance.”
Read it once slowly. Then read it again.
MEDITATIO (Meditate) – 5 minutes
Now read the passage a third time, even more slowly. What word or phrase catches your attention? What draws you? What resonates, puzzles, or challenges?
With our sample passage, perhaps it’s: “Source…brilliant light…never loses…beauty…radiance.” Maybe it’s the entire phrase “never loses its beauty.”
Choose the word or phrase that’s alive for you today. Repeat it slowly, like a mantra. Let it sink deeper with each repetition. Do not force meaning or insight; just stay with the words. Let them work on you.
Notice what memories surface. What emotions arise. What connections form.
ORATIO (Pray) – 5 minutes
Now turn the meditation into conversation with God. This is where lectio becomes prayer; that is, a conversation with God that is honest and simple.
“Lord, I forget your light never fades. Even when I can’t see it, even when I’m stumbling in the First Mansion feeling lost, your beauty doesn’t diminish. Help me remember…”
Or:
“God, Teresa says the Source is at the centre. I feel so far from the centre. How do I move inward? Show me…”
Do not try to formulate perfect prayers. Just respond to what the text stirred in you. Let Teresa’s words become your words to God.
CONTEMPLATIO (Contemplate) – 10 minutes
Finally, let go of all words and rest in silence. No asking for graces nor trying to feel anything or achieve anything. Just be with God. Simply rest in the presence of “the Source of brilliant light” that Teresa promised never loses its beauty.
When thoughts come (and they will), gently return to the silence. You might quietly repeat your word from meditatio if that helps you settle. But mostly, just be.
Ten minutes will feel long at first. Stay with it. This is the stage where God is working deep within, transforming you into Himself.
For further reading on the practice of Lectio Divina, you may visit The Carmelite Book Service here.