LECTIO DIVINA: Listen with the ear of your heart

An adapted process, Lectio Divina in your classroom, is a wonderful process for reflecting upon the Scriptures with children.

For young people, it is suggested that passages be chosen which have a clear setting, characters, and plot.

The process:

1. The teacher or a strong reader reads the Scripture passage slowly. Students are asked to listen for a word or a phrase that strikes them. After the reading, they are invited to share this word or phrase with another ( perhaps person sitting next to them). The word/s might be the same or different to the word/s of another student. The first time the text is read, students are not asked to comment on why those words appealed to them. They simply recall a word.

2. The passage is read a second time. After this reading, students are asked to express a word or phrase that strikes them (it can be the same word as the first time or a different one) and to say what it was about the word that struck them.

3. Students can then be invited to consider how this word of phrase may be lived out in their lives. They might also express their interaction with the Scripture through journaling or artwork. The prayer concludes with a prayer such as The Our Father or Glory Be.