Holy Reading

Lectio divina refers to meditative reading on the Scriptures. Sarah Arthur speaks of lectio sacra or holy reading. Good literature, not only the Bible, presents itself as a source of communion with the Divine. Arthur describes it thus: “Here at the still point, in the nook at the top of the stairs, the Holy Spirit hovers, waiting, waiting for the sound of the turning page.” I am very grateful to the editors and writers of spiritual, liturgical, and ecclesiological publications. I read America cover to cover. Worship magazine presents challenging information, but the magazine is taken in small bites. Articles like ”Thyranoixia and Hajmah: A Study of Polyvalence in Antiochian-Usage Byzantine Liturgical Ritual” can wait another month or three. Many of us religious sisters read The Occasional Papers published by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. I relax each evening before bedtime with a novel. Fiction can also be lectio sacra. The novel’s characters give insight into humanity. And, after all, isn’t that what Christianity is all about—Jesus Christ coming among us to teach us how to be human?