Men of the Word/ Lectio Divina

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,

piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow,

and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

Into the Word is an initiative to provide Catholic men with an opportunity to gather, read and study holy scripture.  By gathering in small groups within a larger assembly, men can engage in a shared conversation that begins and ends in prayer.  Each man is encouraged to share his own observations while eliciting observations and opinions of their brothers.  The group is successful when a meaningful discussion takes place that brings the group/ gathering together as sons of God when they can later apply the lessons learned to their everyday lives.

 The Order’s book, Men of the Word/ The Good News – A Bible Study for Men, presents 11 prepared sessions that provides an organized format for understanding sacred scripture.  More importantly, the book provides a format to conduct Lectio Divina for any scripture passage, particularly the key readings that are presented throughout the liturgical year.  The book also writes about how to lead a small group discussion and the steps for conducting a Lectio Divina in its four steps – Lectio (the reading), Meditatio (the meditation), Oratio (the prayer) and Contemplatio (contemplation on what God wants of me in the course of focusing our hearts and minds after focusing on His Word).

This book is available through KofC Supplies and through the Order’s Catholic Information Service for $20 a copy.  However, there are volume discounts available.

Catholics, men in particular, are often criticized by Protestants for not studying the Bible as much as they do.  There is merit to that argument as our Church has far more published rules and regulations that are published in multiple artifacts, including the Catechism of the Catholic Church along with Papal letters and encyclicals.  We must remember that everything written by the Church in the name of Jesus Christ is based in Scripture.  Catholic men owe it to themselves to not only study scripture but to pray with it.  This is the Lectio Divina.

The link below takes you to the KofC Men of the Word web page.  There are several videos that inspire us to study and pray over holy scripture – the written Word of God.  There is also an excellent video by Brother Mike Phelen, the Order’s Director of Evangelization, who tells us how best to conduct Lectio Divina.