Having a faith conversation with old and new friends is as easy as setting the table.
FAITH FEEDS GUIDE SCRIPTURE
CONTENTS
• Introduction to FAITH FEEDS 3
• FAQ 4
• Ready to Get Started 5
• Conversation Starters 6
• Introduction to Scripture: What Is Scripture? How Do We Read It? 7 Conversation Starters 9
• Lectio Divina: Bridging the Gap between God’s Heart and Ours by Fr. John Belmonte, SJ 10 Conversation Starters 13
• Gathering Prayer: Lectio Divina 14
The FAITH FEEDS program is designed for individuals who are hungry for opportunities to talk about their faith with others who share it. Participants gather over coffee or a potluck lunch or dinner, and a host facilitates conversation about faith.
The FAITH FEEDS GUIDE offers easy, step-by-step instructions for planning, as well as materials to guide the conversation. It’s as simple as deciding to host the gathering wherever your community is found and spreading the word.
The cover of today’s Faith Feeds is a photo by Priscilla du Preez at Unsplash. The photo directly left is by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash. The marginal photo throughout the guide is by Jeff Sheldon on Unsplash.
The C21 Center Presents
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who should host a FAITH FEEDS?
Anyone who has a heart for facilitating conversations about faith is perfect to host a FAITH FEEDS.
Where do I host a FAITH FEEDS?
You can host a FAITH FEEDS in-person or virtually through video conference software. FAITH FEEDS conversations are meant for small groups of 10-12 people.
What is the host’s commitment?
The host is responsible for coordinating meeting times, sending out materials and video conference links, and facilitating conversation during the FAITH FEEDS.
What is the guest’s commitment?
Guests are asked to read the articles that will be discussed and be open to faith-filled conversation.
Still have more questions?
No problem! Email karen.kiefer@bc.edu and we’ll help you get set up.
READY TO GET STARTED?
STEP ONE
Decide to host a FAITH FEEDS. Coordinate a date, time, location, and guest list. An hour is enough time to allocate for the virtual or in-person gathering.
STEP TWO
Interested participants are asked to RSVP directly to you, the host. Once you have your list of attendees, confirm with everyone via email. That would be the appropriate time to ask in-person guests to commit to bringing a potluck dish or drink to the gathering. For virtual FAITH FEEDS, send out your video conference link.
STEP THREE
Review the selected readings from your FAITH FEEDS Guide and the questions that will serve as a starter for your FAITH FEEDS discussion. Hosts should send their guests a link to the guide, which can be found on bc.edu/ FAITHFEEDS.
STEP FOUR
Send out a confirmation email a week before the FAITH FEEDS gathering. Hosts should arrive early for in-person or virtual set up. Begin with the Gathering Prayer found on the last page of this guide. Hosts can open the discussion by using the suggested questions. The conversation should grow organically from there. Enjoy this gathering of new friends, knowing the Lord is with YOU!
STEP FIVE
Make plans for another FAITH FEEDS. We would love to hear about your FAITH FEEDS experience. You can find contact information on the last page of this guide.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
We have a unique format for our Faith Feeds Scripture series! Our first guide introduces Scripture and ways to read it. Subsequent guides will include two passages from the Bible, one from the Old Testament and a second from the New Testament. The Old Testament is the collection of scriptures that were written before Jesus and foreshadow His coming. The New Testament is the collection of scriptures that were written after Jesus, and they primarily reveal the salvific meaning of His life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
We have arranged the series in this way to illustrate the underlying unity of Scripture. In a sense, the Bible narrates the one story of all creation and communicates the single most important message in the universe: Jesus Christ is the Way. Our hope, then, is that this series will deepen your love for Scripture as a means of encountering Jesus Christ.
In addition to the scriptural passages, you will find a relevant quotation, reflection, and suggested questions for discussion. We offer these as tools for your use, but feel free to go wherever the Holy Ghost leads. Conversations should ensure confidentiality.
This guide’s theme is Scripture.
WHAT IS SCRIPTURE?
With this question, as with all theology, an adequate answer would not just fill up a library, it would fill up and spill over a lifetime! So, instead, let’s begin simply.
Holy Scripture is the handiwork of God, crafted by the Spirit through the Church for the sake of our salvation. The primary source of Scripture is the Holy Ghost. All Scripture is inspired by God — literally, “God-breathed” (2 Tim 3:16). Scripture is therefore perfectly trustworthy in matters of faith and morals. The secondary authors of Scripture are flesh-and-blood human beings with unique cultures, personalities, and ways of thinking. The Teacher of Ecclesiastes somberly ponders the futility of life apart from a holy fear of the Lord; the psalms display nearly every stirring of the human heart; the apostles urgently and joyfully proclaim the marvels of Christ’s life. Through this beautiful diversity of Scripture, God communicates the Good News of salvation, uniting the freedom of human authors to the Holy Spirit.
The salvation proclaimed by Scripture consists in becoming children of God. And what does it mean to become a child of God except to be transformed into the likeness of the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ? Christ, then, is the message of Scripture: “All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and this one book is Christ” (CCC 134; cf. Heb 1; John 1). The Spirit of the Son is the primary source of Scripture; the Son of the Father is the message of Scripture; and through union with the Son, we return to our Father. In brief, God is saving and purifying us by making us like His Son (cf. Matt 5:48; 1 John 3:2-3; 2 Cor 3:17-18; 2 Pet 1:3-4)!
Yet the words of Scripture did not come down from heaven. Christ the Word did. The Bible, therefore, speaks truthfully about Christ, but the fullness of Truth is encountered through the Church. After all, the Truth is not just a set of propositions but a Person, and we encounter people holistically, not only through texts, even texts shaped by the breath of God. Accordingly, the Church is, like Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Church — not just the Bible, not just priests, but the whole Church — is called “the pillar and ground of truth,” which the Spirit leads into all truth (1 Tim 3:15; John 16:13; John 20:22; Acts 2:1-11). Before the New Testament was written, the Holy Spirit was inspiring His Church. The selfsame Spirit continues to do so today.
There is not a conflict between Scripture and the Church, because both find their ultimate source in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit infallibly led the apostles to pass down everything Christ had entrusted to them for the sake of His Kingdom, and the same Spirit guides the universal Church today (2 Thes 2:15). The scriptures are the soul of theology and the supreme rule of faith, by which we can learn how to become more like Christ by the transforming of our minds and the renewing of our hearts!
How, Then, Do We Read Scripture?
With and for the fruit of the Spirit. Studying and praying Scripture is not primarily an intellectual exercise. Someone could memorize the entire Bible and not draw a whit closer to God. Satan can quote Scripture, and demons aren’t half-bad theologians (Matt 4:10; Jas 2:19). Reading Scripture is, more fundamentally, a heart exercise. The scriptures breathed out by the Holy Spirit are illuminated only when that same Spirit dwells fruitfully in us. So, allow the fruit of the Spirit to shape your study of Scripture. Read Scripture with and for the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and humility (Gal 5:22-26; Col 3:12-17).
With Christ at the center. On the day of the Resurrection, two disciples are crestfallen because they fear that Jesus was a failed messiah. But while they walk to Emmaus, Jesus joins them. Then, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures” (Luke 24:27). Jesus reveals that He is the culmination of the Old Covenant promises! Since Jesus Christ is the central message of the scriptures, He is also the interpretive key of Scripture. So, whenever you read or pray Scripture, you can ask, How does this passage reveal Christ? — or, conversely, How does Christ illuminate this scripture?
Together. Being a disciple of Jesus is not a solitary journey. We receive the Word together as a spiritual family, not merely as individuals. Therefore, “read the Scripture within the living Tradition of the whole Church” (CCC 113). Allow your study of Scripture to be guided by Scripture itself, by the interpretations of saintly Christians, and by the present-day teachings of the Church. Lastly, engage Scripture with other believers who desire to seek God, whether this is at church, in Bible studies, or with other biblical resources.
Prayerfully. Since Scripture is not a textbook that simply conveys abstract facts, we cannot study it in a cold, impersonal way. Scripture is meant to be prayed. Through prayer, the laments and praises and insights of biblical authors become our own. Individually, we can practice lectio divina. Then, in a liturgical setting we can receive Scripture spiritually, with Christ at the center, together, and prayerfully. Simply by participating in daily Mass, for example, you would hear about 14% of the Old Testament and 72% of the New Testament!
For the sake of doing. Be a doer of the word, not a hearer only (James 1:21-27). Saint James says that we should read Scripture like a man looking into a mirror: he relies on his reflection to clean his face and fix his hair. Likewise, Scripture is a mirror that reveals the blemishes in our souls. We must come to Scripture with a willingness to be challenged, humbled, and called to deeper depths of love. In turn, Scripture is going to send you on a mission — to love your neighbor, to feed the poor, to proclaim the Gospel. Say yes!
Intelligently. Given its human authors, Scripture is covered in human fingerprints! Moreover, Holy Scripture communicates supernatural mysteries. An intelligent reader can therefore approach Scripture with a variety of tools, methods, and goals. She could explore how the performance and liturgical celebration of writings contributed to the development of the biblical canon. Perhaps she might approach Scripture as a theologian who longs for scriptural insights on the Trinity, Christ, or the Church. Whatever the approach, Christians can exercise the full extent of their intelligence to humbly explore the mysteries of faith!
Resources
Bibles: The Word on Fire Bible (New Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition), The Ignatius Bible (Revised Standard Version), The Catholic Study Bible (The New American Bible, Revised Edition)
Magisterial Resources: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, §101-141; Vatican II, Dei Verbum: Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation; Pope Pius XII, Divino Afflante Spiritu; Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini.
Other Resources: The Bible in a Year Podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz includes two to three scriptures per episode, a reflection from Fr. Mike, and a guided prayer to help you hear God’s voice in his word. Catholic Productions with Dr. Brant Pitre. A Theology of the Christian Bible by Denis Farkasfalvy. “Reading the Bible Critically and Religiously” by Daniel J. Harrington, SJ., published in The Bible and the Believer.
INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE
“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” — 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Summary
In this reading, Scripture is said to be “co-authored” by God and humans. In a sense, the Bible’s human authors can be said to underlie its diversity while the divine Author underlies its unity and coherence. The inspiration of Scripture invites us to read it with and for the fruit of the Spirit. The humanity of Scripture, by contrast, can encourage us to study Scripture by relying on the tools of historical sciences, literary criticism, and so forth.
The fundamental aim of Scripture, especially the Gospels, is to communicate the Good News of salvation found in Jesus Christ. This Gospel is that anyone can be freed from the effects of sin, including death, by uniting themselves to Christ and becoming His disciples. Because Jesus is the primary message of Scripture, we read it with Him at the center. Likewise, our reception of Scripture ought to reshape how we think, feel, and live! Discipleship to Christ cannot be reduced to thinking clever thoughts or doing nice things. Discipleship is first about hearing God’s voice and responding with faith. This faith expresses itself in our imitation of Christ as we strive to fulfill the Great Commandments to love God and our neighbor.
Finally, Scripture points to a Person and was written by God’s people. Because of this, Scripture itself invites us to encounter Christ as a Church and through the Church. Yet when you hear “Church,” do not think only about priests, nuns, or popes. Call to mind the family God is creating for the sake of love. This includes fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters of all kinds. God is present among His children in a special way when we gather as a family, and this is true when we read Scripture.
Questions for Conversation
• What were you raised to believe about Scripture? What do you wish you had known about the Bible growing up?
• What do you wish you knew more about Scripture today?
• What would you change or add to our description of Scripture and ways of reading it?
LECTIO DIVINA
Bridging the Gap between God’s Heart and Ours
by John Belmonte, SJ
Talk show host Jay Leno has a very funny segment on his “Tonight Show” where he interviews the “man on the street,” testing people’s knowledge in a given subject matter. Rare is the person who does well. On one occasion he asked questions about a topic that keenly interests me: the Bible. While the survey was hardly scientific, the questions were very basic. No historical-critical method here. “Name one of the ten commandments,” Jay asked. “Freedom of speech,” the man unhesitatingly responded. “Name the four Gospels,” Jay asked. With a befuddled look the woman was unable to answer. “Name the four Beatles,” Jay asked. Without any hesitation and a relieved smile, the woman responded, “John, Paul, George, and Ringo.” My personal favorite was the man whom he asked, “In the Old Testament, who was swallowed by the whale?” He looked directly into the camera and, as serious as death, said, “Pinocchio.”
...If Saint Jerome’s axiom, “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ,” is true, then those of us who are full members of the Catholic Christian community have a serious situation on our hands. Isn’t it incumbent upon us to pass on the tradition, to introduce others to the living God, to dispel ignorance of the Word of God? If not us, then who?
Even amid the decline in elementary biblical knowledge, help is on the way. Vatican II did much to help revive interest in Scripture and one method that may help bridge the gap Mr. Leno so cleverly pointed out is the ancient monastic method of reading the Bible called lectio divina... Lectio divina is an attentive and in-depth reading of the sacred scriptures intended not simply to satisfy one’s curiosity but to nourish one’s faith.
...Much has been written about [the steps of lectio divina], but the most exhaustive and perhaps best-known example comes from Guigo II (1115–1198), the Cistercian prior at Chartres from 1173 to 1180. In his “Letter on the Contemplative Life,” also known as Scala Claustralium, Guigo gives the classic four-part expression to the lectio divina: lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio:
“One day during manual labor, as I was beginning to reflect on the spiritual exercise of man, suddenly four spiritual steps appeared to my mind: reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation. This is the ladder of the monks by which they are elevated from the earth to heaven and even though it may be formed by only a few steps, nevertheless it appears in immense and incredible greatness. The lower part rests on the earth; however, the higher part penetrates the clouds and scrutinizes the secrets of the heavens.
“Now the reading consists in the attentive observation of the Scriptures with one’s spirit applied. The meditation is the studious action of the mind, which seeks the discovery of hidden truth by means of one’s own intelligence. The prayer consists in a religious application of the heart of God in order to dispel evil and obtain favors. The contemplation is an elevation into God, from the mind attracted beyond itself, savoring the joys of eternal sweetness. . . .
“Reading seeks the sweetness of the blessed life, while meditation finds it. Prayer asks for it and contemplation tastes it. . . . ”
The first thing necessary to practice lectio divina should be obvious: time. As with anything worth doing or any relationship worth maintaining, the practice of lectio divina must be worth spending time doing. While we should avoid [rigidity], the spiritual life does demand a certain amount of healthy discipline. Whether we want to fix a regular time, a certain period, or the most effective time, regularity is important. Our time is a precious thing, and offering it to God is a very simple and concrete first step toward our meeting God in prayer.
...Related to our emphasis on the biblical text itself is the presupposition that lectio divina is a continuous reading of the whole Bible. In our practice of lectio divina we should avoid the temptation to select texts well suited to topics chosen in advance. By attending to the whole of Scripture, as the liturgy does in the lectionary, we preserve the context of biblical revelation, both the Old and New Testament. We must avoid the risk of allowing the lectio to “overflow the riverbanks of the tradition and the church,” as Cardinal Martini has written. Practicing lectio divina within the context of the whole of biblical revelation emphasizes the unity of Scripture and our belief in the Bible’s inspiration by God. Moreover, emphasis on the unity of Scripture allows us to avoid the temptation of placing Scripture at the service of ideology or subjectivism.
Time set aside for God should take on a dimension different from the rest of one’s day. To help mark that moment, most spiritual masters suggest that the person who sets out to pray begin by making some kind of epiclesis, which is an invocation or “calling down” of the Holy Spirit to consecrate. . . . As we begin lectio divina we should remind ourselves that it is through the work of God in the Spirit that the written word is transformed in our lives into the living word.
Having set aside the time, “selected” the text, and invoked the Spirit, we are ready to begin the first
formal step of lectio divina, called the lectio. This is the moment in which we read and reread a passage from the Old or New Testament, alert to its most important elements. The operative question is, What does the text say? Patient attentiveness to what the text has to say characterizes our stance before it. We should read the text for itself, not to get something out of it, like a homily, a conference, or a catechism lesson. The word of God should be allowed to emerge from the written word. ...The second step, called the meditatio, is equally important. We leave behind the specifics of the text and focus instead on what is behind it, on the “interior intelligence” of the text, as Guigo puts it. The meditatio is a reflection on the values that one finds behind the text. Here one must consider the values behind the actions, the words, the things, and the feelings that one finds in a particular scriptural passage. Anyone who honestly seeks God and one’s authentic self in prayer will hear the echoes of joy, fear, hope, and desire coming from the sacred page. The operant question for this stage doesn’t stop at what the text says, but asks, What does the text say to me? We seek to make emerge from history and context the specific message of the text. The shift from external forms to internal content makes this stage an important one.
The meditatio is an activity that engages our
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intellect. As we pass from the second to the third stage of lectio divina, we move more into the realm of religious emotions. Remaining on an intellectual level can be safe and comfortable, but the goal of prayer is not knowledge about God, but God himself. In the oratio our imagination, will, and desires are engaged as we seek union with God. Oratio in its most fundamental sense is dialogue with God. Gregory the Great called it “the spontaneous meeting of the heart of God with the heart of God’s beloved creature through the word of God.”
When we progress from meditatio to oratio an immediate experience of infused mysticism is hardly to be expected. Mystical union with God is not necessarily an ordinary part of Christian life. Nevertheless, the passage from meditatio to oratio is the vital and decisive moment of Christian experience. The more deeply we enter the oratio, the more we move beyond the text, beyond words and thoughts. The lectio is useful and the meditatio is important since they lead us to the oratio, which is life in its fullest sense, the life of Christ that he lives in the one who contemplates him. Oratio is the passage from the values behind the text to adoration of the person of Jesus Christ, the one who brings together and reveals every value. Unlike the lectio and meditatio, there is no operant question in the oratio. At its core, oratio is the silent adoration of the creature before the Creator, a rare and miraculous gift.
When the person who practices lectio divina reaches the level of oratio, it would seem that that moment would be conclusive. However, the dynamism of prayer that began during the epiclesis before the lectio is not interrupted here. To the contrary, it naturally continues and the oratio, as we are proposing it here following Cardinal Martini’s insight, possesses its own steps, called discretio, deliberatio, and actio. These three steps represent the way lectio divina is lived out in daily life.
...Since the meditatio intends to put one in contact with the values of Christ, to encourage our
identification with those things that are important to Christ, we naturally come to moments of decision. The discretio is the capacity that the Christian acquires through grace to make the same choices as Christ.
...The second moment of the oratio is called the deliberatio. It is an interior act by which one decides in favor of the values of the gospel. One chooses to associate oneself with Christ and everything that association represents—in a word, discipleship. If the discretio is described as the capacity of a person to choose, then the deliberatio is the choice itself.
The final moment is called actio. In this final step, the choice we make in the deliberatio is given form and substance. Prayer becomes something more than simply setting aside time for God or an attempt to better ourselves. Our lives begin to take shape from the choices we have made as a result of prayer.
...Lectio divina is one graced instrument to bridge the gap that exists between our hearts and God’s. As the faith risks being further dissociated from daily life, the simplicity and potential of a method like lectio divina take on greater significance. Firmly rooted in the church’s tradition, it presumes careful attention to what biblical specialists are thinking and teaching. Rigorous study is complemented by disciplined meditation and prayerful contemplation of the word of God... The principal aim of such engagement is to foster living prayer in faithful love. Lectio divina unfolds more than it proceeds, progresses and develops more than it advances.
...Wouldn’t Geppetto have been pleased if, instead of his firm response, “Pinocchio,” that young man had looked into Jay Leno’s TV camera and answered with conviction, “Jonah”?
JOHN BELMONTE, SJ, is the superintendant of Catholic Education in the diocese of Venice, Florida. He earned his Licentiate in Sacred Theology at Weston Jesuit and his PhD in Educational Leadership and Administration at Loyola Chicago. Article originally published in C21 Resources Fall 2008.
LECTIO DIVINA
“The Church has always maintained the scriptures, and continues to do so, together with sacred tradition, as the supreme rule of faith, since, as inspired by God and committed once and for all to writing, they impart the word of God Himself without change, and make the voice of the Holy Spirit resound in the words of the prophets and Apostles.” — Vatican II, Dei Verbum VI
Summary
Fr. John Belmonte, SJ, shares his recommendations for practicing lectio divina in a contemporary context. The starting ingredients for the practice are time and the Holy Spirit! Simply set aside time and prayerfully ask the Spirit to speak to you through Scripture.
Belmonte then recapitulates the traditional method of lectio (read), meditatio (meditation), and oratio (prayer). You first read the scriptural passage aloud, preferably multiple times and more slowly each time. Reflect on the plain details of the passage, perhaps even what you know historically, literarily, or culturally about it. You then meditate on the passage, seeking the “interior intelligence” or spiritual meaning of the passage. Most importantly, let your meditations transform into prayer, by which your thirst for God is united to His thirst for you. Belmonte also describes how this prayerful reading of Scripture organically unfurls into our daily lives through discretio, deliberatio, and actio.
Belmonte wants to help us appreciate that Scripture is meant not only to communicate propositional knowledge, but also to be the supreme means of God’s voice speaking into the Christian heart. Regardless of the method of lectio that you use, the most important aim is to receive Scripture in a spiritual posture of receptivity, reverence, and love. All of the methods of lectio divina are meant to help cultivate such a spirit, and this reception will inevitably affect how you live!
Questions for Conversation
• What is the greatest obstacle that prevents you from prayerfully reading Scripture on a regular basis?
• Saint Paul writes that “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” and that all Scripture is breathed out by God (2 Cor 3:6; 2 Tim 3:16). How does lectio divina cultivate a spiritual approach to God’s word?
GATHERING PRAYER
Lectio Divina
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
For more information about Faith Feeds, visit bc.edu/c21faithfeeds This program is sponsored by Boston College’s Church in the 21st Century Center, a catalyst and a resource for the renewal of the Catholic Church.
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