Student Leaders of Lectio Divina, the Living Word

Lectio Divina Leader Marron Gibbons ’22

THE PRACTICE OF LECTIO DIVINA,

or Divine Reading, traces its roots back to the sixth century, by which time St. Benedict had made it a regular practice in most monasteries. The quiet prayerful reading of the Bible, along with meditation and prayer, was intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God’s word. With the motto Ora et Labora (“Pray and work”), daily life in a Benedictine monastery consisted of three elements: liturgical prayer, manual labor and Lectio Divina. And while in its beginnings this prayer method was set aside for monks and religious, today Lectio Divina is widely practiced by many laymen and laywomen. Lectio Divina does not treat Scripture as text to be studied, but as the Living Word.

At Portsmouth Abbey, Lectio Divina has been practiced by our monastic community since the monastery was founded in 1918. Lay faculty have also met for Lectio Divina readings and have shared the practice with student groups over the years. The Abbey’s close relationship with the members of the Manquehue Apostolic Movement of Santiago, Chile, has inspired more participation in Lectio since the first three Manquehinos established an annual winter residency on campus a decade ago. Manquehinos express and live out the Benedictine values, fostered in Lectio Divina, which they put into practice in their school teaching and their relationships with the young. Over the past two years at Portsmouth Abbey School, students themselves have taken the lead and guided their peers through the steps of Lectio each week. Abbey students have described Lectio Divina as “praying the Bible in a personal way to connect with God and your friends outside of the classroom.”

In a recent interview, Head Girl-elect Marron Gibbons ’22, who has been a Lectio Divina leader of the Fourth-Form girls in Manor House over the past year, shared some insight into her experience:

Q: As Lectio Divina leader for the girls of Manor House what are your responsibilities?

Once a week we will have a meeting of all of the Lectio Divina leaders on campus, about a dozen of us. We meet to come up with ideas of how we want to lead Lectio that week. During exam week we will talk about readings that will help with stress. We are slowly learning how to lead people of our own age group, and sometimes that can be intimidating. For now we are trying to create the environment that we, as students, know the other students all want.

Q: When did you start to participate in Lectio, and what originally drew you to it?

At first, I accidentally walked into the Common Room meeting, and Cata, one of our Chilean Manquehue visitors, who was leading the group, asked me to stay. She was really amazing. It wasn’t that much of a choice at first, and it was initially a little intimidating because everyone had already done it before, so I didn’t share at that meeting. I just lis-

tened to everyone else and what they had to say. After that first meeting, I knew I wanted to keep going.

Q: Why is Lectio important?

I think Lectio is important, especially at the Abbey, because we have our required Masses and we have our formal classes about religion and faith but I think Lectio is a chance to have an informal encounter with God, and I think that’s really necessary when it comes to our individual faith journeys.

I can’t emphasize enough how strong the sense of community is within Lectio. The Abbey is an amazing place, but it can be overwhelming at times. Having friends to listen to us and keep us in touch with our faith is such a special and valuable thing, and I’m not sure everyone realizes that!

Q: Has the experience met your expectations? Were there any surprises?

I think the adults at the Abbey are all so supportive and it’s such a great environment. They definitely keep Lectio more formal, which has its own benefits because you enter that head space more easily, and it’s taken very seriously. With the students, we are able to be more casual, and everyone feels more comfortable being vulnerable because you wouldn’t necessarily say something to your teacher that you would say to one of your friends, so it’s kind of nice to have a little bit of both.

Q: What are the rewards of leading a group of fellow students in Lectio?

It definitely did meet my expectations because I originally thought that Lectio would be a nice break in the week where I would have the opportunity to relax, but Lectio always makes my week. The things we talk about in those meetings I find myself reverting to throughout the week, and they are very helpful.

Q: Has attending Lectio changed the way you see the world and/or relate to your friends and family?

I think that Lectio has definitely changed my relationship with my friends and with other people on campus because I lead the Fourth-Form (sophomore) girls, and I wouldn’t really be interacting with them much otherwise unless we were on the same sports team or in classes together. So it’s just really nice to get to know someone on a deeper level and to have a space and an opportunity to talk to them about these kinds of things. Even though I’m leading them, we all learn about and from each other, and that’s really interesting.

I think it can be really rewarding to see how other people’s lives are being affected by Lectio. When we were recruiting new people, some of them were understandably hesitant to try it out. There were two girls who said they weren’t very religious, and I said that’s fine because you don’t necessarily have to be religious to do Lectio. As it has progressed I have seen them through their Echos – where we share what the reading means to us in our personal lives – talk more and more about God and their relationship with God, and it’s just really cool to see that progression in somebody else.

The Lectio student group in St. Brigid’s Common Room

Sharing treats before Lectio Divina in St. Mary’s House

Q: Can you please walk us through a typical meeting?

First we might start with a game. We made bracelets the other day – just something fun to get everyone talking. With COVID-19 this year especially, we have not had many opportunities to just hang out and have fun – when we’re not talking about classes or doing sports, so it’s just fun to do activities together. We’ll all make food; we’ll bring in cookies to share. Then we start off with a moment of silence, and I like that because it’s such a rare thing to be in a room full of people and have it be quiet on purpose, and it’s not awkward. There’s meaning to that quiet, and it’s just really nice. And then we recite the reading. Each week we will prepare what the reading is for that week, so for Easter we talked about joy and happiness and life. Then Christmas is when we are preparing for Christ. And as I mentioned, during exams we’ll talk about stress, and we do plan it so it’s for a young group. Then everyone chooses a line that speaks to them personally. One of the most important things in Lectio is that you speak in terms of I, me, my, because each reading is considered a personal letter from God. I think that this is how God is calling to each of us because we can have the same line that we both enjoy but for two completely different reasons. It’s just interesting to hear what people have to say. Then we will close with a Hail Mary and our intentions, and each dorm has its own patron saint, so we pray to them. We had a big group this year, which is awesome. The Manor House group had up to 13 girls at times, and we met in the new science building Commons. Or if it was nice outside, we’d meet there, which was very peaceful. If everyone was really busy, we’d just do the Lectio, so would spend about 20 minutes, but other times it could go an hour if we all just wanted to hang out.

Q: Do you see yourself continuing with Lectio beyond your time at the Abbey?

I will continue leading next year at the Abbey and hope to continue in college. We have done Zoom meetings with the Manquehue group from Chile, and we talk about how to lead Lectio even after our time at the Abbey. I know a couple of alumni Lectio leaders because last year’s grade was the first group of Lectio leaders to work and train after they graduated, and they all lead groups at their schools now.

Q: How would you advise a student who is thinking about engaging in Lectio but may be nervous or skeptical?

I would say, first of all, just try it!! You’ll never know if you like it unless you try it. Also never feel pressured into having to share because no one will judge you no matter what you say or if you decide to say nothing at all. It’s really rewarding to just go and hear what other people have to say.

Marron with Manquehinos Cata and Alvaro at their baby’s Christening in 2019