“Lectio Divina,” which means sacred reading, is one of the most ancient contemplative practices in the Christian tradition, dating back to the Desert Fathers and Mothers, who sought renewal away from the city in open desert spaces and relied on the Word for spiritual sustenance. What does it mean to root our lives in this kind of sacred reading? How does this reading extend beyond words? As many Franciscan theologians say, Creation is God’s “first book.” The Word is alive and active in sacred texts but also in and through the world around us. If the Word, the logos, the Universal Christ, is holding all things together, then all that is good and true and beautiful is constantly rising up in our world, in our lives, in the signs of the times, in our Bibles and liturgies, to be read and received.

Guesnerth Josue Perea is breaking open Lectio  ...