LECTIO DIVINAWORKSHOP

Rev. Randy Soto, SThD

Archdiocese of Saint Louis

Lay Formation Program

2013

I. The Human Word and Communication

Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (Act 8). “Do you understand what you are reading?” Same as then, we too need someone to explain to us the Sacred Text which contains God’s Revelation to his People.

A. Three functions of the Word

Expression of a personal

message which can be oral or

not

Call someone to dialogue in order to produce a response

Information of objective

data with precision

and didactics

B. The three worlds of the Word

World of the Author:

God and the Hagiographers

World of the Reader:

Yesterday, Today &

Tomorrow

World of the Text

OT & NT

C. What is the Official Teaching of the Catholic

Church on the Bible?1. Dogmatic Constitution on Divine

Revelation Dei Verbum of Vatican II, 1965.

2. The Reading of the Bible in the Church, CDF, 1993.

3. Post-Synodal Exhortation Verbum Domini by Pope Benedict XVI, 2010.

II. The Bible

The word ta Biblia, is the neuter plural of the Greek root to biblion which means “book." It follows, that the Bible is a collection of books and not just one book. In the Catholic Church it is also called: Sacra Pagina, Pagina Coelestis, Sacred Books, The Scriptures, The Sacred Text, Divine Revelation, or The Holy Text. It is also common to name the Bible by one of the parts in which it is divided: Old Testament and/ or New Testament.

III. Divine RevelationIn His goodness and wisdom God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will (see Eph. 1:9) (DV 2).

1. What does God reveal to us? His Identity and his Plan for

Salvation of all mankind.2. How does God reveal? Through Words (dicta) and deeds (facta).3. How was Revelation transmitted? By means of the Apostolic Tradition.4. Who is the Authentic Interpreter of the Bible? By Christ explicit will, the Magisterium of the Church.

5. Who is the Author of Sacred Scriptures? God through the Hagiographers.6. How were the Sacred Books put into writing? Papyri, Parchment and Scrolls

Leningrad Codex, 10th century A.D.

Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947

Fragment of Daniel in Hebrew

Physical Map of Israel

Political Map of Israel

Qumram Caves

Isaiah’s Scroll of Qumram

Manuscripts of the NTPapyrus of the s II, belongs to the Gospel according to Saint

John

Codex Vaticanus

4th Century

Codex Sinaiticus

Complete text of the NT y de los LXX

Ugaritic Text

One common source in two different

modes of transmission:

Tradition and Sacred Scripture are intimately united and imbricated. For they spring forth

from the same source, in a way we can say they merge and tend to the

same goal

Saint Jerome, Patron Saintde los Biblical Scholars

6 Where was the Bible written? Along the regions of the Mediterranean

Sea

7. When was the Bible written? It began to be written about three thousands years ago. The OT from 1800-50 BC; and the NT around 55-100 AD. There is no dogma about this dates.

8. In which Languages was the Bible written? Aramaic, Hebrew y Greek

IV. Inspiration

Those divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For holy mother Church, relying on the belief of the Apostles (see John 20:31; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-20, 3:15-16), holds that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself (DV 11)

What is Inspiration? how does it work? Inspiration is the Charisma by which the sacred authors (Hagiographers) wrote down what God wanted to Reveal to us.Under his special care the Holy Spirit guides the hagiographer in his writings (1Corintios 2:13), in such a way that what they write down is considered as the Authentic Word of God.

V. Inspiration and Canonicity: Canonicity of Sacred Scripture.

VI. Inspiration and the Truth of the Scripture

Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation. Therefore "all Scripture is divinely inspired and has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error, for reformation of manners and discipline in right living, so that the man who belongs to God may be efficient and equipped for good work of every kind" (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Greek text) (DV 11).

1er. Criterion of Totality: The truth is found in entire Bible2do. Criterion of Progression: Divine Revelation has always been given in a progressively and steady way. 3er. Criterion of Incarnation: God became man. 4to. Criterion of Catholicity: Read the Bible in and with the whole Church Universal5to. Criterion of Salvation: The Truth is for our salvation6to. Criterion Distinction between Authenticity & CanonicityAll the books of the Bible are canonical, but not all of them are authentic, some were written by Pseudoepigraphy, and others through Amanuenses or secretaries. 7mo. Criterion : Distinction between Integrity e Historicity8vo. Criterion: Distinction between History y Literary Genre, that is: content and form.9no. Criterion of Text, Context and Pretext10mo. Criterion of Comprehension of a more holistic approach to Revelation and Inspiration.

VII. Inspiration and the Book of the BiblePapyri & Codexes Unctiales del 0T y NT.Greek VersionsLatin versions or translationsSyrian versionsSpanish versionCritical EditionsBibleWorks 9, (service@bibleworks.com). Accordance 9 (oaktree@accordancebible.com). ISA 2.1.5 (www.scripture4all.org).Biblia Clerus (http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerus/index_esp.html) E-sword (http://www.e-sword.net/downloads.html) & (http://esword-espanol.blogspot.com/).

Critical Editions of ABS

VII. Bible Timeline

Important DatesB.C.

Bible-related Cultural/historical

Global Perspective

22001950 Abram and

Sara (Genesis 17:8)

covenant community,

extended family, nomadic herders

* Bronze Age * Egypt: Old Kingdom

* No. America: early Inuit

society

1800Joseph in Egypt

Israelites enslaved in Egypt

agricultural society

patriarchal structure

* Egypt: Age of Pharaohs

* Mesopotamia: Epic of

Gilgamesh written (c. 1750) * Crete: Minoan

civilization

1250Moses, the

Exodus wilderness

nomadic tribal migration

* China: Shang dynasty (c. 1480-

1050)

1210 Joshua invasion of Canaan

* Rise of India's civilizations

1120 Judges (Judges 1)agricultural

economy tribal villages

* Greece: c. 1190 Trojan War * China: Chou

dynasty

1020

1000

965- 922

Saul David

Solomon

monarchy --multiple villages

to kingdom

* Central America:

founding of Mayan dynasties

931-722

writing of much biblical text

Early prophets (Amos)

Solomon's kingdom divided: North,

Israel; South, Judah 722 Assyrians conquer Israel

* North Africa: founding of Carthage by Phoenicians * Greece: first

Olympic Games; Homeric epics

* Italy: founding of Rome

732-540

621 Hilkiah finds Deuteronomy text

Editing of OT material

Prophecies of Zephaniah,

Jeremiah, Habakkuk

587 Babylonians conquer Judah, destroy Temple, deport people to

Babylon

* Persia: Zoroaster * Greece: Aesop's

Fables; Sappho; laws of Solon

536-480

Building of Second Temple

Prophecy of Zechariah, Haggai

538 Cyrus allows Israelites to return to Jerusalem; Judah

a Persian province

* India: Siddhartha Gautauma, the

Buddha (c. 563-483)

* China: Confucius (c. 551-479)

* Greece: Archaic period

480-397

480 Esther becomes Queen of Persia 458 Ezra sent to

Judah 444 Nehemiah 397 Prophecy of

Malachi

Ezra's reforms; building of Second

Temple

* Greece: Persian Wars; Classical Age; Pericles in Athens; Parthenon built; Socrates, Plato, Euripides, etc.;

Peloponnesian War

353-200

285-246 Septuagint translated in Alexandria

333 Alexander the Great conquers Persian Empire;

Hellenization begins

* Rise of Roman Republic

200-100

First books OT Apocrypha

written

Seleucid heirs of Alexander rule

Judea

* China: Han dynasty

* Rome conquers Carthage,

Greece, and Asia Minor

168-165

Maccabean revolt

overthrows Seleucids

Jewish self-rule under

Hasmoneans 143 Essenes community

begins

100-1 B.C.

4 B.C. birth of Jesus 4 B.C. death of Herod the Great

63 B.C. Romans invade, violate Temple; Judea

becomes a Roman province 30 B.C.-180 A.D.

Pax Romana (Roman peace)

unites Mediterranean

world

* 73-70 B.C. Sicily and Italy: Romans defeat slave revolt led by Spartacus, crucify 6,000

* 30 B.C. death of Cleopatra;

Rome annexes Egypt; Rome shifts from Republic to

Empire under Augustus

6 Quirinius' census Zealots' tax revolt

heavy hand of Rome on Palestine

* Rome consolidates power * Golden Age of Latin literature: Virgil, Ovid, etc.

30s The adult life and ministry of Jesus Rabbi Hillel the Elder, Babylon

14-37 Emperor Tiberius

36-69 Oral transmission of message and story of Jesus 48-64 Letters of Paul 60 Mark61 Hebrews62 Matthew64 1Peter67 Luke -Acts67 2Peter 68-70 Dead Sea Scrolls hidden in caves

church in Jerusalem 47-57 missionary travels of Paul67, Peter martyred

* China: Buddhism introduced * 64 Rome: Emperor Nero, Great Fire; persecution of Christians

70-150 57 Didache 70-80 Jude, James80-90 1,2,3 Jn 90 Council of Jamnia, formation of Hebrew Bible canon; 1st Epistle of Clement96 Apocalypse

70 Jewish revolt against Rome fails; Jerusalem sacked, Temple destroyed by Romans ; The center of Christianity shifts from Jerusalem to Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome; Martyrdoms under Domitian, Trajan, etc.

* 70 Josephus writes The Jewish War * 79 Pompeii: Mt. Vesuvius erupts * 117 Greatest expanse of Roman Empire * 100s Greatest expanse of Han Chinese empire

IX. Christ is the center of all ScriptureAfter God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us in a son,

whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world (Heb 1:1-2)X. Jesus sends the 12 to preach the Word (Mt 28:20)He climbed a mountain and invited those he wanted with him. They climbed together. He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with him, and he would send them out to proclaim the Word (Mar 3:13-14).XI. Mary, Mother of the Word

Incarnate is a model for any disciple for she put into practice God’s Word.

What is Lectio Divina?Lectio Divina is a devout and prayerful reading of Sacred Scripture. It can be done by an individual or by a group of faithful people. This inspired reading can only be done under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who moves our beings into attentive reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation. Lectio Divina is done in three steps: Pray-Read-Pray. And we read in five movements: lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio, et actio.

XII. Lectio Divina

1. First step is to pray calling the Holy Spirit .

[Seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you] Lc 11:9

2. The second step is to read, in five movements, according to the Schema given by Pope Benedict XVI in Verbum Domini 87: A. First movement: Lectio Scripturae [Seek by reading] B. Second movement: Meditatio [Find by meditating] C. Third movement : Oratio [Knock by praying] D. Fourth movement : Contemplatio [God will open to you] E. Fifth movement : Actio [Enter joyfully to cooperate His grace]

3. Third step is to pray by giving thanks to God