Franciscan Lectio is for Christians who long to see the world more beautifully and deeply and become more attentive and present.
An ancient tradition dating back to the third century, lectio divina has long served as an avenue of contemplative prayer, but the practice has often been systematized, intellectualized, or only practiced by monastics. Few authors have attempted to universalize lectio using contemporary language or approach it from a Franciscan perspective.
St. Paul says that the Word of God is alive and active in our hearing, and if the incarnation is true, then the Word can be experienced in all places. Lectio, therefore, is not only a spiritual practice for reading sacred texts but can be applied to any felt experience. Our experiences, too, are sacred: we need only to acknowledge their depth and beauty. In the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, we can see the God of all creation who has always been “hidden in plain sight”—a presence that shows forth in every created thing.
In Franciscan Lectio, Fr. Dan Riley comes alongside us in our own encounters with lectio and inspires our spiritual imagination through story, art, poetry, nature, Franciscan mysticism, and Scripture — helping us to see that all of life is unitive and sacred.
Product Preview
| Format: | Paperback book |
|---|---|
| Product code: | PP5282 |
| Dimensions: | 6" x 9" |
| Length: | 224 pages |
| Publisher: |
Paraclete Press
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| ISBN: | 9781640605282 |
| 1-2 copies | $19.36 each |
|---|---|
| 3-9 copies | $18.48 each |
| 10-49 copies | $17.60 each |
| 50-99 copies | $17.16 each |
| 100+ copies | $16.50 each |
Praise
This book is a guide and companion for anyone searching for spiritual insight and renewed focus. Dan Riley OFM leads the reader in a wise and gentle way with this ancient practice of learning to read the world without and within. His personal stories illuminate the path."
"In this practical and illuminating book Franciscan friar, Dan Riley, invites the reader into a Franciscan way of looking at and reading the world. By extending the meaning and practice of 'lectio divina,' an ancient portal into the sacred by prayerful, meditative reading of a passage from Holy Scripture, Riley shows how the same practice can lead us into contemplation of the world itself. It is a practice that derives from the author’s own experience and that of spiritual icons like Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi. In the words of Saint Clare, we begin to realize our own God-given union with the Divine when we learn how to see everything with eyes that prayerfully 'gaze, consider, contemplate and imitate.' A prayerful reading of this book reveals what those four words mean and how their wisdom is open to all who learn to see again by opening their eyes to what is already there in themselves and in the world: the presence of God who made and loves everything that is.To prayerfully read this book is itself a 'lectio' on how to read the world."
