Book co-published by Vatican teaches Catholics to pray with Bible
(Vatican Radio) A new book was scheduled to be launched in Rome on Wednesday to encourage
Catholics to prayerfully read the Bible. Published jointly by the American Bible
Society and the Vatican Publishing House (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), “Pray With
the Bible, Meditate With the Word” uses the ancient monastic practice of Lectio Divina
to help readers draw spiritual help from Scripture.
“In the third century monks
developed a prayerful practice called Lectio Divina, the reading of God: That meant
to read the Bible in a prayerful form.” explained Mario Paredes, the Presidential
Liaison of Catholic Ministries for the American Bible Society. “As the centuries went
by, prayer…became very rational and very intellectual, and so the act of praying with
the World of God became really obsolete until very modern times. After Vatican II,
the Church clearly indicated that a Catholic person should be engaged with the Word
of God.”
He told Vatican Radio that the American Bible Society has conducted
research showing more and more people in the United States are becoming unfamiliar
with the Bible.
“The best way to engage Catholics [with Scripture] is really
to discover Lectio Divina,” he said.
Listen to the full interview by Charles
Collins with Mario Paredes: