Lectio Divina — Fiction

Notice that the apostles’ first and most important duty was simply to “be with him*”—to “waste time” in the presence of Jesus, loving him and being loved by him, learning his ways, letting their hearts become more and more aligned with his.

Mary Healy, The Word Among Us, Oct. 2022

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My job was just to spend twenty minutes with scripture: reading, thinking, and praying as I chose; the fireworks were up to God.

Leah Libresco, Arriving at Amen

Stained glass of the Holy Spirit as a dove
The Holy Spirit helps us pray.

There can be an internal pressure to our prayer time, as if God is grading us on how well we do. In actuality as long as we’re there praying, however we choose to do it, then we’re doing it right. Just the doing of it, the hanging out, our presence is what is required. God will do the rest. 

I want to know Jesus as well as the disciples did. 

In my case, I continually return to lectio divina, which means divine reading. It's a slow, contemplative reading, usually of the Bible. We read, listening for the murmur of God, and contemplate what we find. Here's an article which explains it well.

In my case, God has spoken to me through literature since I became aware that he was a real person. (That's another story.) Last year I began including fiction in my lectio divina. My prayer time became a time that I couldn't wait for. After all, who doesn't love reading a good story and talking it over with a friend?

 I pick fiction that I know is inspirational on some level. Then I read for around 15-20 minutes. I read the book, a chapter a day if possible, from cover to cover. As things strike me, I will stop to appreciate the truth I've just realized. These are my moments to share with Jesus. It can be incredibly fruitful. And sometimes there is nothing but reading the story. That's how prayer goes.  

I began by reading The Lord of the Rings during Lent, It was unbelievably powerful. I went on to read In This House of Brede, The Feast, A Little Princess, Death Comes for the Archbishop, and The Hobbit. Occasionally I will read nonfiction but it is usually telling a story — The Hiding Place, A Song for Nagasaki, and The Smile of a Ragpicker. 

I also read A Beginner's Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy by Jason M. Baxter. It was a sort of a cheat because I really wanted to reread Dante but wasn't quite ready to dive in again. Because it was delving into Dante, it was a rich source of inspiration. This year, might be the Divine Comedy year.

Every book was chosen in the service of hanging out and reading something that captured my interest as a point of conversation with Jesus. There's a real sense of anticipation when my afternoon prayer time comes up now. And if I'm not feeling so eager, it is not a hardship to pick up a book I enjoy. I am soon pulled back into the reading (and conversation) I love so well.

* He appointed twelve, to be with him (Mark 3:14).