Catholic Review of: Praying Scripture for a Change

I've always enjoyed watching Dr. Tim Gray on his various EWTN Scripture programs and I was anxious to see how he treated the topic of  "Lectio Divina" (Latin for "Sacred Reading").  As I suspected, Dr. Gray did an excellent job in Praying Scripture for a Change.  While it is extremely easy to read, it does contain concrete and valuable information.

 

One of the key points highlighted by the author is that "the secret of the saints is that they realized that God's word was addressed to them."  According to Saint Amrose, "We speak to Him when we pray; we listen to Him when we read the divine oracles."  That is a crucial point for each of us to remember whenever we read Sacred Scripture:  God is speaking to us through His written word!  Using the various steps of "Lectio Divina" (lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio and operatio) we can actually listen to God speak to us through the books of the Bible. 

 

Dr. Gray illustrates the various techniques by citing (and explaining) several scripture passages taken from the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition of the Bible.  This helps the reader to see a practical application of the concepts presented in the book. 

 

Even though I was already familiar with the concept of "Lectio Divina", I was deeply touched by the chaper on "Operatio".  This is where we actually put into practice the message that the Lord speaks to us in our Scripture reading.  Using some excellent quotes from St. Francis de Sales, Dr. Gray reminds us that unless we put into practice what we learn, our acquired knowledge is useless.  That is a trap that many of us who study our faith have fallen into from time to time.  We must always strive to live our lives according to the virtues learned from our studies.  That is how we proceed on the road to Heaven.

 

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to hear the Lord speaking in His Sacred Scriptures.  It's a difficult book to put down and you'll probably find yourself referring to it often in the future.  Good work, Dr. Gray!

 

You can purchase this book here.