Franciscan Lectio

Reading the World Through the Living Word

By: Dan Riley OFM

Narrated by: Fr. Dan Riley

Franciscan Lectio is for Christians who long to see the world more beautifully and deeply while becoming 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 listening to 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.

©2022 The Order of Friars Minor of the Province of the Most Holy Name and Stephen Copeland (P)2023 The Order of Friars Minor of the Province of the Most Holy Name and Stephen Copeland