Encountering the Word: Scriptural and Theological Foundations of Lectio Divina

The decision of the Second Vatican Council to restore the Word of God to the very centre of the Church's life - at the heart of theology, the liturgy, prayer, and spiritual formation - represents one of the great graces and renewals of our time. It opened a path toward a new spiritual vigour for the Church and toward that new springtime so often evoked by Pope Benedict XVI. In many ways, this book seeks to place itself within the path opened by the great ecclesial documents Dei Verbum and Verbum Domini, both of which call the Church to rediscover the living primacy of the Word of God.

Yet this renewal also requires the development of an authentic theology of the Word of God: a biblical theology of the living Word, present, active, and transformative in the life of the believer. Such a renewal begins by learning anew how to really encounter the Word.
These nine chapters trace a unified theological and spiritual journey through the scriptural foundations of Lectio Divina toward the transformative encounter with the living Christ. They unfold a single movement: from foundational theology through concrete practice to the interior purification necessary for authentic proclamation, culminating in a fully integrated sacramental vision of Christian life in Christ.

Introduction
I- In the Beginning Was the Word
II- The Word as Divine Self-Communication
III- The Eternal Word and Christ's Words
IV- 'Morning by Morning He Awakens My Ear'
V- Encountering the Living Word
VI- Lectio Divina
VII- Word of God and Prophecy
VIII- Formed by the Gospel to Bear the Word
IX- The Sacramentality of the Word
Conclusion