​#45 - Eat This Book: Lectio Divina and Sermon Preparation

Presenter:  Steven Peay, All Saints' Cathedral, Milwaukee, WI
Steven Peay is Associate Dean/Canon Residentiary at All Saints Cathedral and Research Professor of Homiletics and Church History/Dean-President Emeritus at Nashotah House Theological Seminary. He spent 18 years as a Benedictine monk and has discovered the value of lectio divina in the preaching process. 
 
Workshop Description
“Eat this book” is a phrase that shows up several times in the Bible. Monastic writers saw this as an invitation to truly ingest and incorporate the Word. Mariano Magrassi writes, “The divine energy received in the sacrament becomes rooted in our soul. The demands of the Word are the same, since it forms a single table with the Eucharist. It is not enough to eat; we must assimilate, or as the ancients would say, ‘ruminate.’” Thus lectio sacra is the natural complement of ecclesial proclamation.” This ruminant practice can be a vital part of sermon preparation – feeding both the preacher and the hearer. This workshop will examine the venerable, and practical, practice of lectio divina in sermon preparation.