Non-Biblical Passages for Sacred Reading
Have you ever read something that spoke to you in a profound way? If you’re like me, reading is a deeply spiritual practice that invites me to connect with God through the written word. Sacred reading, or lectio divina, is a distinct style of prayer that recognizes this capacity for divine connection and uses the written word, both biblical or non-biblical, to pray. This practice contains four movements (or steps) that guide readers through a passage slowly.
History of Lectio Divina
Historically, passages for lectio divina came from scripture, which was viewed as a living book by early Church fathers like Origen, Ambrose of Milan, and Augustine. The Word, or Christ, was accessible through the bible and they firmly believed the Spirit’s wisdom was readily available there, even behind the words. Their perspectives alongside the early monastic communities in the desert laid a foundation for the later development by Saint Benedictine and Bernard of Clairvaux. Sacred reading was used integrate scripture into the daily rhythms of monastic life.
The four steps were formalized in the 12th century by a Carthusian monk, Guigo II. His book, The Ladder of Monks, was the first description of the four movements: lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio. These movements were carried into the work of Saint John of the Cross and continued to be used by both Catholic and Protestant Reformers. Even today, this style of methodical prayer lives on through the contemporary witness of the Church.
Choosing a Non-Biblical Passage for Sacred Reading
I first introduced to non-biblical lectio divina through Casper ter Kulie’s book, The Power of Ritual, in which he discusses the podcast, Harry Potter and Sacred Text. Together with his co-host, Vanessa Zoltan, they read fiction through a contemplative lens. I was immediately impressed with their creativity and desire to find sacred themes in what is often considered secular. If Harry Potter was a worthwhile story to meditate on, what other possibilities existed?
Though using non-biblical texts in lectio divina is outside of historical convention, the Church need not fear “secular” works in contemplative prayer. They can carry just as much of the Spirit’s wisdom and truth as other religious texts. Madeline L’Engle reminds us, “There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred, and that is one of the deepest messages of the Incarnation.”
The passages of text that I deem worthy of sacred reading will differ than yours. Consider the passages you’ve underlined and dog-earred in novels or memoirs. What poems or song lyrics capture your attention? Who are your favorite theologians, authors, artists, or poets? What quotes have you written down or saved? Start there. Once you find a passage with potential, simply apply the same four movements of the lectio divina to the text.
To aid in your search, I’ve included a few passages that I enjoy below.
Rabia of Basra, Sufi Mystic
“Would you come if someone called you by the wrong name? I wept because for years God did not enter my arms; then one night I was told a secret: Perhaps the name you call God is not really His, maybe it is just an alias. I thought about this, and came up with a pet name for my Beloved I never mention to others. All I can say is, it works.”
Thích Nhất Hạnh, Buddhist Monk
“May I be peaceful, happy, and light in body and spirit.
May I be safe and free from injury.
May I be free from anger, afflictions, fear and anxiety.
May I learn to look at myself with the eyes of of understanding and love.
May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself.
May I learn to identify and see the sources of anger, craving, and delusion in myself.
May I know how to nourish the seeds of joy in myself every day.
May I be able to live fresh, solid, and free.
May I be free from attachment and aversion, but not indifferent.
Love is not just the intention to love, but the capacity to reduce suffering, and offer peace and happiness. The practice of love increases our forbearance, our capacity to be patient and embrace difficulties and pain. Forbearance does mean that we try to suppress pain.”
Barbara Brown Taylor, Episcopal Priest
“To make bread or love, to dig in the earth, to feed an animal or cook for a stranger — these activities require no extensive commentary, no lucid theology. All they require is someone willing to bend, reach, chop, stir. Most of these tasks are so full of pleasure that there is no need to complicate things by calling them holy. And yet, these are the same activities that change lives, sometimes all at once and sometimes more slowly, the way dripping water changes stone. In a world where faith is often construed as a way of thinking, bodily practices remind the willing that faith is a way of life.” (An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith)
Howard Thurman, Theologian and Civil Rights Leader
“One night I was awakened by my mother, who asked if I would like to see the comet. I got up, dressed quickly, and went out with her to the back yard. There I saw in the heavens the awesome tail of the comet and stood transfixed. With deep anxiety I asked, without taking my eyes off it, ‘What will happen to us when that thing falls out of the sky?’ There was a long silence during which I felt the gentle pressure of her fingers on my shoulders; then I looked into her face and saw what I had seen on another occasion, when without knocking I had rushed into her room and found her in prayer. At last she said, ‘Nothing will happen to us, Howard. God will take care of us.’ In that moment something was touched and kindled in me, a quiet reassurance that has never quite deserted me. As I look back on it, what I sensed then was the fact that what stirred in me was one with what created and controlled the comet. It was this inarticulate awareness that silenced my fear and stilled my panic.”(40-Day Journey with Howard Thurman)
Julian of Norwich, Anchoress
“And in this he showed me a little thing, the quantity of a hazel nut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought, ‘What may this be?’ And it was answered generally thus, ‘It is all that is made.’ I marveled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly have fallen to nothing for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it. And so have all things their beginning by the love of God.
In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it. The second that God loves it. And the third, that God keeps it.” (Revelations of Divine Love)
Rainer Maria Rilke, Poet and Novelist
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” (Letters to a Young Poet)
If you’ve tried sacred reading with a non-biblical passage, how did it go?
