Teaching Lectio Divina: This two-day course (2 × 6 hours) is dedicated to the art and responsibility of teaching Lectio Divina.
Learning to practise an authentically supernatural Lectio Divina often marks a decisive turning point in a person’s spiritual life. Learning to teach it constitutes a further and distinct challenge, one that requires theological clarity, spiritual discernment, and pedagogical wisdom.
The Church today faces an urgent need for men and women capable of teaching Lectio Divina in parishes, communities, movements, and houses of formation. This need has been strongly emphasised by the recent Magisterium. Pope Benedict XVI, in particular, presents Lectio Divina as a privileged path for the renewal of the Church’s spiritual life, while Pope Francis has reinforced this call through the institution of the Sunday of the Word of God, inviting the whole Church to a renewed familiarity with Sacred Scripture received as the living Word of God.
This course is designed specifically from the perspective of the teacher. It addresses the principal challenges faced by those who are called not merely to practise Lectio Divina, but to serve it by guiding others into a genuine encounter with the Word. Particular attention is given to the interior dispositions required of the teacher, the frequent misunderstandings surrounding Lectio Divina, and the criteria for discerning whether the practice remains truly ecclesial, spiritual, and transformative.
The course also offers a careful comparison and theological analysis of the most common methods of Lectio Divina currently in use within the Church. These approaches are evaluated in the light of Scripture, Tradition, and the teaching of the Church, with the aim of helping teachers discern what genuinely serves the work of the Holy Spirit and what risks reducing Lectio Divina to a technique, a discussion group, or a purely intellectual exercise.
This is a unique and much-needed course for those entrusted with spiritual formation and pastoral responsibility, and for all who desire to serve the Word of God faithfully by teaching others how to listen to it, receive it, and allow it to bear fruit in their lives.
Course Cost
– The course fee for two days is $210 / £160 / €180. A discounted rate of $105 / £80 / €90 is available for those who need it. The School of Mary is committed to making spiritual formation accessible, so please reach out if further financial concerns arise.
If you would like to enrol in this course, please contact us.
Authoritative references for context and theological grounding
Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini (2010), especially §§86–87 on Lectio Divina
https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini.html
Pope Francis, Apostolic Letter Aperuit Illis (2019), instituting the Sunday of the Word of God
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20190930_aperuit-illis.html
Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum, especially §25 on prayerful reading of Scripture
https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html
More on Lectio Divina: https://schoolofmary.org/lectio-divina/
Prayer
“Lord Jesus, living Word of the Father, in you we find the light that guides our steps. We know that the human heart lives restless, hungry for meaning, and only your Gospel can give it peace and fullness. Teach us to listen to you each day in the Scriptures, to let ourselves be challenged by your voice, and to discern our decisions from the closeness to your heart. May your Word be nourishment in weariness, hope in darkness, and strength in our communities. Lord, may your Word never be absent from our lips or from our hearts, the Word that makes us sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, disciples and missionaries of your Kingdom. Make us a Church that prays with the Word, that is built upon it, and shares it with joy, so that in every person the hope of a new world may be born again. May our faith grow in the encounter with you through your Word, moving us from the heart to reach out to others, to serve the most vulnerable, to forgive, build bridges, and proclaim life. Amen.” (Pope Leo XIV, January 2026)