Blog: Visio Divina
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Anita SorensonRelated Content
Visio Divina
The ancient Christian practice of Lectio Divina consists of the meditative reading of the Bible, which leads to prayer and reflection on the meaning of the Scriptures, with the intent to change one’s life in favor of Scriptural values. This practice was popular in early monastic and clerical communities. As many in the early Christian story were illiterate, this spiritual exercise was not available to them. They too, however, were able to meditate on the Christian narrative, handed to them, not in word, but rather in image. The practice of meditating on visual images has recently been identified as Visio Divina, or Divine Seeing.
In a strict sense, meditation upon sacred art is similar to contemplation of a homily or sermon, which is a textual interpretation of the Bible: it is a secondary source for the knowledge of God’s truth. This form of meditation relies on the visual arts as a source of divine revelation which the viewer approaches in a meditative way in order to glean inspiration and insight.
In our practice in the Lenten service this week, we will be reflecting on Scripture while viewing visual images, some sacred, some from the natural world, some commercial. Visio Divina invites us to see deeply, beyond first and second impressions, below initial ideas, judgments, or understandings. It invites us to be seen, addressed, surprised, and transformed by God who is never limited or tied to any image, but speaks through them. We will offer our responses of prayer individually and in small groups, as the Spirit leads. Come and join us in opening the eyes of our heart to appreciate how the visual world around us embodies and reflects God’s creation and Christ’s presence in the world today.