Literally "divine reading," Lectio Divina is a slow, contemplative praying of the Scriptures where the practitioner listens for the word of God addressed to them personally. In a literary context, it represents a model for how to read any text—especially poetry—deeply. It suggests that reading can be a spiritual act, a dialogue with the text where one savors the words, allows them to resonate inwardly, and responds from the heart. It is poetry as encounter and transformation, not just analysis.

Lectio Divina (“divine reading”) involves reading Scripture slowly, meditating, praying, and contemplating; it treats text as living encounter; poets practice a secular analog—close, reverent reading of the world—transforming observation into prayerful attention and language into sacramental offering.