The revival of Lectio Divina as a way of reading significant texts

Many educational philosophers, from ancient to modern times, acknowledge the significance of cultivating what is known as wisdom, as opposed to merely acquiring information. The reason they recognise this is that wisdom is crucial for a society of mature, virtuous, and thoughtful people. The deficiencies of much ‘churning-out’ methodology in the humanities area can leave us wondering if we have achieved this goal. One way to achieve this and address the above is through contemplative pedagogy, and the approach proposed is the ancient and contemporary sacred reading practice of monks known as Lectio Divina (LD). This article describes the process of LD, emphasising what many scholars have not, namely, the slowness and deep vertical focus of the reading technique, and argues that it not only has proven its efficacy in the religious/spiritual area but is also suitable, with minor adaptation, for humanities texts in a secular context. This article does not negate the importance of teaching critical thinking or the dialectic; instead, it offers a way of extending and deepening thinking so that the ideas we read find a place not only in our minds but also in our hearts.