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Spiritual Reading

15 min

Prayer Before Reading

Come, Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful,

and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium,

et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.

Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.

Emitte Spiritum tuum et creabuntur.

And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Et renovabis faciem terrae.

Let us pray. O God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit

didst instruct the hearts of the faithful,

grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things,

and evermore to rejoice in His consolation.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Oremus. Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti,

da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere,

et de eius semper consolatione gaudere.

Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Choose Your Text

Open your chosen book: the lives of the saints, a spiritual classic, Scripture, the writings of the Fathers, or a document of the Church's Magisterium. This is sacred time — treat it as such.

Read Slowly

Read not to accumulate information but to encounter God. Read slowly, without hurry. When a word or passage strikes you — when something illumines, consoles, challenges, or moves you — pause there. This is the moment.

Reflect & Pray

Why does this passage move you? What is God saying to you through it? Let it enter your heart, not just your mind. Now speak to God about what you have read — with gratitude, petition, repentance, or wonder. Offer the response of your heart.

Carry Something Away

Before you close your book, identify one phrase or truth to carry through your day — what St. Francis de Sales called a 'spiritual bouquet.' Return to it in quiet moments. Let it season your work, your conversations, your prayer.

About this prayer

A daily time set aside for reading spiritual books: the lives of the saints, spiritual classics, Scripture, the writings of the Fathers, or documents of the Church's Magisterium. Spiritual reading forms the mind in the things of God and nourishes prayer with living material.

History

The practice of spiritual reading is as old as Christian monasticism. St. Benedict prescribed it in his Rule as lectio divina. The Fathers of the Church — Origen, Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine — formed their theology through continuous reading of Scripture and earlier Christian writers. In the modern period, St. Josemaría Escrivá placed spiritual reading among the essential norms of piety, calling it 'daily nourishment for your soul.' The Council of Trent and later councils have recommended it to all the faithful.

How to pray it

Choose a book and keep it close — on your nightstand, in your bag, on your desk. Read a little each day rather than a lot at once. Read slowly, pausing where you are moved. When a passage strikes you, stop and let it become prayer. Good books for beginners: the Gospels, the Imitation of Christ, Story of a Soul by St. Thérèse, Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales.

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