Editor's note: Enjoy today's devotion from Heaven Meets Earth by Josh Nadeau.
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Vladimir Lossky, the Eastern Orthodox theologian, wrote: “Christian theology is always in the last resort a means: a unity of knowledge subserving an end which transcends all knowledge. This ultimate end is union with God.”1
And if union with God is our end, then our method must be slow and quiet and habitual. Method may not even be the right word. It sounds too analytical, too experimental. Call this a practice: a way of framing both body and soul toward the living God.
And to do that we will turn to two ancient rhythms of the church: the Lectio Divina and the Visio Divina.
There is this ancient way of reading the Scriptures: slow, attentive, contemplative. Personal and intimate. A proper means, as it were, toward the ultimate end.
Origen, in the third century AD, called this contemplative reading a devotion to the Divine Reading. And over time, this practice, the Lectio Divina, was formalized and clarified. It was used as a way for those who follow Jesus to be transformed by enjoying His truth, goodness, and beauty. Formation by intimacy, growth through presence. And its aim is conformity: to become like Christ, to listen to His Spirit as He guides us into all truth, and, then, to be remade.
Let me walk you through the four movements of Lectio Divina, and as we start, be silent before the Lord. Take a few quiet minutes to pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you, to prepare you. Then begin.
Lectio
The first movement is the lectio, or reading.
- Take a short section of Scripture and read it. Slowly. Deliberately.
The Benedictine monks, according to their rule of life, read a passage for hours at a time, depending on the liturgical season.
Let the words settle softly into your mind. Read them over, a few times. Let them move from the page to the heart. You are not reading for information; you are listening for familiarity.
Meditatio
The second movement is the meditatio, or meditation.
Ponder. Listen. Reflect. Use your senses.
Imagine yourself in the gospel scene. Hear the words; smell the dust; feel the tension, the mercy, the grace. Experience a nearness to Jesus.
Let the Holy Spirit direct you into a place of waiting and receiving. This is not a test; there are no grades; there is no need to rush or scramble for answers or interpretations.
Wait, listen, and expect to hear.
Oratio
The third movement is the oratio, or prayer.
Prayer is a conversation with God, and this moment is a response — the invitation of intimacy. Speak to God about all He stirred in you during the time of reading and meditation. Use the words He has given you. This is a response of nearness, and it requires honesty, the kind that comes from clear listening.
Ask Him to show you the world through His eyes. Ask how you might join Him, how you might fit into that world as His hands, His feet, His voice.
Contemplatio
The fourth and final movement is the contemplatio, or contemplation.
This step is about sitting silently in the presence of God and about the reorientation of self toward Him. Toward His beauty.
- This is not meditation; it is not reflection. This is resting. Stillness with God.
Let your body learn the joy of communion. In these silent moments, in this sacred time, God’s truth will take root.
And that’s it. That’s the final step.
This practice can take five minutes, or it can take fifty. Linger as long as you need. The goal of Lectio Divina is transformation, not completion. The aim is union, not checking something off a list. The hope is to become like Jesus, to behold Him, and be transformed by Him. To know, not by fact, but by communion.
The world is charged with the grandeur of God. ~ Gerard Manley Hopkins2
Visio Divina
In a similar way to Lectio Divina, we can use Visio Divina, or Divine Seeing, as a practice, a way to be transformed by the truth, goodness, and beauty of Christ.
From frescoes in Roman catacombs to stained-glass scenes in cathedrals, the Church has always used art as a means of orienting our hearts and minds, our souls and bodies, toward union with God. As a way of contemplation. Statues, icons, paintings, symphonies — each a kind of sacred language used to depict the reality of God. Some ancient icons depict entire scriptural themes, layered images that tell a theological story in a single moment.
For example, the icon of the Resurrection has motifs and concepts gathered and tied together forming a cohesive visual narrative. Christ stands at the center, resurrected, reaching to grab the wrists of Adam and Eve, pulling them, rescuing them from their tombs. At His left are David and Solomon, and at His right are Moses, Abel, and other prophets. Beneath His feet are the shattered gates of hell; the broken lock and key, which once held tight, are scattered beside them. And further below, a buried skeletal figure, bound and chained, lies in defeat.
This is visual theology — presented to us all at once — not over paragraphs and pages but as a single, sacred image. And it is an invitation to behold the message, to gaze into the depths of beauty and truth it contains.
This is the essence of Visio Divina — four slow and meditative movements aimed at unity, a way to behold and be transformed.
Begin in silence as preparation.
Gazing
The first movement is gazing.
It is not looking, scanning, glancing. Gazing is intentional; it is like listening with your eyes. And it is also an act of translation — learning the language of the artist and how that message relates to the truth, goodness, and beauty of God.
Gaze at the piece of art. Take it in slowly. Notice the colors and the contrasts, the proportions and the patterns. The unity, the harmony, the integrity. Look at the symbols and themes and subtleties. What is emphasized? What is hidden? Familiarize yourself with the piece.
Consideration
The second movement is consideration.
Ask questions.
What biblical or spiritual text is this piece about? What is being communicated? What are the symbols seeking to portray? Are there artistic themes? Narratives? Hierarchies? Ask what sticks out to you and why. How does this image meet you and speak into your life?
Begin to consider the message of the piece and how each aspect of it is communicating to you.
Contemplation
The third movement is contemplation.
Contemplation, here, is very similar to Lectio Divina. It is a silence before the presence of God, reflecting on the ways He has spoken to you and revealed His truth to you.
Let what you have seen become what you ponder before the Lord.
Maybe you see a fresh compassion in the face of Jesus in the Good Shepherd icon. And maybe this brings you a unique comfort in a time of suffering — maybe just as Jesus carries the weak lamb, you can see that He, too, carries you.
Maybe the broken gates of hell stir a longing for freedom. Freedom from whatever enslaves us.
This contemplation is an act of gratitude, rooted in reflection. It is nearness with our Creator.
Participation
The final movement of Visio Divina is participation.
- Art will not leave us unmoved. This final moment is your life: the truth of beauty finding expression in your living and loving.
How will this art transform the way in which you move through the world?
Ponder what a life renewed by beauty might look like. Let this reflection stir up your heart and soul, your deepest affections, and then, after a closing prayer, embody the truth you have just seen.
Art has the extraordinary ability to bypass our usual mental gates and guards. Art doesn’t speak primarily to the mind —
art speaks soul to soul. It is a back door to the human heart.
In his Letter to Artists, Pope John Paul II wrote:
Even beyond its typically religious expressions, true art has a close affinity with the world of faith, so that, even in situations where culture and the Church are far apart, art remains a kind of bridge to religious experience.3
Whether we participate in art through word or image, our goal is the same: to behold Christ. We want to see Him as He is, and we desire to be transformed. We want to breathe in His beauty and have Him sustain our lives. Our intention is to offer our whole selves, to offer our time and our effort and our focus, and to center who we are on Him. We are asking for eyes to see and ears to hear. Through this time, and by His grace, we will reteach ourselves how to see and how to hear — how to be seen and how to be heard.
We see most clearly when we behold the living God. We hear most clearly when we listen to Him. And this is how we are transformed.
1. Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2002), 9.
2. Gerard Manley Hopkins, “God’s Grandeur,” Poetry Foundation, accessed June 3, 2025, poetryfoundation.org/poems/44395/gods-grandeur.
3. “Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists,” The Holy See, 1999, vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_23041999_artists.html.
Excerpted with permission from Heaven Meets Earth by Josh Nadeau, copyright Josh Nadeau.
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Your Turn
If union with God is your goal, how do you practice? Do you use Lectio Divina? Or Visio Divina? If those haven’t become a part of your spiritual practices, they might be a great place to start leaning into God and connecting with Him. ~ Devotionals Daily