A prayerful reading...

Words liberate, that much is clear; they also awaken, heal, and rebuild. That God chose this means to connect with humanity should be truly astonishing: if God speaks to humanity, if humanity hears, listens, understands, and responds, if a true relationship is established between humanity and its creator, nourished by true words, true friendship, or even, for many, by a deep and genuine love, what could be more natural than for this Word to awaken, heal, and rebuild?
It is therefore not surprising that the Word profoundly changes the human heart. "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening"—this response of young Samuel to the insistent voice of God should be that of every Christian. Yet, it is certain that today, this Word is rendered inaudible: the cacophony of television, a lack of reading—it would be tedious to list all the reasons for the decline of biblical culture in our modern societies.
That said, reading the Bible isn't simple! God sometimes speaks in subtle ways, which some may find obscure! And the same questions keep recurring: Is the Bible true? Can we trust it? Should we take everything literally, and if not, how far should we push the interpretation? To these age-old questions are added those that arise today concerning the very way we read the texts: Should we focus on a critical interpretation, or should we favor a more spiritual, prayerful approach, derived from monastic prayer, an approach now known as "lectio divina"?
It is through the Word that God has made himself known, and it is through assiduous, regular, and questioning engagement with this Word that humanity gradually learns to respond to it. This dialogue between God and his people, a dialogue that is always fruitful if it is constantly renewed, is not unrelated to all the dialogues that connect us to one another.

(Excerpt from the magazine “Croire”)