The Bible is ancient, enigmatic, and from a culture vastly different from our own. That’s why most of us find it hard to read. So how can we understand its importance in the church, and how can it enrich our lives? Central to lectio divina is the conviction that to read the Bible faithfully and prayerfully is to learn an ancient art—by entering into dialogue with the God who speaks to each of us through the biblical page. Enzo Bianchi touches on the essentials of the history of lectio, from the brilliant thinker Origen in the third century to the development of historical criticism in the modern era. He explains how to do lectio and how to understand and implement its four "moments”—lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio. This is not simply a book about how to approach the Bible, because Scripture ultimately wants to lead us beyond itself, to the truth and mystery of Christ that can never be captured fully in the written word.
"With his deep biblical wisdom, Bianchi is able to explore the whole Christian tradition of prayerful reading. St. Benedict mandates at least two hours of lectio divina a day for his monks, which is a considerable challenge for the modern person. But with Enzo as our guide, we can do it!” —Terrence G. Kardong, osb, editor of American Benedictine Review
"Enzo Bianchi was born in Castel Boglione, Piedmont, Italy, in 1943. In 1965, after graduating from the University of Turin, he founded an ecumenical monastic community—the Bose Community—of which he is still the prior. Friar Bianchi is a well-known author of books on lectio divina and the spiritual life, which have been translated into many languages. He has dedicated himself to the search for spirituality capable of giving life to Christians today and furthering communion among all people. The Bose Community now numbers over eighty brothers and sisters of various Christian traditions, and receives thousands of visitors annually.
Enzo Bianchi is one of the most significant Christian voices in Europe. He shows what can be achieved by an immersion in Scripture that involves both intellect and imagination alike, and—in common with all the most serious Christian voices of our day—he cannot be labeled as a partisan "liberal” or «traditionalist.” He offers exactly what the monastic voice at its truest has always offered: a way into the heart of our ecclesial and social questions that is honest, patient, and sensitive. His is a perspective that the English-speaking Christian world should welcome enthusiastically.» —Rowan Williams, Magdalene College, Cambridge
"I hope that these pages may be heard as a simple yet faithful echo of my personal experience, my community’s path and my journey with the church. For years, I have broken the bread of the Word for the brothers and sisters in my community. Much of what I say here comes from that experience. It also comes from many years of preaching the Word to listeners from all walks of life. I would like to see this book ultimately as no more than a small gesture of gratitude to those witnesses of the Word whom the Lord has allowed me to meet, those «martyrs” of faith who have found ways to express all the richness of the Gospel in their lives. Only those people who put God’s Word into practice have really heard it. They are the ones who truly understand the biblical text, because they obey without delay the word Christ never tires of speaking to us. The sequential sancti evangelii for today—today’s Gospel—is not the product of brilliant scholarly research. It is the life and witness of God’s holy people, those who are faithful disciples of the Word made flesh, their Lord.» —Enzo Bianchi
“Where is God?” “Is God real?” These have been the cries of humankind since time began. Searching for the answer involves exploring what is profoundly human, which is to be found in the figure of Christ. That is why we cannot think of God without turning our minds to Jesus. Enzo Bianchi helps us finds God in stories from the Old Testament; stories of Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. It is the divine within us who really poses the question, “God, where are you?,” When we truly begin to search for God, we discover that not only is God real, but He is already looking for us!
Enzo Bianchi founded the ecumenical monastic Bose Community in Italy in 1965 in the fervor of renewal of the Second Vatican Council. He is still the Community’s prior. He is also the author of Echoes of the Word.
''[In] this remarkable little volume . . . Enzo Bianchi's meditation on the Elijah story is absolutely captivating . . . God, Where Are You? is the work of a Christian who loves the Old Testament and demonstrates how it can speak to us today. It should be read very slowly and reflectively, and would make excellent Lenten reading.'' —Nicholas King SJ, The Tablet
''Enzo Bianchi is one of the most significant Christian voices in Europe . . . His is a perspective that the English-speaking Christian world should welcome enthusiastically.''—Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge
“Abba, give me a word!” So young monks and visitors to desert monasteries would address an elder at the beginning of the 4th century. These seekers believed that a word originating outside oneself would descend into the heart and give direction to one’s inner life. Enzo Bianchi has tried to let himself be guided by this tradition in Words of Spirituality and Hope. These “words” are not listed alphabetically or by theme. They are arranged to take you on a journey. Through the use of allusions and cross-references, one term evokes another, explains it in part, and sets aside some elements of its definition to be taken up further on. At the heart of the book is the conviction that life has meaning: it is not our task to invent or determine that meaning but simply to discover it – present and active – in and around us.