Well Said: The Four Rungs of Contemplative Life

Morello quotes from a twelfth century monastic letter by Guido II, The Ladder of Monks, on the contemplative life where lectio, meditatio, ratio, and contemplatio are presented as four rungs leading from earth to heaven. The four rungs and what they mean are:

Reading seeks;
meditation finds;
prayer asks;
contemplation tastes. OR,

Reading, so to speak, puts food solid in the mouth,
meditation chews and breaks it,
prayer attains its savor,
contemplation is itself the sweetness that rejoices and refreshes. OR,

Reading concerns the surface,
meditation concerns the depth
prayer concerns request for what is desired,
contemplation concerns delight in discovered sweetness.

From booklady's review of
Lectio Divina and the Practice of Teresian Prayer
by Sam Anthony Morello

I love lectio divina and I love these three ways of looking at these steps. These are not only now in my quote journal but in the front of my Bible.