“The Word of God is like fresh baked bread,” she says, closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath. “Just imagine the smell. Then chew it, digest it, and let it become part of you. After all, it was baked for you. If we let it, it will change who we are internally, and you’ll begin to see positive changes externally.”

All eyes of the 13 attending the recent program on Lectio Divina at Kordes Center in Ferdinand are transfixed on Sister Maria. Heads dip in knowing nods, smiles form, eyes close, and the aroma of fresh baked bread is so close you can taste it.

“Lectio Divina is like a four-step dance,” she continues. “You have to go with the flow. You let God lead.”

Eyes open. Many hurried notes are taken. A lesson is learned.

Jeff Merman of Louisville wrote on his program evaluation form, “Sister Maria helped me understand I can dance with the Word of God.” Then he asked if she could travel to Louisville to present the program to some of his fellow parishioners.

Cheryl Luckhaupt, of Fairfield, Ohio, wrote, “An eye-opening, deepening experience. So simple, yet so profound.”

Sister Maria encouraged the audience to read scripture as if it’s a long-desired letter from someone you love very much. The kind you read over and over, devouring, examining, and reflecting. In Lectio, when a word or phrase catches one’s attention, it’s time to stop, relish the words, respond spontaneously, then rest in God.

“Lectio Divina is a natural way of developing a relationship with God,” says Sister Maria. “It happens in spite of ourselves. The greatest obstacle to hearing God is our over-identification with our falsities. We often see ourselves as never doing anything right, and that keeps us from entering into a relationship with God. We think we are not loveable, but we are loveable. We all make mistakes. God knows that, but the truth is he still loves us unconditionally. We just need to believe it.”

During the program’s debrief, one lady said, in utter relief, “I appreciate the way you present God’s love for us. My church is always talking about sin.”

Sister Maria responded with a knowing smile, “We need to hear we are loved over and over. Scripture does that.”

The key is to read scripture as if seeing it for the first time, and then to be faithful in continuing the prayer. As Sister Maria gently says, it takes longer to boil water if you keep turning the heat off.

“Lectio Divina is a way to receive nourishment, a way to feed the deepest longings and hunger you have within,” she says. “We all have a deep hunger to grow our relationship with God. And he’s nudging us. He wants it more than us, he knows our potential.

“With God’s help we can do things we never even dreamed of.”

Like maybe learning to bake bread, or mastering a four-step dance.