"Lectio divina": práticas de leitura e catequese na paróquia cristo libertador, da cidade de Santarém - Pará, entre 2011 e 2015

Abstract

This article addresses the Lectio Divina, a historical practice of reading conducted by the Catholic Church. It is analyzed from the context of the Parish Church of Cristo Libertador, in the city of Santarém, in Pará, between 2011 and 2015. This important method is used as a resource for the catechetical activities with kids, teens and adults of the parish. The theme corresponds to the perspective of the history of reading, which is one of the main researching areas explored by scholars of the New Cultural History in the recent years. Therefore, we analyze some documents of the church which prescribe the ordinary way of applying the prayerful methodology to the churchgoers. In order to analyze the sources, the theoretical and methodological input of oral history is employed, in conjunction with relevant contributions in the investigation of the history of reading. In conclusion, even though the Catholic Church has adopted various mechanisms of “control” in the indoctrination of the catechetical practices, the communication of the biblical messages came from some adjustments and pedagogical inventiveness drafted by the catechists with the purpose of making the teaching of the “word of God” more effective, even if it implicated the non-compliance with the pedagogical manual produced by the superior body of the church at a certain point.