March 12, 2011. A sentence of Scripture, a period of silent reflection. Repeat. This is a layered way of studying the Bible that Archbishop Thomas Collins calls “spiritual lasagna,” and for the past several years he has been “feeding” his flock in Toronto's St. Michael Cathedral and on Canadian television via Salt and Light TV.


“Pathway to Our Hearts” is Archbishop Collins' new book, and it is set to hit the shelves this April. It contains transcribed sessions of Collins' meditations on the Sermon on the Mount.

The traditional name for this meditative practice is Lectio Divina, and it is a form of prayer that in 2005 Pope Benedict XVI encouraged Catholics to recall because of its spiritual benefits.

Archbishop Collins says that Lectio Divina is a way to learn to listen to God.

Archbishop Thomas Collins
Archbishop of Toronto (Canada)
“Well, I think we too often try to study in a way that masters the text and often if you go to school – I remember my first class on the Bible when I was a student. We just went through page after page in a very dry kind of way, and so I think that its important for us to listen to the Lord.”

This book is the first of many volumes of these transcriptions and is a perfect compliment to the televised version, says Salt and Light's CEO Father Thomas Rosica.

Fr. Thomas Rosica
CEO, Salt + Light TV
“Many people watching the visual parts on YouTube and television write to use and say, 'Wow, it's so simple and it's meditative and it's reflective, and a lot of times people will have their Bibles open when the Archbishop is reading that and going the session in the Cathedral and so they compliment each other. It's a natural, they fit together.”

“Pathway to Our Hearts” has a release date of April 11 and is being published by Ave Maria Press. Find out more at www.avemariapress.com.

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