Lectio Divina

"Over the course of my year-long experience of prayer, research, and reflection with Hopkins' poetry, my undergraduate naiveté and novitiate delight evolved into a profound sense of the transformative potential within poetry."
    When reading this passage, one should try to apply a perspective that could help him. To be open to a "transformation" like this passage suggests, one has to go into this reading with an open mind. It would not be a bad idea to research the author of this essay, Francis X. McAloon, to really get to know him. In this essay "Reading for Transformation through the Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins," McAloon suggests he has trouble comprehending what the meaning of Hopkins's works mean. To apply a particular theoretical perspective to this essay, I think one should experience what McAloon talks about first hand. McAloon talks about how he devoted a full year to the practice of immersing himself with Hopkins's poetry. To truly understand what McAloon means when he writes about reading for transformation, one should apply the practices this author applied. Now, I'm not saying to go on a full-fledged/year-long study of Francis, but I would suggest that one practice lectio divina. I believe to learn something; I have to experience or do what I'm supposed to learn. McAloon used lectio divina to understand Hopkins, so you should use lectio divina to understand what Francis means when he writes about reading for transformation. Take a few lines or a passage from this essay and meditate on it. It might seem awkward but to really tap into his mind and what he is trying to inform us about through this essay, use what he used (lectio divina) to come to a realization or "transformative eureka."
     To make myself clear, I want the readers of this essay to pick apart what McAloon writes about by selecting a passage like the one I quoted above and use the process of lectio to understand the gist of this essay. I don't know if it will work but it is possible it can shed light on the essay's information.