Lectio was apparently so common a practice among Christians of his time that Benedict felt no need to describe it. ... Lectio was a slow, meditative reading of the Word balanced with periods of silent reflection. It was both active and receptive. Its principal orientation was toward a personal  encounter with the living God that would cast light on present life issues, rather than the gathering of information. It was a way of taking scripture to heart, of making its promises one's own in a transformed life.

    In Benedict's time, the primary practice of lectio was personal, but lectio also formed a principal mode of attentive worship in the eight daily gatherings for common prayer that centered on the psalms. We find the root of this lectio process in Benedict's conviction that God calls out the invitation for deeper loving relationship to each Christian daily. It is largely the Benedictine monastic tradition that has kept this precious treasure of lectio practice alive through the intervening centuries.

From: Gathered in the Word by Norvene Vest