Dear Friends,
This Sunday is the annual Word of God Sunday, a day on which the Church calls us to deepen our appreciation of Sacred Scripture in our daily lives.
Bible reading is for Catholics! The Church encourages Catholics to make reading the Bible part of their daily prayer lives in order to grow deeper in our relationships with God. The Bible is the revelation of God's relationship with the people he has called to himself. In the Bible, God teaches us the truths that we need for the sake of our salvation.
By reading and reflecting on Sacred Scripture, Catholics join those faithful men and women who have taken God's Word to heart and put it into practice in their lives. We read the Bible within the tradition of the Church to benefit from the holiness and wisdom of all the faithful.
The Old Testament and the New Testament shed light on each other. Together, these scriptures help us to understand God's plan for us.
The Bible is addressed to each of us in our own unique situations. When we read it, we do well to understand what the text says and how the faithful have understood its meaning in the past. We then ask: What is God saying to me? Meditate on the message, and put it into action. Only then can the word be "living and effective." (Heb 4:12)
Reading the Bible should begin with a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds to the Word of God. Likewise, reading Sacred Scripture should end with a prayer that this Word will bear fruit in our lives, helping us to act more faithfully.
Remember, the Bible isn't one book; it's really a library. The Bible is a collection of 73 books written over many centuries. The books include history, prophecy, poetry, and letters. Read the Bible in context. What happens before and after helps us to understand the true meaning of the text.
When selecting a Bible, look for a Catholic edition. A Catholic edition will include the complete list of sacred books along with introductions and notes for understanding the text.
In Christ,
Fr. Jim