ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI / ST JOSEPH

Learning from St Jerome

2007-11-09T12:09:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, at his weekly General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about St Jerome. Here's an excerpt that is very relevant to our bible study:

What can we learn from St. Jerome? Above all I think it is this: to love the word of God in sacred Scripture. St. Jerome said, "To ignore Scripture is to ignore Christ." That is why it is important that every Christian live in contact and in personal dialogue with the word of God, given to us in sacred Scripture.This dialogue should be of two dimensions. On one hand, it should be truly personal, because God speaks to each of us through sacred Scripture and has a message for each of us. We shouldn't read sacred Scripture as a word from the past, but rather as the word of God addressed even to us, and we must try to understand what the Lord is telling us.And so we don't fall into individualism, we must also keep in mind that the word of God is given to us in order to build communion, to unite us in the truth along our way to God. Therefore, despite the fact that it is always a personal word, it is also a word that builds community, and that builds the Church itself. Therefore, we should read it in communion with the living Church.

Some teaching from John Paul II

2007-10-09T12:40:00.000-04:00

“How do we prepare others to collaborate in the Church’s work of catechesis and evangelization? Certainly we must begin by inculcating a reverential love for the word of God: for the Incarnate Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, and for the inspired word contained in the Sacred Scriptures. We must foster a love which is firmly rooted in faith, which believes, with Saint Paul, that God’s word "is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified". Ministers of God’s word – priests, deacons, catechists and other lay people – should be immersed in the Scriptures through constant reading and diligent study, accompanied by prayer.”

(from the 4/7/1986 Address of John Paul II to the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate)

Until we start meeting

2007-09-06T12:20:00.000-04:00

If you’d like to do a bit of reading to prepare for the Bible Study, I suggest n. 74 to n. 141 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This will provide an informative background for our introductory sessions.

As we begin...

2007-08-02T12:59:00.000-04:00

Heavenly Father, at the onset of our planning for this study of Sacred Scripture, we lift our hearts to you in praise and thanksgiving for the gift of your word, enfleshed in the person of your most beloved Son, Jesus. We are truly grateful for this opportunity to be led closer to you through your written word. We commend every aspect of this undertaking to the guidance of your Holy Spirit. We especially ask that you would lead to this bible study those whose hearts are restless and whose lives would have better direction, based on truth and love, after encountering you in your word. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mary, Mother of Mercy, we entrust this endeavor to your ever-fruitful intercession. Pray for us, that we may be able to help others draw closer to Jesus, and experience more of the divine mercy that our loving Lord offers to us in abundance.

Prayer before bible study

2007-08-01T09:36:00.000-04:00

God, my Father in heaven, I am about to encounter your written word in Sacred Scripture. I come before you with a deep appreciation and profound reverence for your word, through which you reveal yourself to me. I believe that these human words, written under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are truly alive in the fulfilling form of the Eternal Word, your beloved Son, Jesus. I know that these are not just words to be read, but a way of life to be followed, modeled for me by Jesus during his earthly life. Through these words you invite me into personal communion with you. And so, Father, through Jesus, I implore you to send me your Holy Spirit to enlighten me and teach me; to unlock the mysteries that will allow your word to come alive in my heart and in my life. Come Holy Spirit and lead me to the truth that will bring me authentic freedom. Guard me from reading more into this sacred word than is really there, and prevent me from removing anything from its fullness. Come Holy Spirit and help me in my weakness. I want my life to be directed and shaped by your word. Allow this holy word to build up my faith and hope, so that I will be empowered to live a life of charity, and will be drawn into a deeper union with my God through knowledge and imitation of the Eternal Word, Jesus my Savior. Most holy Mother, Mary, I entrust myself to your intercession as I read, study and pray this blessed word. May I keep it always in my heart as you kept it in yours. Amen.