The Word of God Sunday will be observed in Australia this weekend, creating an opportunity to reflect on what room Catholics make in their lives for the Bible. Source: Melbourne Catholic.
Key to letting the Scriptures change lives is not just reading them regularly but actually experiencing them — allowing the words and motifs of the Bible to shape our hearts and minds in lasting ways. To get the most out of the Scriptures, Christians need to allow the Word of God — Jesus Christ — to speak to us through them. As St Jerome famously said, ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.
In his recent homily for Word of God Sunday, Pope Francis acknowledged that it can be hard to stay focused on Scripture, saying, “This is a risk for all of us: overwhelmed by a barrage of words, we let the word of God glide by us: we hear it, yet we fail to listen to it; we listen to it, yet we don’t keep it; we keep it, yet we don’t let it provoke us to change”.
So here are three ideas that might lead us into a deeper experience of the Word of God in 2024.
Singing the Scriptures with Project of Love
Project of Love seeks to bring the Bible to life through song. Some of the project’s music is featured on Hallow, the Catholic prayer app, particularly renditions of the psalms and of passages from the Prophet Isaiah. But the rest you can find on YouTube.
The Divine Office
The Divine Office (otherwise known as the Liturgy of the Hours) is, after the Mass, the prayer that is given the highest place of honour in the Church.
What makes the Divine Office so perfect for laypeople is that it organises the psalms and other Scripture readings into a coherent reading experience, with the Old Testament always being read in light of the New, and vice versa.
Bible in a Year
When it was first launched in 2021, the Bible in a Year podcast, hosted by American priest Fr Mike Schmitz, became one of the top podcasts in the world. Based on the Great Adventure Bible Timeline created by biblical scholar Jeff Cavins, and in episodes usually no longer than 24 minutes, the listener is taken on a tour through salvation history.
The podcast is running again in 2024 and Ascension Press have enhanced the podcast experience this year with the launch of their new Ascension App.
FULLS TORY
Three ways to experience the Word of God anew in 2024 (Melbourne Catholic)
