Pope Francis has designated today as Sunday of the Word of God. Until I die, I never want
to miss a chance to encourage people (especially Catholics) to get to know the Bible better.
It is such a wonderful, powerful treasure, and so easily accessible, that we can all reap great
benefits.
I have spent many, many hours reading Marvel comic books, and I enjoyed the movies.
They have constructed a pretty elaborate universe, and there is much to learn about
it. However, there is only so much depth there to explore. A part of me was a bit surprised
people kept making movies after “Endgame.” It’s like, “What more is there to do?” The
Bible has infinite depth, and there will always be more there. The more deeply you go, the
more you discover new riches and the more it beckons you forward. The sayings and
stories speak to the meaning of our lives and can touch us in ways we do not expect. A
thousand lifetimes would not be enough to drink in that richness.
We must remember it is not just about learning information, but about encountering God
personally. When we love someone, we want to be with them as well as learn more about
them. For a deep relationship, we must spend time together. This is a way to spend time
with our Beloved God, so we can grow to love Him more.
Many Catholics (and I suspect some other Christians as well) see the Bible the way people
saw the North American continent before the journey of Lewis and Clark). It need not be
that way. We have more resources now than ever before. Fr. Mike Schmitz is doing “The
Bible in a Year.” He is a great teacher, and I have heard good things about this program
(I’m sure he won’t mind if you start later than January 1). The Great Adventure Bible
Series, also called The Bible Timeline, is a wonderful program. It helps people understand
the plotline of the Bible from creation to the last judgment and how all the stories connect
into one big story of salvation. These are things that can help people go from being like
foreign tourists in the Bible to being at home in the Bible.
The seventh and eighth graders at St. Charles school have memorized the names of all 73
books of the Bible. This makes me very happy. This will help them learn more about the
Bible for the rest of their lives. What we memorize, we always have with us.
I would challenge everyone: never let twenty-four hours go by without you encountering
some Scripture. Some have a study program. Some a prayer schedule. Some read the daily
Mass readings (that will get you a lot of the Bible). If you do not connect to any of those, I
would suggest reading a bit of one of the Gospels every single day. A little bit every day is
better than a big bunch one of these days. If you do that, it will become a part of you, and
Jesus will be more on your mind. Imagine if everyone did that.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim
Fr. Jim Wyse 