Reading & Sharing the Word of God

I like reading the Bible.... at least, most of the time. Sometimes certain sections are more difficult than others...

As someone who grew up with a lot of Bible reading in the family - I was used to reading the Bible and "listening" to God speaking in the "here and now" through it. It was normal to expect God's Spirit to speak during Scripture reading! Then, I realized when I got older that not only do most Catholics not read the Bible, but, even more, the idea of God speaking to them through Scripture would be very foreign! I despaired for a little, then I kept hearing about this thing called lectio divina (literally divine reading).

Well its something that's been in the Church since the early centuries of Christianity - and its something the Pope really recommends - and its all about reading the Bible and hearing from the Lord. Its wonderful stuff! And, so, the other day I came across this video on youtube. It is Archbishop Collins of Toronto at a youth rally giving a great, Spirit-filled explanation of lectio divina and and actually practicing it on video. Check it out!



If you want to see the rest, check out Part Two here.

Finally, while Catholics have the stigma of not knowing the Bible. The Church itself has been really encouraging Catholics to read it, at least since Vatican II:

The sacred synod forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful, especially those who live the religious life, to learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ’ (Phil. 3:8) by frequent reading of divine Scripture.
Vatican II, Dei Verbum

And finally, what does all this have to do with evangelization? Well, everything. By knowing the Word of God, the Word of Christ - we know Him. And ... if we know him... we can share him with others. As B16 (the Pope) said last year:

"There is an urgent need for the emergence of a new generation of apostles anchored firmly in the word of Christ, capable of responding to the challenges of our times and prepared to spread the Gospel far and wide."