"The best way to evangelize..."

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver gave a talk June 26 at the National Catholic Bible Conference in Denver, CO on the role of Scripture in the renewal of both ourselves and the wider culture. It's a fantastic talk and I would recommend reading the whole thing, especially if you've ever wondered about the Catholic Church's thoughts on the Bible.

My favorite part is the following:

The best way to evangelize is to burn, like St. Francis did, for the love of God; and to sustain that kind of zeal you need constant contact with the fire of God's Word.

It's so true, isn't it? Few people become Christians because they are taught Christian doctrine. Millions have become Christian because they met a Christian who loved God so much that it spilled over into love for other people.

When love for God is strong, so is the desire to know Him more fully. That's where a zeal for His Word comes in. As St. Augustine put it, "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ."

The archbishop also pointed out that if we want to see renewal and change in the world, it must begin within ourselves.

It's tempting to see the moral problems of the wider culture and want to begin there, outside ourselves, focused on others. But all authentic reform begins within our own hearts.

I know how hard it is to begin there. With all the problems we're facing right now, as a country, as a culture, as a Church, it's easy sometimes to point the finger, instead of recognizing that my own sins and failings are partly to blame. Mea culpa. I really appreciate the archbishop's reminder that if I want a holier culture, I need to cooperate with the grace God is giving me for my sanctification.

Finally, the archbishop also quoted a statement from Vatican II on the Scriptures, which bears repeating:

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of the life from the table both of God's word and of Christ's body. (Dei Verbum, 21).

Sometimes, as Catholics, I think we get so focused on the awesomeness of the Eucharist that we can forget how great the Bible is. As this excerpt shows, the Church wants us to uphold both as our "bread of the life."

Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger, also wrote about this tendency, as the archbishop noted:

The fact that God's words, something that God has said and is saying to us, are accessible in the world is truly the most exciting news I can imagine at all. [But] we are too dulled through everyday use to grasp the awesomeness of this statement. (A New Song for the Lord, 169).

May God grant us a passion for His Word and a love for the people who need to hear it.

How has the Lord spoken to you through the Scriptures lately? What are you doing to deepen your zeal for God's Word?