Year of Faith Column: "A Weekly Bible Study"

Ms. Barbara Gawle, 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal, introduces a weekly column of Bible Study that we plan to publish each Monday, beginning today.

A WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY

Church Teaching on Scripture Study

As the Second Vatican Council celebrates its 50th anniversary, we call to mind the words of one of its prominent documents, Dei Verbum:  “In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her children, the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life.  Easy access to Sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful. In this way, through the reading and study of the sacred books the word of God may spread rapidly and the treasure of revelation, entrusted to the Church, may more and more fill the hearts of all.”

Fifty years later, in Verbum Domini, Pope Benedict XVI continues to promote Scripture Study among the laity.  He writes:  “Because in the word of the Bible God comes to us and we to him, we must learn to penetrate the secret of language, to understand it in its structure and its mode of expression. I express my heartfelt hope for the flowering of a new season of greater love for sacred Scripture on the part of every member of the People of God, so that their prayerful and faith-filled reading of the Bible will, with time, deepen their personal relationship with Jesus.  We must never forget that all authentic and living Christian spirituality is based on the word of God proclaimed, accepted, celebrated and meditated upon in the Church.”

A New Direction

As we celebrate the Year of Faith, the Catholic Bishops encourage us to enter into this deeper relationship with Jesus through study of the Sacred Word.