In Part 3 of this series I discussed the Breviary and the Rosary. Now… the Bible!
The Bible is the Word of God. Jesus is the Word made human. The Bible is Jesus and Jesus is the Bible. The Old Testament pointed the way to Jesus, the New Testament revealed Him. To not study the Bible is to not study Jesus. St. Jerome, the Early Church Father who translated the Bible into Latin from the original Greek and Hebrew stated that “Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.”
In the first 4 centuries of Christianity, the Bishops of the Western and Eastern branches of the Catholic Church put the Bible together. The Bible is a Catholic document.
There is a way to read the Bible that is enriching and if successful (meaning you are patient, persistent and persevering) will bring you much closer to God that most other forms of prayer. I have not been able to master it yet despite trying a few times. This method of reading the Bible is called “Lectio Divina.” It is a slow, prayerful, meditative reading of Sacred Scripture in which the Bible itself pulls you along, and thus you “hear” the Word of God speak to you, as in a whisper to your soul.
This is a classic online explanation/how-to of lectio divina:
I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)
I've been lurking here for quite some time (believe I came from a link on Venerable Matt Talbott blog). Although I'm not in recovery myself, some family members are, and I attend regular Al-Anon meetings.This series of posts has been interesting and thought-provoking. Thank you
Thank you, Kathy. Part 5, a conclusion & wrap-up of sorts, will be out way later tonight or tomorrow sometime.