THE GOD WHO SPEAKS
“ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”.
St. Jerome (Commentary on Isaiah)
On 30 September, our Holy Father, Pope Francis. Issued a Motu Proprio (personal declaration) entitled Aperuit Illis. These words come from Luke 24:45,
“He opened their minds to understand
the Scriptures”.
This is part of the events of the first Easter Day. Here the Lord, having appeared in the Upper Room, explains to the Apostles, using the Scriptures
(what we now call the Old Testament) everything about himself: his suffering, death and resurrection. Similarly, a little earlier, he had appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who having eaten with him, he had vanished. Immediately they decided to return to Jerusalem declaring,
“Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us “
(Luke 24 :32).
This short document (available on the Vatican website) declares the year 2020 The Year of the Word. It begins at the opening of the Church’s liturgical year on the first Sunday of Advent, 1 December.
In addition, the Holy Father announces that from 2020 onwards the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, will be The Sunday of the Word of God.
The Pope has chosen to make this announcement now because 2020 is the 10th anniversary of
Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini, ‘The Word of the Lord’.
This coming year also marks the 1,600th anniversary of the death of St Jerome (30September 420). It was St Jerome who translated the original Hebrews and Greek Scriptures into Latin, the Vulgate, which was the standard text of the Bible for over 1,000 years.
In his commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, St Jerome states,
‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ’.
This is where we should make our beginning.
The Scriptures which we also call The Holy Bible, is the foundation of our lives as Catholic Christians and, therefore, of our Cursillo movement. For some time now, we have experienced in England and Wales, a slow decline in the movement, with much of our activity confined to the North-West of England, particularly the dioceses of Liverpool and Shrewsbury.
Other parts of the country carry on, but with fewer members and, consequently Weekends. We are also called to discern who will be our new President after the remarkable years under the leadership of Terry Mortimer, for which we are particularly grateful. For growth and leadership, we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the strengthening of our faith.
What better time to discover the Spirit in renewal and the discernment of leadership than in the year dedicated to the Word of God under the title, The God who speaks?
We need the Word of God to help us in these important tasks. Perhaps we can define this in three ways?
1. The Word of God in Worship and in our mutual
fellowship. This means putting Christ at the centre. Our plans ,decisions and discussions on the way forward can only be fruitful if we listen to ‘the God who speaks’ and so this in communion with each other.
The Word of God gives us insight into how to live human community and also to value the world in which we live as God’s world and not our own. In other words, faith in action, one of the core insights which Cursillo brings to the Church.
The Word of God is the indispensable tool for each of us as we seek to grow in understanding, not only of our faith, but of the culture in which we live and are called to proclaim it. What do you bring to Group Reunion when asked, ‘What have I read recently?’ The Bible should always be at the head of the list.
You should never be without a Bible. Small volumes are very portable – although a magnifying glass can sometimes help! A reading scheme is also valuable. Reading from cover to cover is not a good idea. There are many schemes available and even Bibles which are arranged in a schematic order. It is possible to read the whole Bible in two years in very easy manageable are an ideal way of immersing yourself in the Word of God.
All this is a great challenge- but whoever said being a Christian and knowing one’s faith is easy!
The whole point of reading and understanding the Scriptures is an Encounter with God (another Cursillo concept). If we allow God to speak, he will reveal himself to us and help us to develop our faith.
With my love and prayers at the beginning of the Year of the Word,
Canon Michael Leadbeater (National Spiritual Director)
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