the word for lent (see feb. 18)
"Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on His law day and night." —Psalm 1:1-2
When Jesus fasted for forty days in the desert, He overcame the temptations of Satan by quoting the Scriptures (see Lk 4:4, 8, 12).
Jesus told the Pharisees that listening to Moses and the prophets, that is, the Scriptures, has more power to change our hearts than meeting someone raised from the dead (Lk 16:31).
On the day Jesus rose from the dead, He spent the afternoon and evening interpreting the Scriptures (Lk 24:27, 45).
After the first Christian Pentecost, the new-born Church devoted itself to the apostles' instruction, which was based on the Scriptures (Acts 2:42).
Therefore, St. Jerome, the patron of Catholic Bible studies, insisted: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." The Church officially accepted this assertion in Vatican II. It is re-stated in the Catechism (133). "The Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord's Body" (Catechism, 103). "The Church 'forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful...to learn "the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ," by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures' " (Catechism, 133).
Abide in God's word (Jn 8:31; 15:7). May it be the "joy and the happiness" of your heart (Jer 15:16).
Prayer: Father, I put Your word on the lampstand of my life so as to give light to all in the house (Lk 8:16).
Promise: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose Hope is the Lord." —Jer 17:7
Praise: Charlie has remained faithfully teaching the Bible for over ten years.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, August 1, 1996
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 6, 1996