the word for lent
“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 of the Catholic Church (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 faithfully taught the Bible for over ten years.
Reference:
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from February 1, 2024, through March 31, 2024. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 7, 2023"
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.