October 2016

Praying with Scripture, The Bible: You've God Mail!

Recommended Reading

“Lord, teach me to pray.”
-Cackie Upchurch

“I’m not sure that I’m doing this right.” “What do you mean when you say you pray with the Bible?” “I pray the psalms but I’m not sure how to pray the other parts.”

These are the kinds of things I’ve heard many times when talking with people about the Bible and learning how to listen to what God may be saying to us through its words and characters and stories. Studying God’s Word requires that we do more than simply apply our reason and intellect. It requires that we engage all of what it means to be human and that means we are encouraged to bring the Bible into the heart of our prayer lives.

Thankfully, there has been a resurgence in the practice of Lectio Divina (Sacred Reading), the method of praying with a passage of Scripture that draws us from simple reading into meditation and even contemplation. The reader allows a word or phrase to come to the surface and dwells with that word, allowing God to work in them as they reflect more deeply on the passage.

The good news for us is that there are many ways to pray with the words of the Bible. Mary Kathleen Glavich, a Sister of Notre Dame, has drawn on years of experience in personal prayer, writing and all levels of faith formation to produce her newest book, Praying with Scripture, The Bible: You’ve God Mail!

In seventeen very readable chapters Sr. Mary Kathleen exposes a variety of methods for praying the Bible – personalizing various passages (e.g., replacing “us” or “they” with “I” or “me”), focusing on short passages that drive home the message of God’s love for each of us, memorizing passages to use as prayer mantras, making use of the numerous words of prayer within so many biblical books, paraphrasing various biblical hymns by including our own experiences, exploring the meaning of a passage and then pondering how it applies to our current situations, imagining ourselves in the scene being described, etc.

Each chapter contains numerous examples of the style of prayer, encouraging us to “taste and see” as we discover what draws us into a deeper relationship with Christ. This is a super resource for personal use, but is also an ideal way for catechetical and faith formation leaders to help others discover the varieties of prayer styles that will serve them well throughout their lives. I highly recommend this resource.

New volumes of Alive in the Word are available this month: Paul, Proclaiming Christ Crucified by Ronald D. Witherup and Moses, Called and Equipped by Catherine Upchurch.

Make plans now for a special Advent season. A revised version of The Infancy Narratives of Jesus with entirely new wrap-up lectures is available now. Lecturers are: Catherine Upchurch, Clifford Yeary, Judy Hoelzeman and Betsy Wiederkehr Huss.

A Biblical Year of Mercy
Download a monthly article and reflection questions for free use in your parishes; link to your parish website; send them to friends. Available in English and in Spanish.

For more information about workshops, Little Rock Connections, or to offer suggestions, or submit items, please contact:
Little Rock Scripture Study
PO Box 7565
Little Rock, AR 72217
lrss@dolr.org
501-664-6102

Little Rock Scripture Study, PO Box 7565, Little Rock, AR 72217-7565
Liturgical Press, 2950 Saint John's Road, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321
Phone: 1.800.858.5434 or 320.363.2213
Buy Online: littlerockscripture.org
© Copyright 2016 Little Rock Scripture Study, Little Rock, Arkansas. All rights reserved.

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