Passion Led Us Here
All of the Scripture Reflections come from the Weekly Scripture Journal Blog post. Each Wednesday is Bible Study day. I spend Monday and Tuesday reviewing the scriptures from the Catholic Lectionary for the next Sunday. Sometimes I read reflections from theologians and other scholars on the readings for insight or inspiration. Other times I sit at the computer and the prayers and questions magically appear on the screen.
I spent three years sharing this information with a dozen or so women each Wednesday. Then one of the regulars suggested I start a blog to post the information to make it accessible on the weeks she was unable to attend. She was considering another commitment on Wednesday mornings and didn’t want to give up access to the prayers and reflection questions. I was a little afraid to ‘put myself out there’ but her suggestion also gave me confidence enough to start posting online.
After a friend learned this resource was available, she subscribed and incorporated prayers and questions in the lessons she planned at the church where she worked, even for staff meetings. Another woman who occasionally attended the Bible Study asked permission to use the prayers and reflections to lead a group at her church using the same outline we did on Wednesdays. These ‘atta girl’ moments made me feel good, but I knew and still know that preparing the weekly scripture study is my life source. I needed that group of women to write the reflections so I wouldn’t lose my practice of spending time in scripture.
In addition to the weekly blog post which is emailed to subscribers, I’d post a link on my personal Facebook page. Then when the organization where I volunteered to lead the weekly Bible Study started their Facebook page, I began posting it there too. It was another moment of affirmation that I was able to share inspiration with others and my hope was getting them to open up their Bibles to read scripture.
Years before, when I worked at a Church with the teens, there were times when we’d read a passage of scripture for a prayer service or use it as the basis of a lesson. I knew I was sharing God’s word with them, but it occurred to me that they probably didn’t know. It’s similar to when a person attends Mass and they hear the readings. Not everyone in the congregation knows they are listening to words from the Bible, God’s Word.
I started putting a Bible in the hands of every teen. It began with the sophomores in high school whom I’d give a Teen Bible to as a gift. Then I advocated for all the classrooms for the Parish School of Religion to have enough Bibles for any small group who would gather. This included children as young as kindergarten up through the adult groups who gathered for meetings. The staff agreed and helped me encourage Teachers to use the Bibles as well as the adults leading the other gatherings. I even so much as wrote prayers for the groups and left them in the room for the adults to use with the Bibles.
When I taught the Middle School Group, we used Bibles for our large group gatherings. Each week, myself or one of my assistants would carry the crate of Bibles out of my office and place them on the tables for the teens to access. It filled me with such joy to watch the teens open the Bible and search to find the particular passage we’d read so they could follow along or read themselves.
It’s been seven years since I started the weekly Bible Study but I’m still posting the scripture on the blog page every Wednesday. The organization continues to share the link on their Facebook page and the friend is still using it as a resource at her church. I don’t lead the Bible Study on Wednesdays anymore but the women from the group still receive the prayers and reflections through email and social media.
Making Scripture Relevant is my passion. There is a fire in me and it’s burning each day for me to spread the Gospel and point people to open the Bible to read the scripture. As I’ve spent time in scripture, I have discovered who I am, who God is and found real purpose. I want others to find this sense of purpose in scripture and this intimate relationship with our creator. Passion led us here…this is my story and I’m sticking to it!
