Daily Meditation - Friday 6June 2008 - HOW TO LISTEN TO SCRIPTURE

[BarbaraTherese]

Optional Memorial
St. Norbert

Mass Readings and Meditation

Readings

Meditation

Friday, June 06, 2008

2 Timothy 3:10-17

?What would you think of a homemaker who invested in a set of quality knives and then left them sitting in the box? How about a student who puzzled over a lack of information but never consulted his online encyclopedia?

• St. Paul told Timothy that Scripture is “useful” for many real-life purposes.
• However, this gift serves no purpose if we don’t make use of it!

What’s more, we have the sacred Scriptures in a much more complete form than Timothy did, along with a great deal of guidance from the church on how to understand and apply what we read.

• In the Scriptures, God has revealed himself to humankind:
• his power and majesty,
• his very personal love for his children,
• his intimate involvement in our lives.
• The Scriptures also hold up a mirror in which we can come to know ourselves
• —not only our sins and follies
• but our great potential as spiritual people made in the image and likeness of God himself.
  The Scriptures show us how God wants us to live, both in broad outlines and in specific choices.
• They also give us wonderful models of prayer
• and words that can help us draw closer to God.
• They can even give meaning to our life experiences
• —just as Paul could see God’s hand in the sufferings he endured as a missionary (2 Timothy 3:10-12). here
  Jesus was intimately familiar with Scripture.
• In today’s Gospel, he sees in a familiar psalm HERE
• a paradox
• that opens up a deeper understanding of the Messiah—
• something that the Bible scholars of his day had yet to grasp.

Here are a few ways that you can make fuller use of this precious gift of God’s word.

• First, make sure you are setting aside time every day to read Scripture, asking God to speak to you through it.
• Perhaps you can try committing some verses to memory,
• so that you can call to mind God’s wisdom at just the right time and in just the right situation.
• Maybe you can take advantage of opportunities your parish offers to deepen your understanding of biblical history.
• God wants to speak to us and give us his guidance

.So let’s learn how to listen!

“Lord, thank you for the precious tool you have given me
in your holy word.
Show me how I could make better use of this gift.”

 

[bwhite06517]

Preparing for battle:

In today’s first reading, we have:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

There are various religious groups that may come to a person’s door. Frequently they may open with a scripture verse such as “Are you familiar with John 3:3, ‘that you must be born again’”, It may be another verse or question “Are you saved”?

Sometimes these groups come with ‘different’ Bibles - such as extra books that are part of their scriptures (like the Book of Mormon), or with different ‘translations’ (such as the New World Translation from the Jehovah’s Witnesses).

Part of Catholic ANSWERS is to be ready with an answer - to know our faith and to be able to defend it. As such Catholic Answers has many strong doctrinal materials on the main website (catholic.com)), as well as discussions in the apologetics forums and “Ask an Apologist”.

We all know of Catholics that have been led out of the Church by others. We owe to ourselves to be ready with an answer. Today’s reading tells us that ALL Scripture is inspired by God and that in order to be competent we need to be equiped with knowledge of scripture and to be knowledgeable of our faith!!!

Tomorrow’s first reading will continue this with:

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, …] proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths.

We need to be prepared for battle - to know sound doctrine, to proclaim the Word of God!!!

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, give us a hunger for Your Word, help us to learn Your Word and treasure it always. Help us to be ready to defend Your Church through knowledge of Your Word, Your Truth and of sound doctrine. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen