For the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time…
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.
2 Timothy 3: 16-17
I was talking to one of our writers at Living Faith, who shared with me that Living Faith helped to inspire a love for Scripture in her years ago. It was her first step to go deeper with God’s Word, later trying Lectio Divina, and then reflecting and journaling about it.
When I was a teenager, I attended a retreat designed to introduce young people to the Gospel, and to encourage them to follow Christ. On that retreat, I received the gift of a pocket-sized New Testament. There was an inscription in it, and some underlines of certain passages to help me get started reading it. And I did. And I still have it on my shelf as a reminder of that first love.
Wherever you are today, whatever your circumstances, let me ask you plainly: Do you make reading and praying with Scripture a daily habit?
If this is a new idea for you, try to sit quietly with God’s Word for 10 to 15 minutes a day. Ask the Holy Spirit to help and guide you. That’s a prayer that God loves to answer!
There are so many excellent places to start… the Psalms, or one of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John—Mark is the shortest! Or learn how to pray the Morning or Evening Prayer that makes up the Liturgy of the Hours. Whatever you try, remember it takes 30 days to form a habit. St. Paul’s Letter to Timothy (above) gives us excellent reasons to try.
Lord God, thank you for your holy Word every day. May it come alive and live in me.
