The saints and popes have long taught us that we cannot truly know and love Jesus unless we know how to meet him in the pages of the sacred Scriptures.
St. Jerome asked this question in the early days of the Church, and it is still crucial: “How could one live without the knowledge of Scripture, by which we come to know Christ himself, who is the life of believers?”
That is why I believe the publication of the new Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is an important moment in the life of the Church.
For almost 25 years, Ignatius Press and the editors, American Scripture scholars Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, have been working on this project, releasing the individual books as they became ready.
Now completed, this new Bible is quite an achievement: more than 2,300 pages long, with nearly 18,000 footnotes, along with extensive cross-references, word studies, topical essays, maps, and more.
It is the first Catholic Bible to reflect the findings of the best academic research while at the same time providing authentic interpretations and spiritual insights based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Church’s doctrine and liturgy, and the writings of the Church’s saints and doctors.
My hope is that this new Bible will continue the biblical renewal already underway in this country, helping to give strong biblical foundations to the next generation of Catholic preaching and teaching, prayer, and devotion.
These days we are seeing a spiritual hunger and desire for the knowledge that only the Scriptures can offer us.
The Wall Street Journal reported recently that Bible sales in this country are “booming,” having jumped by more than 22% this year. Much of the increased demand is said to be coming from “first-time Bible buyers.”
Just a couple of years ago, Father Mike Schmitz’s “The Bible in a Year” was the best-selling podcast in the country in all categories. Today, it’s still ranked first among all religion and spirituality podcasts and remains high in the charts for all podcasts, with hundreds of millions of downloads.
These trends suggest that in a culture where we are overwhelmed with instant messages and passing images, people are longing for a word that will last, a word that will be life-giving.
Jesus is that Word.
As the Book of Revelation tells us, “the name by which he is called is the Word of God.”
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, because the Father wanted to speak personally to his children, because he wanted to reveal his love to us through his only Son, and to call us to share in his divine life.
Now this Word remains with us in the Bible. St. Thomas Aquinas said that Jesus opens his heart to us in the pages of sacred Scripture.
That is why it is so essential for us to make time to study and pray with the Bible, especially the Gospels.
We don’t study the Bible for information, we study the Bible to meet the divine Person who is the living Word of God.
On the first Easter, when Jesus opened the Scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he made their hearts burn within them.
The first believers compared the Word of God to a sharp, two-edged sword capable of cutting through our hearts and souls, capable of opening our whole beings to the love of God.
And we can have that same intimate experience of God’s love.
When we read the Bible with prayer and faith, the written text becomes a living Word that brings us to a deep and personal encounter with Jesus.
As the Word became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and as the Word sacramentally becomes flesh in the Eucharist, in the Scriptures Jesus also comes to be with us, to speak to us and to give himself to us.
And like our encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, our encounter with him in the Scriptures is meant to transform us, forming our characters and shaping our souls in his divine image.
As Scott Hahn writes in the introduction to this new Bible, everything depends on how we approach the Bible. We need to read with reverence and humility, with hearts open to the beautiful mystery of his love for us.
As Hahn writes, “You are approaching the Word of God. But for thousands of years, since before he knit you in your mother’s womb, the Word of God has been approaching you.”
Pray for me and I will pray for you.
And as we continue our Advent journey, let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, in whom the Word became flesh, to help us to grow in our love for the Word, and through our study and prayer become more and more like the Word we read.
