There are some invitations that we receive with a sense of anticipation.
They promise not simply something new, but something deeper, richer and more rewarding.
Beginning next Monday, 21 September, The 247 Catholic will begin a new journey – one that invites us to slow down, linger a little longer over God's Word, and discover even more of the beauty, wisdom and richness of our Catholic faith.
It is a new chapter, but it is not a new purpose.
The journey continues
The purpose of the blog is not changing. It remains exactly what it has always hoped to be – a place where we can reflect upon Sacred Scripture, grow in our understanding of the Catholic faith, learn from the saints, deepen our prayer, and draw ever closer to Jesus Christ.
What is changing is the way we will make that journey together.
From next Monday, each Monday's reflection will become part of one of six recurring series, each offering a different way of exploring the treasures of our faith.
But there is something else behind this new approach.
Something which perhaps explains better than anything else what we are hoping to achieve.
Learning to linger with Scripture
For centuries, Christians have used an ancient and beautiful way of praying with Sacred Scripture known as Lectio Divina, or “divine reading”.
At its heart is a wonderfully simple idea: we do not always need to hurry when we read the Bible.
We can read a passage slowly.
We can pause.
We can notice a particular word or phrase.
We can allow the words of Scripture to speak to our hearts.
We can reflect upon what we have read, respond to God in prayer, and sometimes simply remain quietly in His presence.
Lectio Divina reminds us that Scripture is not merely a book from which we acquire information about God. It is the living Word through which God continues to speak to His people.
That does not mean that every passage will produce an immediate insight or some extraordinary spiritual experience. Sometimes we may read a passage and feel that nothing particularly happens at all.
And that is perfectly all right.
Prayer is not always about experiencing something dramatic. Sometimes it is simply about being willing to remain with the Lord.
That is very much the spirit behind this new chapter of The 247 Catholic.
We want to take our time.
We want to look more closely.
We want to ask questions.
We want to notice things that we may have hurried past before.
And, above all, we want to allow Sacred Scripture to lead us not merely towards greater knowledge, but towards a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ.
The six series will each approach Scripture in a different way, but beneath them all will be this same invitation:
Slow down. Read carefully. Listen prayerfully. And give God's Word time to speak.
Hidden Treasures of Scripture
Sometimes we will uncover the Hidden Treasures of Scripture, discovering remarkable details that we may have overlooked for years.
The Bible is full of things which can easily pass us by.
A name.
A place.
A repeated expression.
A seemingly insignificant detail.
A connection between two passages separated by hundreds of years.
Sometimes, when we slow down and look again, something wonderful begins to emerge.
One Word, Infinite Meaning
At other times we will pause over One Word, Infinite Meaning, allowing a single biblical word to open our hearts to the richness of God's revelation.
One word can sometimes make us stop and think.
What did it mean in its original context?
Why did the biblical writer choose that particular word?
How has the Church understood it?
What does it reveal about God?
And perhaps most importantly, what might that word invite us to consider about our own relationship with Him?
This is another way of learning to read Scripture slowly – allowing one small part of God's Word to become a doorway into something much greater.
Questions Worth Asking
Together we will ask Questions Worth Asking, not because faith fears questions, but because sincere questions can often lead us towards a deeper understanding of Christ.
Catholic faith does not require us to stop thinking.
Quite the opposite.
The great tradition of the Church is filled with people who asked questions, wrestled with difficult passages, explored the mysteries of faith and sought to understand more deeply.
Some questions may have simple answers.
Others may lead us into mysteries which cannot be completely explained.
But asking the question can sometimes be the beginning of a much deeper journey.
Moments of Wonder
There will be Moments of Wonder, where we simply remain with one beautiful scene from the Gospel, allowing it to speak gently to our hearts.
Perhaps it will be Jesus looking at someone.
Perhaps it will be a moment of silence.
Perhaps a word spoken by Mary.
Perhaps a disciple who suddenly understands something.
Perhaps a person who encounters Jesus for the very first time.
Rather than rushing immediately towards explanation, we will sometimes simply stay with the scene.
What might it have been like to be there?
What do we notice?
What do we perhaps see differently when we read the passage again?
And what might this moment reveal to us about the person of Jesus?
There is something profoundly Catholic about allowing ourselves to be filled with wonder at the mystery of Christ.
Theology Made Simple
We will continue to explore the richness of Catholic teaching through Theology Made Simple, discovering how the wisdom of the Church helps us to understand the Scriptures more fully and to live the Gospel more faithfully.
Theology need not be frightening or complicated.
At its heart, theology is about seeking to know God more deeply.
The more we understand what the Church teaches, the more we can appreciate the extraordinary depth contained within Sacred Scripture and the life of the Church.
Our hope is to take some of those great truths of Catholic theology and explore them in a way that is accessible, practical and, above all, connected to our daily lives.
Imagine If...
And from time to time we will prayerfully enter the Gospel through Imagine If..., placing ourselves within the biblical scene as an aid to meditation and prayer.
Imagine standing beside the Sea of Galilee.
Imagine hearing Jesus call your name.
Imagine being among the crowd as He begins to teach.
Imagine watching Mary at Cana.
Imagine being present when Jesus encounters Zacchaeus.
These reflections will invite us to use our imagination carefully and prayerfully, not to change the biblical story, but to help us enter more attentively into what Scripture actually reveals.
Sometimes seeing a familiar Gospel scene from a slightly different perspective can help us notice something we had never noticed before.
A journey through the year
These six series of posts will follow a six-weekly rotation, gently accompanying us throughout the year.
Where appropriate, they will follow the seasons of the Church, allowing our reflections to grow naturally alongside Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and the many wonderful feast days that fill the Catholic calendar.
The format may be new, but the heart of the journey remains the same.
And perhaps that is the most important thing of all.
The hope is very simple
In a world that moves ever more quickly, perhaps we can learn together to slow down.
To notice what we have never noticed before.
To ask questions we may never have thought to ask.
To marvel once again at familiar Gospel passages.
To discover treasures hidden within words we thought we already knew.
To understand our faith more deeply.
To spend a little longer listening to God's Word.
And, above all, to know and love Jesus Christ more faithfully.
In a sense, this is the spirit of Lectio Divina: not simply to read Scripture, but to receive it, ponder it, pray with it and allow it to draw us closer to the Lord.
We will not always be trying to cover more ground.
Sometimes we may deliberately stay in one small place.
Because sometimes the smallest detail contains the greatest treasure.
Sometimes one word can lead us into a whole world of meaning.
Sometimes one question can open the door to a deeper understanding of faith.
And sometimes one sentence from the Gospel can remain with us throughout the entire day.
That is the kind of journey we hope to make together.
Every reflection will continue to be rooted in Sacred Scripture using the ESV – CE, enriched by the wisdom of the saints, supported by practical ways of living our faith each day, and concluded with prayer.
Those familiar features that many readers have come to appreciate will remain an important part of every week's reflection.
But perhaps there will now be a little more space to breathe.
A little more time to think.
A little more opportunity to pray.
And a greater invitation to linger with the Word of God.
If, through these reflections, even one heart is encouraged to open the Bible more often, spend a little longer in prayer, rediscover the sacraments, see the Catholic faith with fresh eyes, or look upon Christ with renewed love, then every word written will have been worthwhile.
You are warmly invited to join The 247 Catholic from next Monday, 21 September, as we begin this new chapter together.
Come and discover the hidden treasures.
Pause over a single word.
Ask the questions.
Wonder at the Gospel.
Explore the richness of Catholic theology.
Imagine yourself within the biblical story.
And, throughout it all, let us try to do something which the world around us so often makes difficult:
let us slow down and listen to God's Word.
May the Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes, bless us all as we continue to seek Him in His Word, in His Church and in our daily lives.
And may every journey through Sacred Scripture ultimately lead us to the same destination:
Jesus Christ.
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
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************For Our Lady Of Lourdes
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