My dear people of God in the Archdiocese of Manila,
When people are in the dark, they need light. When people are weak, they need strength. We are in the dark. We do not know when this pandemic will be over and what will happen to us and to our world after this. We are weak. Do we still have the strength to carry on in this way for two more weeks, and perhaps longer? We need light. We need strength. We identify with the Psalmist: “My heart shudders, my strength forsakes me; the very light of my eyes has failed”
(Ps. 38:11). The Word of God in the Bible provides light and strength.
The Bible gives us light because it points Jesus to us. He said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). Because Jesus is our Rock we can say with St. Paul: “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” (Phil. 4:13).
The Bible is such a great gift of God and gives us a lot of spiritual benefits that the Church attaches a plenary indulgence to it whenever we read it in a prayerful way for at least 30 minutes.
We all wanted to read the Bible, but somehow the busy lives that we led prevented us from doing so. We had no time. Now suddenly, in these quarantine weeks, we have time, a lot of time! In fact we are considering how we can spend our time meaningfully at home. We do not want to squander this rare commodity that we have now.
Take time to read the Bible. You will never regret the time you give to be in touch with God by reading his Word. Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “The disciples in a certain sense become drawn into intimacy with God by being immersed in the word of God” (Verbum Domini #80).
How to immerse ourselves in the Word of God in the Bible? For more than 1500 years we Christians have developed a simple but effective way to do this. We call this Lectio Divina. It is a prayerful and spiritual way of reading the Bible. With time in our hands, we can try this out daily until it becomes a habit.
Take a biblical text, say the Bible reading of the day. Read it slowly, paying attention to each word. Read it several times, and as you read, ask yourself the question: What do these words say? You can stay on this, reading the passage three, five or even seven times. You then close the Bible and meditate on what you have read, asking the question: What does this passage say to me? When you are able to say in a sentence or two the meaning of the text for you, turn to God and pray. The message is God’s word for you and your prayer is your answer to God.
This prayer answers the question: How does this Bible passage lead me to address God? Your prayer may be a prayer of praise, or thanksgiving, or petition, or contrition – depending on how God spoke to you in the text.
After having prayed, now keep silent. Contemplate. It is creating a space of deep awareness of God’s presence. Just open yourself to him. Finally, reflect and answer this question: What does God ask me to do today? This is the action part. The Word of God leads us to action.
Read. Meditate. Pray. Contemplate. Act. These are the simple steps to read the Bible in a prayerful way. It can be done approximately between 30 minutes to 45 minutes depending on how long is the passage you have chosen.
The Word of God is very appropriate in our situation. Not only do we have the time. We need light to understand our state, and strength, to hang on in the face of boredom and weakness, especially for the sick. Again Pope Benedict tells us:
“It is in times of pain that the ultimate questions about the meaning of one’s life make themselves acutely felt… Faith born out of an encounter with God’s word helps us to realize that human life deserves to be lived fully even when weakened by illness and pain”(Verbum Domini #106).
Let us not be afraid of the silence we are now in. In fact, it is the opportunity to tap on the treasure of God’s Word. “Only in silence can the word of God find a home in us, as it did in Mary, woman of the word and, inseparably, woman of silence” (Verbum Domini #66).
Yours truly in Jesus Christ,
+ BRODERICK PABILLO
Apostolic Administrator of Manila
28 March 2020
