As for me, I am in the fourth week of the Spiritual Exercises (19th Annotation) of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Each day has a particular passage of scripture that I am to spend 30-45 minutes in prayer and reflection, including journaling. While my main, everyday bible translation continues to be the NRSV (I explained why here), I wanted to go with something more dynamic. Perhaps you are like me, in that I have a tendency to read through passages way too fast, particularly the ones I know well. As if I really knew these passages well...... So, to avoid that bit of spiritual arrogance and spurred on by an article by Msgr. M. Francis Mannion, I have been using The Message: Catholic/Ecumenical Edition each day as I pray and meditate on the selected passages. I have also decided to write, underline, and annotate in my paperback edition of The Message: Catholic/Ecumecinal Edition. I have found that the renderings of Peterson (and Griffin for the Deuterocanonicals) has allowed me to see these passages anew. I have not been so concerned about the exact word-for-word translation choices, but rather the message (no pun intended....or maybe it is intended) which is trying to be shared.
So, what are you up to? What bible are you using? What books are you reading? Feel free to share in the comment section of this post.
I wish you all a happy and blessed Lent!
