A Child is Born

Those of you who enjoy reading comics and graphic novels should consider picking up Billy Tucci's A Child is Born. I received my copy a week ago, and have found many of the images to be quite fantastic. I am not a huge comic book guy, although I have collected a few over the years. This one-shot graphic novella of the birth of Jesus, according to Matthew and Luke, could be a great gift idea for a teenage boy (or girl) or young adult. Heck, I am 33 and like it, so it really is something that a person of any age could enjoy. The book is 32 pages long, and utilizes the KJV as the basis for the text.

There are a number of beautifully illustrated pages, but my favorites are found on pages 9 and 10, where Joseph approaches Mary after his dream in Matthew 1:20. Though we don't know exactly how Joseph approached Mary after the dream, Tucci does a remarkable job of showing the bond between the two, with little use of words. Tucci's illustration of Mary's facial expression and the posture of Joseph in this encounter is both touching and poignant. We see here the Holy Family truly coming together in their commitment to God and to each other.

Again, I highly recommend this book. An interview with Billy Tucci, who is Catholic, can be read here. We have talked about the New Evangelization here quite a bit recently, so I can't help but think that this comic book is an example of what is needed to engage the culture. More info on the book, include some sample pages, can be found at the Apostle Arts website.

The New Evangelization and the Bible Part 4

In some Protestant circles, this week is National Bible Week. I am not too sure, but I think this is the first that I have heard of this celebration. Is anybody else familiar with this? Either way, this does bring up an interesting set of questions which will serve as a conclusion to this series of posts on the New Evangelization and the Bible in the Church. So far, we have looked at what some recent Popes and biblical scholars have had to say about the role of the Bible in evangelization, along with a brief discussion on which translations would be the best to use. So, in light of National Bible Week, I would like to ask you these questions:

1) What scriptural materials or programs do you think work well in evangelizing people, particularly lapsed or inactive Catholics? (BTW, I hate the word "programs" in relation to ministry, but that is for another time.)

2) How does the New Media, particularly the internet, fit into this discussion? (I have in mind Brandon Vogt's book The Church and New Media: Blogging Converts, Online Activists, and Bishops Who Tweet and how that can relate to our topic of the Bible.)

3) What would you like to see the Church do to promote greater scriptural literacy?

The New Evangelization and the Bible Part 3

As we continue our look at the relationship between the New Evangelization and the Bible, I would like to turn to an article from Frank J. Matera, the Andrews Kelly Ryan Professor of Biblical Studies at the Catholic University of America. The article is found on the USCCB's Doctrine site, under the Intellectual Tasks section. You can read the whole article here. Below are two selections from this paper. The first assesses the current situation in the West where the Christian narrative is competing against others, both religious and secular. The second section comes from the end of the paper, where Matera makes three points about how Scripture can contribute to the New Evangelization:

"Consider for a moment why movies, literature, art, and pop culture are so important. On the one hand, they entertain us. But on the other, they are always telling us stories that capture our imagination. These stories are important because they help us to understand the story of our lives. And so, when we read novels, listen to music, look at art, or watch movies, we insert ourselves into the story world they create to understand something of the story of our life. Christianity has a compelling narrative inscribed into its architecture, music, and especially its Scriptures. But today we live in a world of competing narratives: secular stories as well as religious ones, narratives that de-construct meaning as well as narratives that create meaning. Whereas formerly Christianity could present its holy men and women as models to be imitated, today we live in a world that models itself after entertainers and sport figures; we live in a world of competing narratives, and all of them are vying for our allegiance."

and

"First, it reminds us that we must provide people with a narrative that will help them understand the story of their lives. We must provide them with a narrative that explains who they are, what God has done, and what God is doing. We must provide them with Scripture’s story that gives them a profound and abiding sense of hope. Second, the outline of this narrative is already found in the sacred texts we proclaim every week. But the narrative will only come alive if we understand and present it in a credible way. Our task, then, is to understand the narrative anew in light of our time and our place. Third, if we hope to proclaim the gospel in a world of competing narratives, we must proclaim a narrative that enables people to understand the full dimension of salvation: the salvation of the body as well as of the soul, the salvation of the community as well as of the individual, the salvation of creation as well as of humanity. In a word, we must proclaim a vision of salvation that includes the whole of God’s good creation."

The New Evangelization and the Bible Part 2

So, clearly, the Scriptures have an essential role in the New Evangelization. Here, in the United States, we Catholics have an ever increasing abundance of Bible editions and related materials to choose from that can be utilized for this task. I am not sure that has always been the case, but this has certainly changed in the last 10-15 years. That fact that a blog like this exists "where Catholics and other Christians can discuss Catholic Bible editions, study tools, and other issues concerning the Catholic faith" is a testament to the growth in Biblical awareness for Catholic Americans.

Now knowing that the call to a New Evangelization has as one of its main goals the reaching out to those who are either former Catholics or non-practicing ones, I ask you this question: What English Bible translation do you think best meets the need for this task? As we examine this question, we need to recognize that many of these people, though not all, have little or no regular encounter with the Holy Scriptures. What Bible translation do we evanglize with and which one do we encourage others to read? Why?

The New Evangelization and the Bible Part 1

Blessed Pope John Paul II, following the lead of Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi, called on the whole Church to be involved in a New Evangelization leading up to the Millennium year of 2000. In his encyclical letter Redemptoris Missio, JPII declared that "the moment has come to commit all of the Church's energies to a new evangelization and to the mission ad gentes. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples(2-3)." This is quite a charge, and one that needs to be heeded, particularly in the West.

Following the lead of his venerable predecessors, Pope Benedict has recently declared that October 11, 2012 will begin a "Year of Faith". It will mark not only the fifty year anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, but also the Synod of Bishops meeting on the New Evangelization.

So, my question to you is what role do the Holy Scriptures have in the New Evangelization?

Here is what Blessed John Paul II said in this regard, in paragraph 39 of his wonderful apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte:

"There is no doubt that this primacy of holiness and prayer is inconceivable without a renewed listening to the word of God. Ever since the Second Vatican Council underlined the pre-eminent role of the word of God in the life of the Church, great progress has certainly been made in devout listening to Sacred Scripture and attentive study of it. Scripture has its rightful place of honour in the public prayer of the Church. Individuals and communities now make extensive use of the Bible, and among lay people there are many who devote themselves to Scripture with the valuable help of theological and biblical studies. But it is above all the work of evangelization and catechesis which is drawing new life from attentiveness to the word of God. Dear brothers and sisters, this development needs to be consolidated and deepened, also by making sure that every family has a Bible. It is especially necessary that listening to the word of God should become a life-giving encounter, in the ancient and ever valid tradition of lectio divina, which draws from the biblical text the living word which questions, directs and shapes our lives."

More recently, Pope Benedict XVI in his recent post-synodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini (96) remarked:

"Pope John Paul II, taking up the prophetic words of Pope Paul VI in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, had in a variety of ways reminded the faithful of the need for a new missionary season for the entire people of God. At the dawn of the third millennium not only are there still many peoples who have not come to know the Good News, but also a great many Christians who need to have the word of God once more persuasively proclaimed to them, so that they can concretely experience the power of the Gospel. Many of our brothers and sisters are “baptized, but insufficiently evangelized”. In a number of cases, nations once rich in faith and in vocations are losing their identity under the influence of a secularized culture. The need for a new evangelization, so deeply felt by my venerable Predecessor, must be valiantly reaffirmed, in the certainty that God’s word is effective. The Church, sure of her Lord’s fidelity, never tires of proclaiming the good news of the Gospel and invites all Christians to discover anew the attraction of following Christ."

The use of Scripture in our daily prayer is essential, but how are we to use Scripture in the active evangelization of our culture?