Read the Bible

The late Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to read at least a few verses of the Bible every day (related Vatican News article HERE). This Pope even suggested you take a pocket Bible with you wherever you go. The entire New Testament can be found in this pint size. And both Testaments are as close as your smart phone since there are Bibles online as well, such as in the version offered by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops HERE: The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE). Even though Bible passages are read at every mass, the repeating cycle of the liturgy doesn’t cover all of the book. It makes a difference to read the Bible in sequence, and even more so when there are study notes.

I just finished reading through the whole Bible, New and Old Testaments, for the second time. The first time was very long ago and I didn’t use study notes. There are different versions of the Bible, such as the King James (KJV) and New International (NIV). This time, using the NABRE, I read all the notes along with the Bible verses.

It is humbling to realize the extent of Biblical expertise that the writers of the study notes have. However, scholars can disagree, change their minds, and sometimes be wrong. Therefore the notes are not on the same level as the Bible itself, and if they disagree with the reader's faith understanding, they can be investigated further by means of the many books and commentaries that deeply explore aspects of the Bible. In general, though, the notes help the reader learn about the Lord, the persons described, the relationship between New and Old Testaments, etc. The study Bibles often have maps of the  background settings. It’s worthwhile to have these, although you can look up maps on the internet if you don’t have them in your particular Bible. 

The Bible is a long book, and with the study notes it seems twice as long. But it is incomparable in delving into the most intriguing aspects of reality – the truth and yet mystery of God and how He relates to us humans.

Image link HERE.

Cardinal Consistory

Pope Leo XIV called an “Extraordinary Consistory” of Catholic Cardinals from all over the world for January 7-8 (link to the article with photo is HERE). This event was held for support and guidance for Leo for the direction of the Church. At first, there were four possible topics presented, summarized as Evangelization, Liturgy, Synodality, and the Roman Curia service to the local churches. Due to time constraints, these were reduced to two, as reported in the article:

By a “clear majority,” the roughly 170 cardinals gathered for the Extraordinary Consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV—the first of his pontificate—voted for “Synod and synodality” and “Evangelization and mission in the Church in the light of Evangelii gaudium” as the themes on which to reflect during these two days of work.

I was glad to see the focus starts with Evangelization and Synodality. Though the other topics are important, the method to gain cooperation between conflicting ideas and opinions comes before them. And Evangelization is of utmost importance to the Church. It’s encouraging to see Catholic Cardinals from around the world agreeing on these matters.

Another Vatican News webpage describes some thoughts shared by Pope Leo to the Cardinals during the Consistory Mass HERE.

Christmas 2025

May you have a blessed Christmas, whether celebrating it for many years or for the first time. I'm praying for all persons to see the truth of Jesus Christ. 

I'd also like to see all Christians, including myself, make every effort to love others as Christ asks. Help us to do so, Lord. 

Implementation

I had been following the Bishops’ Synod on Synodality 2021-2024, previously led by Pope Francis. In the first phase, The Consultation of the People of God, all Catholics, laypersons and leadership, were invited, in short, to communally discuss and pray about their concerns relating to the Catholic Church. The second phase of the Catholic Church’s Synodal process was the Discernment of the Pastors, composed of sessions which included meetings in Rome, mostly with Bishops but with others invited. I am thankful Pope Francis was able to complete this phase of his undertaking and issue a note with the final document (link HERE) that declares it part of the papal magisterium (more HERE).

I admit I had been under the wrong impression about the nomenclature of the phases when I gave links to the Synod website in the past. It seemed to me that the discussions and reports of all Catholics, started in 2021, and the following meetings in Rome, finished in 2024, were both part of the first Synod phase. This division of meetings is further complicated by the fact that Bishops met in Continental groups in between. Please forgive me if the descriptions I gave caused confusion, but anyone going to the Synod website can sort out each of the phases. In any case, though the dates “2021-2024” attached to the Synod title imply that the Synod had a limited scope, Pope Francis desired that the process of synodality be an ongoing undertaking for all members of the Church. I imagine he would have liked to stick around for further stages, but apparently God had other plans.

Nevertheless, our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, had been active in previous phases of synodality and is now presiding over the Synodal leadership, as shown in this post’s photo from an article in Vatican News HERE. This group is encouraging churches to follow through with the third phase of the Synod, known as the Implementation Phase, and has provided resources on the Synod site HERE.

Holy Spirit Knows Our Needs

It’s such an understatement to say a lot has happened since I last posted that I probably shouldn’t say it. Pope Francis died, Pope Leo XIV, born in Chicago USA, now reigns. I had been taking another break from writing for prayer and discernment when a family member became seriously ill and most of my time since then has been taken to attend to this matter.

During the mentioned illness, there were some very dire times. I often pray to God when I am simply at wit’s end about what to do. In more than a few of these situations which seem hopeless, answers come in such amazing ways, I have to conclude God was involved. In this case, He has done so again, and my relative is now better.

I ask myself why I am not therefore confident He will respond positively each time I ask. I guess it’s because in various cases, the solution can take a long time, or the answer is not what I desire. He can say no to requests but He still cares and supports. Frequently, especially when I'm being selfish, I later realize what I wanted was not as good as what God had planned. My attitude should be one of hope as I try to cope with challenges of my life.

In reflecting on the past few months, it was the times of deepest need when I most felt God leading me, perhaps because of the intense emotions involved. I believe He can and does guide us. The Holy Spirit, one in essence with God the Father and Jesus the Son, is given to those of us who believe in Jesus, as the Bible informs us (Romans 5:5). Right before this severe illness event, I had just read some sections from a book called, The Practice of the Presence of God, by a monk, Brother Lawrence. He asked for God’s grace to help him every day. I did the same and that helped me a lot.

In a related note, I have wanted to do Christian evangelization, but I don’t think I am doing a very good job of it, especially when it comes to personal encounters. I have written, but I’m not well-known or interacting with readers. I pray for the lost, but don’t have much personal contact with them. I’m not complaining about lack of fame—every person’s soul is important and reached in unique ways. I believe in the effectiveness of prayer, and I shouldn’t let the lack of feedback discourage me. Patience is not one of my strong points and I remind myself that we all have gifts to bring and should do our best to use them. Yet I wonder if I am fully doing my part.

While trying to help someone who was very sick, I saw the efforts made for those with physical illnesses, such as first responders, hospital staff, physical therapists, and others. I am even more aware today of those who need critical spiritual life support. The biggest danger for non-Christians is that they could die before they come to believe in Jesus Christ as God and Savior.

God could have created all humans to believe in Him, but He has given us free will to accept Him or not. He has called his believers to action, just as He is the ultimate Healer but uses doctors, nurses, and others to bring about physical health.

The Lord has answers for Christians who are evangelizing non-believers, just as He had answers for me when I thought all was hopeless for my sick relative. For those who have never heard the Gospel at all, the facts of Jesus Christ must be told to them. But also, for those who have rejected Him for whatever reasons, believers need to be keenly aware of the critical risk, pray for God’s help to cope with the situations, and move forward. I hope and pray that Christians, including myself, can follow the Holy Spirit to help people to their only way of spiritual health and ultimate happiness.

Bishops' Synod Final Document

 The sweeping XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Vatican Synod of Bishops 2021-2024 is completed and has produced its Final Document. This project started in 2021 by gathering comments from all aspects of Catholic Church membership, from laity to priests to men and women belonging to religious orders, as well as Bishops, and of course Pope Francis who initiated it.

 The links in various languages of the Final Document can be found on the website for the Synod at this page HERE. I don’t know if it will be available indefinitely at this web address, so you may want to download it soon if you are interested, even if you intend to read it later.

Bishops' Synod 2024

The second session of the Vatican Bishops’ Synod on Synodality 2021-2024 will be held Oct. 2 to Oct. 27, 2024. More information can be found at the Synod website HERE.