Bible Sunday - 2018

Today, in our Diocese of Hamilton, our bishop has established this to be the First Annual Bible Sunday. The goal of this observance is to encourage the reading, study, and spiritual use of scripture in our daily lives. Some may remember a time not long ago when Catholics were not encouraged to engage the bible on their own; largely because of the way Protestants used scripture to justify and endorse their separation from the Church. But that was to change when on the feast of St. Jerome (Sept. 30, 1943), Pope Pius XII issued his encyclical entitled “The Most Opportune Way to Promote Biblical Studies,” Divino Afflante Spiritu (literally, “Inspired by the Divine Spirit”). Catholic biblical scholars were given direction on how to engage in what was known as the "historical-critical method" of scriptural investigation. New translations of the bible into contemporary vernacular languages were made and Catholics were encouraged to read and study the bible. Here is a link to and article that appeared in America Magazine, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Pope Pius' encyclical. [... LINK ...]

.