 The Catholic Church’s devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus flows from a wellspring of revelations given to a known-yet-unknown saint named St. Gertrude of Helfta or St. Gertrude the Great. We do not have a lot of biographical information about Gertrude’s pre-Benedictine Abbey years. Some speculate that her parents offered her to the convent as a pious sacrifice and others note that Gertrude mentions her parents died when she was very young. She might have been an orphaned child who was taken in by the nuns of the abbey in Helfta along with her sister Mechtilda. Life was very different in the late 1200’s, no doubt, and so this would have been a way for the Church to care for and educate the young.
Gertrude grew up in the Abbey of Helfta and entered a life of scholarship with great rigor along with a life immersed in Catholic prayer and devotion. She loved to read the Sacred Scriptures and the early Church Fathers. These works shaped her theology and her spirituality. She was, to put it bluntly, a genius. And that genius found itself in a predicament in her mid-20's. For a short interval of time Gertrude found herself questioning her desires, pursuits, and calling to the Benedictine convent. Did she wonder about the world “out there” and if she’d missed out on life? Was this a vocational crisis for one who would eventually be made Abbess? We can only speculate from what we relate, but we know a darkness brewed around her mind and heart. Formed by prayer and learning, she turned to Jesus Christ seeking an answer. It was in that time that Jesus first started to appear to Gertrude and speak to her heart more clearly. Through those revelations she grew confident in the love Jesus had particularly for her. That mercy of Jesus – a divine mercy that flowed forth from his Sacred Heart – shaped the rest of Gertrude’s days. She shifted away from whatever worldly studies captured her heart and sought the will of God alone, in literally every aspect of her day. We can thank St. Gertrude, St. Mechtilda, and the abbey in Helfta for the Church’s devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This devotion to Jesus’ mercy would, likewise, inspire other saints we know and love who devoted themselves to the Heart of Jesus, like Saint Fraustina. Each of these saints drew from the same source, Jesus. But, when it comes to laying the foundation for piety and devotion to the Sacred Heart, we can praise God in a particular way for His ministry in, with, and through Gertrude the Great. Saint Gertrude is known for her devotional prayer for souls in purgatory. It is a beautiful prayer wherein one can see a link to the revelation Jesus gave to Fraustina for the Divine Mercy Chaplet’s prayer to God the Father. When it comes to our entrance into these last days of Lent, I hope that the intercession of Saint Gertrude will help us keep the eyes of our hearts on Jesus’ own Sacred Heart. Gertrude placed a radical confidence in his mercy that inspires us to this day. She immersed every mistake, sin, and victory within the fires of Jesus’ heart with boldness. No matter how our Lent seems to have gone, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to commend it into the Sacred Heart of Jesus and ask St. Gertrude the Great to help teach us how to do that.  Jesus Healing the Blind Man
Painted by Brian Jekel (born 1951) Oil on Canvas, Painted in 2008 Copyright Brian Sekel Artist  So, you bought your Bible. You have it in hand. It’s been placed next to your comfy chair. And, now, you are ready to enter into the reading of the Bible. Where to start? What to do? How? Below are some pointers on starting to read the Bible. PLEASE NOTE: This is just some advice from a young Catholic priest who is not an expert in anything. Cheers!
WHERE TO START If you’ve never read the Bible outside of PSR, RCIA, or listening to the Scriptures during Mass, then you might feel intimidated. It’s a library of many books in one Book and so much of the Scriptures originate in times and places foreign to our time and place. God desires to speak to us in real and tangible ways, for example, through Jesus Christ. God also desires to have His word preserved for us, and so we have the Scriptures. Even though some spots are difficult, seem remote from our own life, it is inspired by the Holy Spirit and can pierce our lives with the living Word of God. Some people might want to go from Genesis to Revelation. And that isn’t a bad idea. But I would suggest taking another route: Start with the New Testament, the Gospels in particular. Remember, we’re not trying to “finish” reading the Bible. We are going to be making the Bible a part of our daily life. That means we do not need to “get through the Bible” from start to finish. There’s no “finish.” If you’ve not spent a lot of time with the Bible, start with the person who Saved you: the Gospels. Which one? START WITH THE GOSPELS Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the Gospels. It packs a punch. Mark moved the story along with miracle after miracle, pepper in some solid teaching, then pump the breaks and join Jesus along his Way of the Cross, end with a quick Resurrection account and BAM go out and spread the Gospel by word and miracles. That’s a very quick and poor summary of Mark. I would suggest starting with Mark not only because it’s the shortest, but because Matthew and Luke followed Mark’s Gospel very closely when writing their own. Mark became the pattern of the Gospel as we have it written down today. Mark is considered the earliest of the Gospels, so we are also getting a very early account of Jesus Christ. Many scholars believe that Mark’s Gospel was read in the catacombs, at night, during the Easter Vigil, in its entirety, to those being baptized in Rome. Mark’s Gospel is, therefore, meant to be a powerful summary of the message of Jesus Christ. There you have it. Start with Mark and let it flow where you will from there. HOW Some people learned to speed read and find it hard to slow down. I would suggest trying to slow down, though, when it comes to the Scriptures. Every word matters. Every story is a wellspring of insight, revelation, and grace. When you’re reading the Bible, think in terms of encounter rather than in terms of memorizing for a test. When you encounter something that moves your heart in some way, like towards conversion, joy, peace, confusion, pondering, meditation, etc., don’t rush through that moment. If a particular story or verse or verses “strike” you deeply, then simmer with that for a while. Pray with the Scriptures as you study the Scriptures. God is speaking to you through your prayerful reading of the Scriptures. PRAYER One of the best ways to pray with Scripture is called Lectio Divina, which simply means Divine/Holy/Sacred Reading. Click on this link for a helpful guide to start Lectio Divina. STUDY One helpful way to study is to first recognize that you have time to sit with and ponder the Scriptures. We aren’t in a rush to “figure out” God’s word, because we are seeking an encounter over a passing grade on a test. That being said, your Bible might have footnotes and references to different parts of Scripture that will help unpack passages. A first step in study is to familiarize yourself with the layout of your Bible and its own particular system for references and notes. There are a myriad number of websites to go to and a ton of commentaries. So much can be helpful, but some can be misleading, especially if the authors have a particular “take” they’d prefer you to have on the passage. Be aware. Don’t be naïve. And pray through the study you do. A particular commentary I use is called The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. I find it to be a great resource and I suggest it for the Bible study at SS. Edward & Lucy for interested parties. Here’s a link to their website: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. WRITE IN YOUR BIBLE For some this will seem like a bad thing to do, but I use erasable pens while reading, praying with, and studying my Bible. I underline passages I like. I make my own notations. I draw out different connections I see. And, sometimes, I even write out different quotes or verses that move me in particular. The ink on the page is meant to draw us into the Word and writing in the Bible is a way of dialoguing with the text so that we can ultimately dialogue with the Word who personally inspired the text. If you are way to uncomfortable with writing in your Bible, perhaps having a notebook nearby will help, too. As I said, this is just Fr. Jacob’s rant about Bible reading. FELLOWSHIP The original context for the Bible is actually within the family, Temple, synagogue, and church. It’s interesting to note that there is a communal element to each of the books of the Bible. The Bible is meant to be read in community in a prayerful manner. Studying the Bible with others can be a beautiful way to enter more deeply into God’s word. Joining a Bible study can be helpful. But you do not need to join an official Bible study. If you have another person or a small group of people in your life who are willing to pray together and study the Bible together, then take advantage of that. You can help support one another, pray with one another, and get familiar with the Bible together. LASTLY: ATTITUDE Like anything, our heart-set will determine a lot when studying the Bible. If you study in order to argue, you’ll miss out on the finer notes of God’s word. If you pray with the Scriptures in order to pat yourself on the back and never change, then that’s what will happen. BUT, if you approach the word with a reverent and joyful heart, one docile to the move of the Holy Spirit, then the Word of God will console you, challenge you, draw you away from sin, change your outlook and worldview, and unite you with the Trinity and the Church in beautiful ways. ENCOURAGEMENT You. Can. Do. This. Have fun! |
AuthorFr. Jacob Bearer is a Catholic priest. He's about 6' to 6'4'' tall depending on which Convenient Store he's exiting. Although he enjoys kidney beans in chili, Fr. Jacob does not like baked beans and counts this as one of the toughest blotches on his character. He's been the administrator of SS. Edward's and Lucy's since January of 2022. Thank God for the Hatchery...this is a place where the author can share thoughts and ideas that don't quite seem right for the bulletin and won't exactly make for a homily (except for the times when the homily is posted with a sound file or used for a blog post). God bless you...and the hatchery. Archives
March 2023
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