I am! Everyday. About 28 minutes a day. Since Ash Wednesday. Along with some 155,000 English and Spanish-speaking adults, youth and children in over 108 parishes across the Archdiocese of San Antonio in addition to 4,200 people in six parishes joining us before Lent is over, another parish during the Easter Season, two this summer, and at least one next Advent. I’m loving it! And so are dozens of people I talk to everyday from as far west as Del Rio and as far east as Nixon … as far north as Fredericksburg and as far south as Kenedy.
What are we talking about? What are we listening to? We are talking about listening to the entire New Testament in just 40 days. Yes, we are listening for about 28 minutes a day to several chapters of the New Testament from the New American Bible, recorded on the free MP3-formatted CDs that participating parishes ordered and distributed when we launched the You’ve Got The Time listening program this past Ash Wednesday. Some people are listening on their vehicle’s CD player, if it reads MP3 files; some people are listening to the MP3-formatted CD on their DVD player, a CD player, or on their home or office computer.
Others are listening on portable MP3 players, such as iPods and some cell phones; while others are listening to the New Testament on Catholic radio at 89.7 FM and www.grnonline.comafter the 3 p.m. Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the 10 p.m. rosary — or in Spanish at 2:30 p.m. on 1380 AM.
I am listening every morning as I wake up and enjoy my breakfast, oftentimes stopping to listen to a certain passage a second time, sometimes reading along from my New American Bible, doing some Lectio Divina when time allows, that is, stopping to slowly re-read a passage that strikes me, meditating on what the text says and what the Lord is saying to me, praying about that, and, finally, contemplating God and simply basking in his loving presence.
So far, for me it has been a very enriching experience. It is bringing back great memories of the first time I was exposed to the power of the New Testament when I read it at the age of 14 and, as a result, committed my life to Christ as Lord at the age of 15 and began my lifelong journey of conversion and discipleship.
It also has been quite moving to see the excitement of young and old as they too spend time “in the word,” hearing about the marvelous things Christ has done for us, finding in the written word of God new insights and direction for their lives, in preparation for the celebration of the greatest mysteries of our faith this coming Easter Triduum, namely, the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord.
It’s so exciting that it’s hard to keep to oneself! In fact, I just had to tell my mail carrier and a neighbor about it and gave them each a free CD! Just four days into our Lenten launch of the program — having heard almost the entire Gospel according to St. Matthew — I noticed that my mail carrier was listening to what sounded like Christian music as she placed mail in my mailbox, so I asked her: “Is that Gospel music you are listening to?” “Sure is!” she replied. “On an MP3 player?” “No, on my cell phone,” she said as she pulled her flip phone out of a pocket. “My daughter loads music onto it for me.” So, evangelist that I am, I asked her: “Would you be interested in listening to the entire New Testament on your phone?” “I sure would,” she said with a smile.
As I was about to walk over to my car to get a CD for her, I noticed an elderly neighbor who had come over to speak to the mail carrier and had heard our conversation. “Would you be interested in a CD too?” I asked. “I would like that very much,” she said, adding: “I can listen to MP3 CDs on my DVD player.” So I happily got two CDs and gave one to each of them. That’s what we Catholics do: we are always ready and willing to create opportunities to share the word that is transforming our lives!
Unfortunately, some people continue to believe that Catholics are not interested in the Bible, and that the Catholic Church discourages personal reading and study of sacred Scripture.
Nothing could be further from the truth! The evidence in our archdiocese points precisely to the opposite: we see a tremendous and growing interest in hearing, praying with, learning, loving, living, and sharing the good news found in sacred Scripture. The numbers speak for themselves:
The number of parishes and people currently participating in — and still signing up for — the “You’ve Got The Time New Testament Listening Program;”
The number of people attending our scriptural evenings of prayer: “Lectio Divina, A Lenten Pilgrimage with the Word of God” held on Wednesdays of Lent from 7-8:30 p.m. (March 10: St. Leonard Church; March 17: St. Mary Magdalen Church; and March 24: Resurrection of the Lord Church);
The number of people that attend The Great Adventure Bible Study System seminars with Jeff Cavins every year (St. Matthew Church: free talk on May 14 and $35 Bible Seminar on May 15);
The number of parishes that start new Bible Study groups thereafter and the number of people in current parish Bible Study groups. (For a Bible Study group near you, contact the Office for Evangelization:
www.archsa.org/Evangelization, 210.734.1990);
The number of people who attend daily Mass to be fed at both “the table of the word” and “the table of the bread of the Lord,” the Eucharist, each day.
As for the Catholic Church’s commitment to divine revelation in sacred Scripture, the deliberations and conclusions of the 2008 Synod of Bishops on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church” clearly point to the fact that we are and will always be a Bible-believing church, one that continues to urge all its members and the world at large to make sacred Scripture a guiding force for daily life. The word of God can change our lives and our world! So as our Archdiocesan Bible Initiatives logo states: Hear it. Pray it. Learn it. Love it. Live it. Share it.
Those who have been listening daily to the New Testament since Ash Wednesday have listened to all four Gospels by now and are close to finishing the Acts of the Apostles. If you have fallen behind or haven’t even begun, get on it! With a little extra effort, you can still complete the entire New Testament before Easter. This reminds me of Mrs. Kay, a dear friend’s mother, Mama Kay, who decided one Lent that she would read the entire New Testament before Easter Sunday arrived. She read a few chapters daily, but she fell behind. So she spent all day Holy Saturday finishing the entire New Testament! Easter Sunday came and she had a glorious celebration. Easter Monday came and she was found dead in her home. Suddenly … unexpectedly … but very well prepared for her master’s return! Though I do not wish anyone of you to die on Easter Monday, I am full aware that Jesus himself says that we know neither the day nor the hour of our face-to-face encounter with him, so we need to be ready at all times. It’s never too late to start and to finish a good thing! So, catch up with us and let the word of God change your life from the inside out.
Daily chapters and reflection questions available at: www.archsa.org/Evangelization/documents/DailyScripturesandReflectionQuestions.pdf.
Martha Fernández-Sardina is director of the archdiocesan Office for Evangelization.