Synod on Bible: Internet is a Great Resource

Among the topics discussed at the recent world Synod of Bishops was the need for resources to help the clergy with preaching.

ROME (Zenit) - Among the topics discussed at the recent world Synod of Bishops was the need for resources to help the clergy with preaching and the faithful in general with scriptural-based prayer.

Many such resources are already available -- via Internet.
From homily packs, to Gospel-based meditations, to hints on pro-life preaching, a range of Web sites and e-mail services offer clergy and laity alike a chance to delve deeper into Scripture.

At the synod, whose theme was "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church," prelates voiced at length the need to make Scripture a stronger ingredient in preaching and praying.

Indicative was a plea by Bishop Vincent Ri Pyung-ho, of Jeonju, South Korea.

A summary of the sixth general congregation of the synod quoted the 67-year-old prelate as saying: "The Gospel text, 'Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart,' makes us realize that before pondering the Word of God, she learned it by heart, and pondering means that she repeated it in her heart for a long time until the meaning of it becomes clear.

"In this sense, she made her heart into a library of the Word. So, would it not be vital, first, to incorporate a certain amount of Bible 'by-hearting' in the formation program of the future and present priests? And second, to establish a concrete directory for a good biblical preaching for them?"

The importance of Scripture was also underlined by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz in an intervention at the world Synod of Bishops.

"We believe," a summary of the sixth general congregation quoted the archbishop of Krakow, Poland, as saying, "that the full truth about man's destiny is contained in the Word of God. The elementary problem lies in the fact that this Word needs fervent witnesses ready to share with others the truth that has changed their lives."

Among the Internet resources geared specifically to help priests prepare homilies is ePriest. That Web site offers weekly homily packs as well as articles and news for the ongoing formation of clergy.

Father Alex Yeung, a Legionary of Christ who helps oversee ePriest, told ZENIT earlier this year: "Electronic communication has proven to be an ideal medium for certain types of services that benefit priests. ... In a day when priests on the front lines of the mission are doing the work of three or four men, timeliness and practicality are of the essence."

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The ePriest site delivers weekly e-mails that include suggested "building blocks" for homilies.

A similar site, www.sacerdos.org, offers longer homiletic essays on the Sunday liturgy.

In the same vein, a U.S.-based movement, Priests for Life, provides an e-mail service to clergy that includes suggestions for drawing pro-life themes out of the Sunday readings for the homily. Subscriptions can be requested via clergy@priestsforlife.org.

To help foster the practice of "lectio divina," a contemplative praying of the Scriptures, the Carmelite order launched an Internet site with meditations for each Sunday of the liturgical year, in Cycles A-C. See http://www.ocarm.org/lectio/lecteng2.php.

Carmelite Father Anthony Cilia, who directed the site at its start, had told us, "'Lectio divina' online was born ultimately to answer the question: How can we communicate our Carmelite charism through the Internet, and at the same time evangelize people?"

The Vatican Congregation for Clergy also offers a Web site, http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerus/index_eng.html, which deals extensively with Scripture. The site includes a range of commentaries on Scripture from popes and Church Fathers.