Ascension's The Great Adventure Catholic Bible: Preliminary Thoughts

I can remember being drawn to the Bible again and again and reading it at different phases in life with memories back to childhood; nonetheless, I do not ever remember having much guidance on how to read and understand the Bible well until recently. When I heard about the Salvation History narrative on a Symbolon session a few years ago, I was fascinated. A video by Fr. Josh Johnson also contributed to a recognition of the value of Scriptures. Listening to homilies at Mass daily after having read and reflected on the readings was also of great benefit.

I have a longing to get a Master's in Theology with a layer of that desire linking to wanting a better foundation in Sacred Scriptures; however, that seems to be something to wait patiently for, rather than something that is intended to be a yes in this moment of my life (a September 2018 Catholic Digest article titled "Going Back to School Later in Life" provided consolation in the waiting). In the meantime, I am grateful for other avenues to develop and deepen my interactions with Scripture.

Last weekend I received my copy of Ascension's new The Great Adventure Catholic Bible. The release of their version of the Bible came at a perfect time because I had already been planning on dedicating a specific block of time on the Bible this academic year. Building on my existing practice of starting the day with daily readings, I was looking forward to consistent, intentional general Bible reading.

Right before preparing to go back to work, Ascension started to promote the upcoming release. I have heard about the Bible Timeline but have not had any first hand experience other than having purchased The Bible Timeline chart. I loved it for the same reason that I appreciated the Symbolon session - it helped to have a better sense for the big picture and connections between different sections.

I am so excited to have the timeline integrated right into a version of the Bible providing guidance along the way. There is an introduction to the concept of the timeline, followed by an overview of the full timeline at a glance. Then before each key period represented in the Bible further explanation about the periods is incorporated. There is also a reading plan to read the fourteen books that provide the overarching narrative across the Old and New Testaments in three months.

As a teacher educator with a focus on reading and writing methods, I have been thinking about how what I know about literacy can help support me as I seek to better understand the Bible. Naturally, I loved the sections on How to Interpret the Bible and Lectio Divina in this Bible. They complemented the Symbolon session I loved so much (not surprising since Dr. Mary Healy, one of the editors of The Great American Catholic Bible, participates in an interview with Dr. Edward Sri in the Symbolon session).

In addition, there are aesthetic aspects that I love about this Bible. Blue is my favorite color, and the cover and pages have a soft feeling. Even just thinking about sitting in my quiet church coupled with the feel of the Bible and power of the words makes me feel a sense of peace. The font is easy to read with plenty of white space in between the rows of text, and in the Gospels, I love that Jesus' words are in red. I appreciate Bibles that have tabs on the edge of pages to easily navigate between different books of the Bible, but this one is even better because each tab is color coded to align with the timeline concept.

I am looking forward to this extra time dedicated to Sacred Scripture, and I know that having this version of the Bible will enhance that experience. I am grateful to the editors, Jeff Cavins, Mary Healy, Andrew Swafford, and Peter Williamson for all of the thought put into how this Bible was crafted with aiding people in understanding.

I am hoping that before too long there will be a Spanish version since they have the timeline resources available in Spanish. If they do provide it in Spanish, I will be very excited to get a copy for my husband so that we can better experience all that the Bible and this specific version of it have to offer.

Plans and Priorities: Routines for this Season

 

I recently went back to work (after maternity leave for my 5th baby late spring term and summer vacation), and it is now back to school time for my three oldest. With a new school year comes re-envisioning plans and priorities for this season of life. I am focusing on gratitude for what is and celebrating the context of different layers of my life, leveraging what is as I continue to work towards proper prioritization. 

Re-start: 5 am Prayer & 40 Weeks Sacred Story Prayers

After having my baby, along the way my practice of waking up at 5 am slipped. Throughout the summer I still typically read the daily readings upon waking and daily Mass continued as a core part of my day, but I missed this space for prayer waking up before anyone else in the quiet of my home. It's time to get my body used to waking up early again. It will still be a phase of knowing that it will be flexible depending on whether I am nursing/holding my baby or not (or if I have had a particularly sleepless night, I might set the alarm back). 

I used to do my 15 minutes related to 40 Weeks as part of my 5 am waking up. Then towards the end of my pregnancy, it seemed like I was not able to focus as well at that time and often felt like I was falling back to sleep once I switched from daily readings to my 15 minutes. At that time I shifted to typically doing my 15 minutes before or after daily Mass. I was still able to complete my 15 minutes of prayer specific to the sacred story process for the most part after my baby was born and throughout the summer, but my journaling practices stopped based on often holding my baby. The last couple of weeks, just as I was getting ready to transition back to work/the first little bit of work (and right as I was at about week 39 in the book), I have barely been doing the 15 minute sessions. I have not decided yet how I am going to layer this back in. I did end up getting a paper copy of the book recently (rather than just on my Kindle), and it was right when the 2nd edition was available. The physical copy is going to make it easier to refer back to certain parts of the book as I revisit and re-integrate this back in. 

Possibilities in the Present Moment: Mass & Scriptures

I am currently in a phase of about 5 weeks without access to daily Mass, but once it is available again at our parish, I will be in an academic year of going to daily Mass on my own after a year of attending with my 4 year old before taking her to preschool and then with the baby while on maternity leave. I will savor that extra space and time to enter more deeply into prayer. The Eucharist is sure to continue to be an anchor. 

This season of life is also about not being in an active role in ministry for now. It was hard to actually follow through with letting go, but one of the layers of being grateful for what is related to this phase of life is knowing that I will be able to prioritize some focused time with Scripture. I recently started a book I bought earlier this summer (I'm loving it), and just today I received my copy of Ascension Press' new The Great Adventure Catholic Bible (especially excited for this one and will write more about my preliminary thoughts about it soon).