1. A Bible in the hand is worth two in the bookcase. 
 2. Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them.
 
 3. The Bible was given to us to tell us how we can get to heaven, not to tell us how the heavens work.
 
 4. "Most people are troubled by those passages of Scripture which they cannot understand; but as for me, I have always noticed that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand." - Mark Twain
 
 5.  "The Devil is not afraid of the Bible that has dust on it"
 
 6.  "The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or will be known in the world." - Charles Dickens
 
 7. “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” ― Ronald Reagan
 
 8. “If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.” ― Augustine of Hippo
 
 9. “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”  -  Charles H. Spurgeon
 
 10.  We were given the Scriptures to humble us into realizing that God is right, and the rest of us are just guessing.” ― Rich Mullins

• What if we carried it around in our pockets or purses?
• What if we flipped through it several times a day?  
• What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
• What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
• What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
• What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
• What if we used it when we traveled?
• What if we used it in case of emergency?

Option 1
 1. Take a moment to quiet yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to open the Word of God for you.
 
 2. Slowly begin to read the passage of Scripture until something strikes you. Begin to read that passage over and over again for about 5 to 10 minutes. Ask yourself “what are you feeling?” “what is God telling you in this passage?” and “how does this passage apply to your life?”
 
 3. Take time to write down the passage in a journal and comprise a little prayer asking God to help you carry this insight with you throughout the day.
 
 Option 2
 1. Take a moment to quiet yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to open the Word of God for you.
 
 2. Slowly begin to read the passage of Scripture imagining yourself in the Biblical scene. Try to get into the detail of the scene for example what is the weather like, how does the sand feel, etc.
 
 3. What about being in the scene drives you to act? How are the other characters acting?
 
 4. Compose a small prayer asking God to proclaim his love to the world.

10 Questions for Getting the Most Out of Scripture
 1. What was the intent of the human author in writing this passage?
 
 2. What would the intended reader being thinking after reading this passage?
 
 3. What in the passage seems shocking, contrary to our sinful human thinking?
 
 4. If it is a story imagine yourself (honestly), what would you have done if you had been there? How does that compare to what you would have like to done? If there is a difference between the two how could you bridge the gap?
 
 5. How does the image of God portrayed in the passage differ from your image of God? How can you reconcile them? Be careful not to limit God by your image of him.
 
 6. What is the historical context of the passage?
 
 7. Can you see parallels of the Scripture Passage with stories from your own life?
 
 8. What do you think God is trying to say to you? To others? To the world?
 
 9. What things are you going to change in your life now that you have read this passage?
 
 10. Where can I go now to get more information?

The following suggestions come from a series of Bible Study Books from Ignatius Press called: Six Weeks with the Bible. It is a series of books that I highly recommend. My bible study group has been using the series for over two years.
 Suggestions for Bible Discussion Groups
 Like a camping trip, a Bible discussion group works best if you agree on where you’re going and how you intend to get there. Many groups use their first meeting to talk over such questions. Here is a check list of issues, with bits of advice from people who have experience in Bible discussions. (A planning discussion will go more smoothly if the leaders have though through the following issues beforehand).
 
 Agree on your purpose.
 Are you getting together to gain wisdom and direction in your lives? To finally get acquainted with the Bible? To support one another in following Christ? To encourage those who are exploring –or re-exploring--the Church?
 
 Agree on Attitudes
 For example: “We’re all beginners here.” “We’re here to help one another understand and respond to God’s word.” “We’re not here to offer counseling or direction to one another.” “We want to read Scripture prayerfully.” What do you wish to emphasize? Make it explicit!
 
 Agree on Ground Rules.
 Barbara J. Fleischer, in her book: Facilitating for Growth, recommends that a group clearly state its approach to the following:
 1. Preparation: Do we agree to read the material and prepare the answers to the questions before each meeting?
 
 2. Attendance: What kind of priority will we give to our meetings?
 
 3. Self-Revelation: Are we willing to help the others in the group gradually get to know us—our weaknesses as well as our strengths, our needs as well as our gifts?
 
 4. Listening: Will we commit ourselves to listening to each other?
 
 5. Confidentiality: Will we keep everything that is shared with the group in the group?
 
 6. Discretion: Will we refrain from sharing about faults and sins of people who are not in the group?
 
 7. Encouragement: Will we give each person time and opportunity to make a contribution?
 
 You could probably take a pen and draw a circle around listening and confidentiality. Those two points are especially important.
 
 The following items could be added to Fleischer’s list:
 1. Relationship with parish. Is our group part of the adult faith formation program? Independent but operating with the expressed approval of the pastor? Not a parish-based program?
 
 2. New members. Will we let new members join us once we have begun the six weeks of discussion?
 
 3. When will we meet?
 
 4. How often will we meet? Meeting weekly or every other week is best if you can manage it. William Riley remarks, “Meeting once a month are too distant from each other for the threads of the last session not to be lost” (The Bible Study Group: An Owner’s Manual)
 
 5. How long will meetings run?
 
 6. Where will meetings meet?
 
 7. Is there any setup needed? Christine Dodd writes that “the problem with meeting in a place like a church hall is that it can be very soul-destroying” given the cold, impersonal feel of many church facilities. If you have to meet in a church facility, Dodd recommends doing something to make the area homey (Making Scripture work)
 
 8. Who will host the meetings? Leaders and hosts are not necessarily the same people.
 
 9. Will we have refreshments? Who will provide them?
 
 10. What about childcare? Most experienced leaders of Bible discussion groups discourage brinigng infants or other children to adult Bible discussions?
 
 Agree on Leadership
 You need someone to facilitate—to keep the discussion on track, to see that everyone has a chance to speak, to help the group stay on schedule. Rena Duff, editor of the newsletter Sharing God’s Word Today, recommends having two or three people take turns leading the discussion.
 
 It is okay if the leader is not an expert on the Bible. You have this booklet, and if questions come up that no one can answer, you can delegate a participant to do a little research between meetings. It’s important for the leader to set the example of listening, to draw out the quieter members (and occasionally restrain the more vocal ones), to move the group on when it gets stuck, to remind others of their agreements, and to summarize what the group is accomplishing.
 
 Bible discussion is an opportunity to experience the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am among them” (Mathew 18:20). Put your discussion group in Jesus’ hands. Pray for the guidance of the Spirit. And have a great time exploring God’s word together!

Steps for Lectio Divina 1. Take a Scripture passage on the theme of call, covenant, mission, or some other theme. It is helpful for each person to have their own copy of the passage. (See suggested Scripture passages)
 
 2. Give everyone time to read the passage silently, slowly, reflectively.
 
 3. As you read, underline any word or phrase which particularly strikes you.
 
 4. After everyone has finished reading, ask each person to share with the group the word or phrase which most struck them. (No elaboration at this point—just state the word or phrase.)
 
 5. Next, go around the group and have each person tell why this particular word or phrase struck them—what it was within their own experience that responded to this particular word or phase.
 
 6. Go around the group again asking each person, or just those who volunteer, to say what significance these insights might have for the group or for themselves.
 
 7. Finally, after a brief period of silent reflection upon what has been shared, ask each person to “gather up” in a prayer of praise, gratitude or petition, the thoughts or sentiments flowing from the shared faith experience.
 
 8. Pray together the closing prayer for vocations.
 
 Suggested Scripture Passages
 Genesis 12:14; 15:6
 Jeremiah 1:4-10, 17-19; 15:10-21
 Exodus 3:11-12
 Amos 7:15
 Deuteronomy 29:3
 Mark 1:16-20
 1 Samuel 3:1-10
 Luke 5:1-11; 9:57-60; 12:49-53
 1 Kings 19:9-21
 John 1: 35-51
 Isaiah 6:1-8
 2 Timothy 1:6-13
 Acts 9:1-19; 13:2-3; 16:9-10; 22:6-21;26:12-19
 1 Thessalonians 5:11
 Compliments of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry

For the last two and half years, I have been blest by the opportunity o attend a three weeks a year, three year program facilitated by the Institute of Priestly Formation concerning Contemplative Spiritual Direction. I have learned so much about prayer through this program that my relationship with God has never been stronger. I have also realized how much that I did not know about prayer despite the fact that I was blest to have nine years of seminary training under my belt. I know that there are many people out there who desire to pray but because of a lack of knowledge often find it a fruitless and useless experience. Over the next two months, I would like to devote my Spiritual Ponderings toward the topic of prayer. This week and next week, I will focus on some topics concerning prayer and then for the next seven weeks I would like to focus on St. Ignatius’s rules of spiritual discernment. 
 1. Acknowledge – Relate – Receive – Respond (A.R.R.R.)
 I would like to start these reflections on prayer by inviting to you to simply pray and read over the Sunday Gospel and while doing so open yourself up to this process that the Institute of Priestly Formation (in bold) lays before us as a method of prayer: 
 
 You have sat with God’s Word. You have entered into the scene. Now, once you feel God is saying something to you, acknowledge what stirs within you. Pay attention to your thoughts, feelings, and desires. These are important.
 
 Once you’ve acknowledged what’s going on inside your heart, relate this to God. Don’t just think about what’s going on. Don’t simply think about God. Don’t think about how God might react. Relate to God. Tell him how you feel. Tell him what you think. Tell him what you want. Share all your thoughts, feelings, and desires with God. Share everything with Him.
 
 Once you’ve shared everything with God, receive. Listen to what He’s telling you. It could be a subtle voice you hear. It could be a memory that pops up. Maybe He invites you to re-read the Scripture passage. Perhaps you feel something in your body. Perhaps he invites you into a still, restful, silence. Trust that God is listening to you and receive what He wants to share with you.
 
 Now respond however you want. It could be more conversation. It could be a resolution. It could be tears or laughter.  Respond to what you’re receiving.
 
 Finally, journal. Keep a record this season of what your prayer was like. It doesn’t have to be earth shattering, it could be a sentence or two about what God told you or how that day’s reflection struck you. Regardless of how you do it—Journal.
 
 2. Thoughts, Feelings, and Desires
 While praying it is important to pay careful attention to your thoughts, feelings, and desires. These thoughts, feelings, and desires are the beginning and substance of prayer. These are the things that God wants you to communicate to Him and how He communicates to you.
 
 3. Two methods for praying with Scripture.
 Option 1
 1. Find a quiet place where you focus on what you are about to do and can be silent. Try to find a place with as few distractions as possible.
 2. While getting comfortable remember not to get to comfortable to where you might fall asleep.
 3. Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance. A simple prayer like “Holy Spirit, please help me be attentive to the Word of God that I am about to read. Help me to be alert to the stirrings of my heart, so that I may feel your presence and discern your will for me” or something similar is a great start.
 4. Begin to slowly read the passage of Scripture until something strikes you. There is no rhyme or reason at this point to why the passage may strike you. It is something of a gut feeling that this passage for one reason or another stands out to you.
 5. Begin to reread that passage of Scripture over and over again while allowing yourself to meditate/reflect/chew on the words. 
 6. Pay close attention to your heart, what are you feeling, what is God saying to you? Eventually you may even find yourself sitting still and in silence feeling God’s presence. Stay there as long as you can.
 7. As you come to the end of your prayer, take the time to make some sort of resolution as you return to everyday life.
 
 Option 2
 1. Find a quiet place where you focus on what you are about to do and can be silent. Try to find a place with as few distractions as possible.
 2. While getting comfortable remember not to get to comfortable to where you might fall asleep.
 3. Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance. A simple prayer like “Holy Spirit, please help me be attentive to the Word of God that I am about to read. Help me to be alert to the stirrings of my heart, so that I may feel your presence and discern your will for me” or something similar is a great start.
 4. Slowly begin to read the passage of Scripture imagining yourself in the Biblical scene. Using your imagination try to get the story to become as real as possible to you. 
 5. Play close attention to the details, how does the weather feel, who is present, what are people’s reactions.
 6. Play close attention to your heart, what in this scene is touching your heart or driving you to act? How are the other characters behaving? How are their behaviors affecting how you feel and what you believe?
 7. As your prayer time comes to an end, compose a little prayer asking God to help you bring His love to the world.