A new pastoral letter from the bishop of Rockville Centre, New York, Bishop John Barres, reflects upon the “exhilarating wonder of the biblical imagination.”
Titled “God’s Word is Living and Effective,” the letter invites priests, deacons, and lay Catholics to approach Scripture with gratitude and openness: “gratitude for the wonder of such a gift and openness to the living and effective power of Sacred Scripture.”
As the Church celebrates the Sunday of the Word of God on January 25, his letter is a helpful guide, revealing why to read Scripture and how to do so in the most effective way possible.
As Bishop Barres reminds readers, “Any cultural, moral, or spiritual renewal of our age begins with a return to biblical faith.”
A commentary like none other
The heart of Bishop Barres’ letter is an examination of a recently completed book series that reflects “the true spirit of Pope Benedict’s call to encounter the living God through Sacred Scripture.”
The series, titled Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word, is a four-volume set of meditations on the Gospel of Saint Matthew. Fr. Simeon Leiva-Merikakis, O.C.S.O., a Trappist monk of Saint Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, wrote the series between 1996 and 2021.
Fr. Simeon, formerly Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, obtained his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Theology from Emory University. Before entering the abbey, he was a professor of Literature and Theology at the University of San Francisco, where, with Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., the founder of Ignatius Press, he helped develop the St. Ignatius Institute, a Catholic liberal arts program for undergraduate students.
Bishop Barres explains that Fire of Mercy is a wonderful resource for anyone looking to read Scripture well and with understanding:
The power of God’s Word is known to us, and the appeal to mine the depth of Scripture resonates within. Indeed, we desire to understand and be formed by the Word of God, but a simple question remains: How? After all, study of the Bible can be confounding.
An answer rests in a recently completed set of Scripture meditations… Though limited to one book of the Bible – the Gospel of Saint Matthew - the commentary is rich in content, opening vistas onto all of Scripture, and it is instructive on how to approach the Word of God.
Fire of Mercy guides readers so “that we, too, can encounter the living God in our day and age and ‘allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit to an ever greater love of the word of God.’”
Drawing forth cultural riches
A particular strength of the commentary is how Fr. Simeon applies his rich biblical imagination to art, literature, and poetry:
Fire of Mercy echoes the spirit of the great Church Fathers who placed all their skills and talents at the service of the Gospel.
Fr. Simeon, like St. Augustine before him, utilizes his grasp of culture, art, science, and literature for the sole purpose of making known the liberating power of God’s Word…
Fr. Simeon’s work reminds us that we, as biblically-minded Catholics, ought not fear culture or science, for the goodness found therein points ultimately toward Him who is goodness and truth incarnate.
His approach to encountering Sacred Scripture opens to us the wonder of the biblical imagination, an imagination that is far more exhilarating than the flatness of a secular culture that has eclipsed biblical faith.
His letter compellingly explains why deep knowledge of Scripture can be transformative—both for individual souls and for the culture at large.
A guide for getting started
While Bishop Barres warmly recommends Fire of Mercy and draws ideas from it, his letter itself is a helpful guide for getting started with prayerful reading of Scripture.
In his letter, he offers reading the following reflections:
- Qualities for approaching lectio divina, that is, prayerful reading of Scripture
- An explanation of the relationship between Sacred Scripture and the Eucharist
- Fr. Simeon’s contribution to Catholic biblical scholarship and how it can help anyone interested in understanding God’s word
Bishop Barres writes that “Fr. Simeon’s commentary is truly an instrument for allowing God to speak through the sacred text to the circumstances of today.” Through his approach,
Fr. Simeon opens the Gospel of Matthew for the reader to hear the Lord speaking [and] displays the living and effective power of God’s Word that bursts forth as a kaleidoscope of grace, weaving various passages of the Bible into a unified vision of God’s heavenly glory.
