Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you – that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.
Luke 24:44-45

Scripture is foundational to the life of the Catholic Church and so we wanted to celebrate, share and live out our faith through deeper Scriptural engagement.

a) We wanted to create new and renewed encounters with Christ through the Scriptures.
b) We wanted to achieve transformation in the faith and life of our Church and in the public arena through evangelisation, education, creative arts and social action.

Our God who Speaks outreach enabled us to:
1) Help influence the work of the Bishops’ Conference and dioceses across England and Wales in their relationship with, and understanding of, the Bible at all levels and age groups.
2) Help influence and share creative models of Scripture engagement to the rest of the world through our website, social media platforms and monthly newsletters.

Focus and Invitation
We asked all our Bishops to interpret the Scriptures in the life of their diocese freely and in their own way, responding to three themes:

1) Celebrating God’s Word – enriching our worshipping and spiritual community.
2) Sharing God’s Word – enriching our evangelisation, formation and proclamation.
3) Living God’s Word – enriching our social action and outreach.

Celebrating God’s Word
Ezra read from the Law of God so that the people understood what was read. Nehemiah 8:8

Whenever we celebrate the liturgy, the Scriptures are proclaimed. We listen to God speaking to us in the Church. In the sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours, and in our daily prayer and reflection, we encounter Christ; through our responses we deepen our participation, which transforms our lives.
In discovering and renewing a genuine love for the Word of God, we nurture our relationship with Christ. Through the Bible, we meet Christ who is alive in his Word. We can listen to him speaking to us and guiding us in our daily lives.

Our dioceses told us that they celebrated God’s Word by:

• Reading at Mass with confidence and understanding.
• Leading the Liturgy of the Word with children with imagination and faith.
• Supporting different formats and audiences for participating in the liturgy.

Living God’s Word
Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path. Psalm 118 (119):105

We not only need to hear and receive God’s Word, we also need to put that Word into practice. Scripture shapes our actions, our choices and how we relate to God, to ourselves, to our neighbours and to our world. It guides all our relationships and how we live our lives.
Scripture teaches us how to live in society, to respect the wonder of creation, especially each human being, and to work towards the common good. The Scriptures inspire us to put faith into action, living God’s Word and doing God’s Word.

Our dioceses told us that they lived God’s Word by:

• Cherishing life at every stage.
• Using and sharing the world’s resources fairly.
• Protecting the weak, the poor and the marginalised.

Sharing God’s Word
“You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth”. Acts 1:8
With a renewed love of Scripture comes both the opportunity and desire to share it with others. Through the Bible we discover who God is. We are shown what it means to live in relation with God and each other through a relationship with Christ.
God speaks to us today in a variety of ways. The Bible has inspired, and continues to inspire learning, culture, art, music and literature. It enables science and faith to build up mutual understanding through dialogue. It challenges technology and social media to open up new ways to encounter Christ in the world.

Our dioceses told us that they shared God’s Word by:

• Witnessing to Christ in word and action.
• Reaching out to others.
• Forming disciples who know and love God.

In the light of these three themes, we invited dioceses to continue to explore:

• In what good ways do we celebrate God’s Word?
• Where might there be gaps? Is anyone excluded?
• What new ways and opportunities might be open to us?

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