Response from Bishop's and Pastors
The encouragement we have received from Bishops, priests and religious in this country has meant a lot to us.
It began with our own parish priest, Fr Peter McCartin who took the risk in giving his approval to the setting up of this ministry.
Archbishop of Brisbane John Bathersby and the then Auxiliary Bishop Putney (now Bishop of Townsville) have always been cheerful
encouragers.
Bishop Putney wrote to us. It has always been my conviction that there can be no profound renewal of the Church
which is not based upon the Scriptures and that, consequently, the greatest contribution we can make to the Church is to enable
ordinary Catholics to become familiar with and be delighted by the reading of the Scriptures.
He continued:
The Little Rock Scripture Study program does a wonderful job in introducing ordinary Catholic women and men to the text
of the Scriptures with neither a fundamentalist nor a too highly intellectualised method of interpretation.
This is its greatest strength.
Its method is simple enough for everyone to understand and to use.
At the same time, it is based upon contemporary Catholic biblical scholarship.
Challenges
We have always just proceeded through doors that are open.
We feed the sheep that are hungry? We don't worry about doors that are closed to us.
God can open them anytime He wishes.
What would concern us is that we fail to seize the opportunities the Holy Spirit
gives us to provide His Word to those that are ready.
There are many hungry for the Word of God.
Those who don't agree with us or have a fear of the Bible may just be the ones who are ready next year or in 5 years time.
The joys of this ministry far outweigh the challenges it brings.
|
