Pope Francis waves to the crowd at St. Peter's Square in November 2016.
In an address after his Angelus blessing Sunday at St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis posed a question: What if we checked the Bible like we checked our cellphones?
"What
would happen if we turned back when we forget it, if we opened it more
times a day, if we read the message of God contained in the Bible the
way we read messages on our cellphones?" he said.
Some
may think it diminishes the foundational book of Christian faith to
compare it a device we use to take selfies and post a scathing review of
our local car wash. But Pope Francis could be onto something.
We
feel bare and incomplete when we are without it. We reach for it to
capture the important moments in our lives. We rely on it for messages
of love and validation. We turn to it whenever we have a question.
And for most of us, "it" means our cellphone.
That's
why the leader of the world's Catholics is urging his followers to turn
that energy away from the screen and put it into scripture.
Pope Francis said "the Bible contains the word of God, which is always topical and effective."
Meanwhile, the iPhone you bought last week will be obsolete next year.
Don't have the willpower to put down your phone?
Don't worry. There are apps that will send you daily Bible verses and devotionals so you can have your Google AND your gospel.
No comments:
Post a Comment