Inspiring, challenging, life-changing is what we experience when we encounter the Word of God.

The Bible in 40 Weeks (B40) is a journey through the bible using the method of studying with Lectio Divina (Latin for Divine Reading). This is a method of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer that was practised by the early Church Fathers.

Initiated by Msgr. James Gnanapragasam in collaboration with the Bible Commission of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, our B40 journey at St. Joseph’s Church began on 11 June 2015 with 63 participants who signed up initially. On 2 June 2016, we completed our journey with 20.

During our B40 journey we covered 20 books in the Old Testament and 12 books in the New Testament. We were divided into four groups, each headed by a facilitator. Each member was given a weekly assignment to prepare before coming to the weekly gathering. Our weekly meeting consists of reviewing our preparation, sharing, prayer and preview of DVD of the following week’s assignment.

It gave each participant an opportunity to share the fruits of our reading and reflection. As we witnessed to how the Word of God affects and transforms our lives, we grow in our faith and we have learnt to become more attentive to the Word and to pray better.

We take this opportunity to thank our Parish Priest, Fr. George for journeying together with us and for his encouragement. May we continue to be inspired by the Living Word of God and indeed become true witnesses to God’s love and mercy. “Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road…” (Luke 24:32).

By Karen Wong