The potential of Sacred Scripture to deepen the spiritual life of ordinary Catholics is immense, and it is extraordinary that this obvious resource has been neglected so long.

The potential of Sacred Scripture to deepen the spiritual life of ordinary Catholics is immense, and it is extraordinary that this obvious resource has been neglected so long. Maybe this is about to come to an end, with the promotion by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, in conjunction with the Bible Society, of a campaign called The God Who Speaks: The Year of the Lord. It is being launched this week; Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster writes about the influence of Scripture in his own life in this week’s Tablet.

Greater knowledge of Scripture could do wonders for the internal culture of the Catholic Church, and help solve many of its most intractable problems. If the besetting sin of the modern Church is clericalism, for instance, it would hardly survive a thorough immersion in chapters 5, 6 and 7 of St Matthew’s Gospel. Catholics are frequently urged to deepen their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, without being told how to do so.

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