About

The Bible Workshop is a log of the biblical apostolate I am engaged in. By biblical apostolate I understand a ministry by which the Scriptures is made accessible to all the baptized so that

• they may experience it as the Fathers loveletters to His children

• they may hear the Word of God better as it is proclaimed in the midst of the Church
• they may experience it as the family book of the Church written for them so as to strengthen their communion with the same Church
• they may know their Lord, since “ignorance of Scriptures is ignorant of Christ”
• they may be enabled to participate actively in the mission of evangelization

The biblical apostolate takes on many forms depending on the state of life of the one engaging in it. For example, a professor in a university would do it in a way different from a pastor in a parish. Among religious too, the biblical apostolate is done differently depending on the charism of the congregation to which he or she belongs. A Franciscan would do it differently from a priest of the Congregation of St. Paul.

I am an Augustinian working in a parish, occassionally a college teacher, with an extended ministry on the web. The biblical apostolate, given the opportunities that come my way, takes on a different nuance.

I am an Augustinian, an inheritor of the mendicant tradition of popular preaching. I preach the gospel from the pulpit and anywhere else where the opportunity opens up: it may be the food station across our church, or in a classroom. Since 1999, I have built a nook in the web where like the friars of old, I go along the information highway peddling my ware: the Scriptures explained in blogs and articles.

Right now, work in the parish has taken on a direction that I’ve been waiting for: the building up of basic cell communities in an urban setting. That in itself is already a life-time work. Here, the biblical apostolate becomes a direct means for empowering the laity to

• live the Church’s life of communion in their own neighborhood
• build up a community of faith that where members become a support group for each other as they incarnate in their lives the Word of God
• actively participate in the mission of the Church in all its stages — silent, verbal, creative witnessing
• experience the Church as society’s salt and leaven, light and refuge, like a city built on a hill
• become the Body of Christ in a way that is responsive to their particular life-situation

In practise this would involve helping them become, as their state of life would allow, co-servants of the Word and co-workers of the apostles. They are trained through modular instructions and seminars and workshops so that they too can help others listen better to the Word of God.

This website then is like a log book of the activities I am engaged in as I carry out the ministry of the Word, as a friar of a mendicant Order and as a priest. It will also serve as a resource site for anyone who is involved in the biblical apostolate and those who need supplementary materials to augment their own study of the Scriptures.

How To Use This Site

A description of the special features of this site and how to make use of them.

Our Principles of Study

The main principles that guide our studies is characterized by a three-fold adherence: adherence to the Scriptural text, adherence to the complete christian canon, adherence to the Word of God.