About the Author

Lidija Paris is a graduate of German language and literature and French language at the Faculty of Philosophy of Zagreb. She has lived for twenty years in Italy, Germany and France, where she studied Orthodox theology at the Institute St. Serge in Paris, and took Bible courses at the Catholic Institute of Theology of Toulouse. Since 2000, she lives in Medjugorje.

About This Book

Why is it so important to read and to meditate the Bible? The Bible is the Book containing the Word of God, the history of the relationship between God and a people, the history of the Son of God and His teaching… It is important to read and understand all of this in order to give meaning to our spiritual life and to enrich it.

Jesus is the centre of the Bible. It is about Him that Sacred Scripture speaks (John 5:39.46). While we are pondering these texts and reading these reflections, we want to cry out together with the disciples of Emmaus: “Did not our hearts burn within us as He talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32), since these texts recall mostly what Jesus Himself said, and are written in the way in which the Risen Lord would have explained the Scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Jesus is both the content and the goal of Scripture. He holds the key, which can open the contents of the Bible to each of us. The authoress has made the language and spirit of the Scripture entirely her own, and this is what makes her thoughts so attractive. Themes for her reflections usually come from a biblical word or from a message, or from a personal thought… after which she ponders this theme in the Bible, and then in the messages of Mary, and finally unites them in a text. According to her own words, she leaves it to mature in her heart. This process of inner maturing can last for days, and the result is what we read here. While reading, we see that the authoress has allowed the biblical word and Our Lady’s messages to surprise her, to inspire her and to invade her, like the Old Testament Prophets. The conclusion comes steadily of itself.

The authoress seeks to avoid an authoritarian or moralistic stance; she is not speaking as a teacher. Each of her thoughts is the fruit of a certain intellectual asceticism and prayer. Thoughts come spontaneously and in an inoffensive way. They are expressed in clear and understandable language. (Prof. Dr. Adalbert Rebić)

The Author Speaks

These texts were written as a result of a coincidental conversation with a young man who regularly visited the church, but realised that his knowledge of his faith and of the Word of God was superficial. My conversation with him pushed me to write a text. Other texts then followed… which led to weekly broadcasts on Radio Mir Medjugorje, and to the publication of the texts in the monthly magazine Glasnik mira, as well as in CD form.

In this collection, the texts have been assembled under three themes: Mary and the Bible, The Liturgical Year with Sacred Scripture, and The Word of God on the Path of Holiness. It is not a systematic treaty of biblical or theological themes, but rather a simple encouragement to read the book of books. The reading of these texts will be really useful to you spiritually, if you embrace the Bible and immerse yourself in the biblical passages that are quoted, if you seek more in-depth understanding, and if you spend more time with the Bible than with this humble piece of writing, which you hold here in your hands.

The Bible is not the writings of one quill, or ten, or a hundred, not even from a thousand quills. It has its origin in the oral tradition of the Revelation of God to an entire people. It was not written in the space of a few weeks, months or years, but over thousands of years – and in its entirety, it possesses its integrity. It has survived all critics and analyses and remains intact; it continues to inspire millions of people.

We find different literary genres in the Bible. The book of Proverbs and the book of Revelation, for example, cannot be opened with the same key. Some texts (at least at first) are understandable. The meaning of others seem shrouded or hidden, and to understand them, we must study the Bible – but on our knees, with our heads and our hearts, with intelligence and faith. The Bible is not a scientific report where we seek facts (although it contains them), but an endless ocean of the strength of the Spirit of God in which we find meaning.

The word of God is alive and active (Heb 4:12). If we expose ourselves to its action, it has in itself, and by itself, the power to transform us.

Publisher: ICMM

Author: Lidija Paris

Original language: Croatian

Translation / Review: Lidija Paris / Paula Wade Mužić

Edited in 2011

Size: 180 x 135