| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Chimombo |
Since the year 2011, the Catholic Church in Malawi has been marking the month of September of every year to be specifically for the promotion of Biblical Apostolate. Through the Bishops’ Conference, the tradition has been that the Bishops are requested to inaugurate the Bible Month on the first Sunday of September at their Cathedral, with a bible procession and Bible enthronement.
Usually every year has a theme to guide Christians in their Bible Reflections throughout the year. The theme for this year is “God rich in Mercy” which is in conformity with the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
“We are encouraging people to be inspired by the Word of God. We believe that the Word of God is the Light and the source of everything we do. Therefore, inspired by the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini of the Holy Father Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, with reference to article 17, which says that …If we want to carry out our work effectively we must be inspired by the Holy Gospel… we took it as the Episcopal Conference to say that every work we do must be inspired by the Gospel,” explained Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Chimombo, National Pastoral Coordinator for Episcopal Conference of Malawi ECM.
“Several activities are encouraged during this period, among them, Christians are encouraged to give gifts of a Bible to one another. Apart from that, we have a team that usually works on a document, which comes out as a booklet, translated in three major languages in the Country namely English, Chichewa and Tumbuka. The booklet usually comes out in September and is used by the different apostolate groups throughout the whole Month of September,” he said.
The Episcopal Conference has created a work planon monthly basis based on the theme of the year. This work plan is meant to help the faithful read the Bible throughout the year up to the month of August before another booklet comes out in September with a different theme.
“During the Bible Month we also do programs on the radio stations to encourage more people to participate while at the same time explaining what the Bible month is all about,” Fr. Chimombo explained.
He said that to crown this year’s Bible Apostolate, the Episcopal Conference has released the Question and Answer Bible in order to enhance catechesis and faith formation for Christians. “The questions that trouble our faithful especially the youth are asked and responded to. In addition, there are Biblical verses under every question where one can find reference for every question asked as well as references from the Catechism of the Catholic Church,” Fr. Chimombo explained adding that these references support the answers and help people understand better.
The Question and Answer Bible was published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) who gave ECM permission to reproduce the New Edition.
By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News
