Jakarta (AsiaNews) - In Indonesia the vast majority of Catholic families own a Bible, but in many cases, as Pope Francis noted in yesterday's Angelus, they keep it on a "shelf" or in some other place in the house, forgotten, without ever reading a single page.
For decades, Catholics, unlike Protestants, have not been familiar with the sacred text. For this reason, a few years ago a group of local prelates decided to hold a National Bible Month (Bulan Kitab Suci Nasional in Indonesian) every September. The aim was to raise awareness among the faithful of the importance of reading the Bible on a "daily" basis among family at home.
Once again this year, efforts by Catholic priests and activists paid off, "infusing" people with a deep sense of "love" and "respect" for the sacred text, a deep bond not only for priests, nuns and religious, but also among ordinary Catholics, organisations and movements scattered throughout the territory.
During yesterday's Angelus, Pope Francis urged families to keep a Bible "at hand, to read it often, every day, either individually or together, husband and wife, parents and children, maybe in the evening, especially on Sundays." He made the appeal ahead of the start of the Synod on the Family, which is underway in Rome from 5 to 19 October.
Yesterday, the Paulines, the order founded by Blessed James (Giacomo) Alberione, distributed Bibles in St Peter's Square and other locations in Italy to celebrate the centenary of their foundation.
Similarly, in the month dedicated to the Bible, Indonesian Catholics have promoted readings and text analysis, delving into its meaning and value in this day and age and in today's society.
Every day dozens of priests prepared reflections on the liturgy, offering them to the faithful through social networks and the Web.
They included Fr Aloysius Budipurnomo, from the Archdiocese of Semarang. For the past three years, he has proposed his on reflections to the faithful.
At first, he did it through a mailing list that has expanded and now reaches a much broader audience with the advent of smartphones. "The response [of the faithful] was amazing," he said.
Fr Noegroho Agoeng agrees. "Catholics can profit from hundreds of readings and meditations, because they are modelled on the experience of everyday life," he said.
In the Diocese of Purwokerto, Fr Agustinus Dwiyantoro, parish priest at the Sacred Heart Church in Kroya, last week promoted recreational activities (pictured) related to Bible reading and meditating.
The bishop, Mgr Julianus Sunarko, expressed his appreciation for such an initiative because it "strengthens the morale" of young people through meditations of the sacred text.
In September, all the parishes of Central Java held weekly meetings focused on the sacred text.
