Indonesian National Bible Month (2024): "God, Source of Justice."

Indonesian National Bible Month (2024): "God, Source of Justice."

29 Sep 2024 . Posted in Southeast Asia

September is the National Bible Month for all Catholics across the dioceses in Indonesia. This is a tradition of the Catholic community here that has been developing since 1980.

In this special month, Catholics are encouraged to know, read, and study the Sacred Scriptures. For a month, they dedicated their time to studying the Sacred Scriptures, meditating on them together, and sharing their life experiences based on the Sacred Scriptures to strengthen the faith of the people. The theme of the National Bible Month in 2024 is "God, Source of Justice." The golden verse of the National Bible Month in the 2024 is from the prophecy of Nahum: "The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble" (Nah. 1:7). This theme invites Catholics to recognize God's presence, who always acts justly in His own way in human life and all the events. In addition, Indonesia Catholics are also invited to observe one of God's attributes, which is the Most Just for His creations. The theme of justice is often called upon by the Prophet Nahum and the Prophet Habakkuk in their time. Both prophets appeared during a time when the people of Israel were suffering and awaiting God's justice.

Several activities during National Bible Month are Eucharistic Celebration and Bible Procession at the opening of the National Bible month and Bible Carnaval; Bible Festivals in every parish and diocese: reading the Bible, choir performance on the Bible, writing songs and poetry inspired by the Bible, Bible storytelling, games based on Scripture, and bible camps for youth; Weekly meeting of the catholic basic community to discuss and share life experience based on the Sacred Scriptures. The Indonesian Bible Association (Lembaga Biblika Indonesia, CBF member) annually makes guidelines for these weekly meetings. There were four meetings to study and to deepen selected biblical passages in accordance to the theme for National Bible Month.