Malawi: Catholics Urged to Develop Interest in Reading the Bible
Esther Nyanja
The Catholic Church has bemoaned lack of interest in reading the Holy Bible among the faithful, most of whom are addicted to social media craze, at the expense of the Word of God.
Parish priest for St Vincent Mwangata Parish in the Archdiocese of Blantyre Fr Carel Ernest Kafunsa said this during his homily last Sunday on September 6 when the Church in Malawi celebrated the Bible Sunday to highlight the central role of the Word of God in the life of a Christian.
The Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) launched the Year of the Bible in November 2020, aimed at encouraging Catholics to grow spiritually by reading the Word of God. This followed the declaration by Pope Francis that the year November 2019 to November 2020 be a Year of the Bible.
The Pope also declared that every first Sunday of the month of September be reserved as Bible Sunday when the entire Church focuses on the Word of God as source of light for the Christians.
According to Fr Kafunsa, it is unfortunate that during these challenging times many Catholics have resorted to seeking contents on social media platforms instead of seeking inspiration from the Word of God.
“Nowadays many Christians are facing spiritual and physiological challenges because they don’t realize that the Bible has answers to every situation,” Fr Kafunsa added.
“Some claim to have the Bible app on their phones, but it is just symbolic as only a few use it. The majority are busy with chats on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp compared to the Bible. It is on the social media that immorality is exacerbated among the youth. The Bible offers an alternative message to the pornographic materials that the youth are watching on the internet.
Fr Kafusa further commended Church authorities for the Year of the Bible, which has promoted zeal for reading the Bible. He admitted that there is a significant improvement in the culture of reading the Bible as he ca now see more Catholics carrying a Bible when going to Church.
As a way of celebrating the Bible Sunday and the whole Year of the Bible, many parishes adjusted downwards the price of the Bible. They run Bible promotion campaigns and encouraged the same at Small Christian Community.
Other initiatives during the Bible Year included a Bible Quiz for the the youth and kids. Special programs for the youth are still running on Luntha Catholic Television. Obviously, the Covid-19 pandemic was a setback in the implementation of some of the planned initiatives to promote love for the Bible.
Francis Mphonde a youthful chairperson for St Dominic Small Christian Community under St Vincent Mwangata Parish commended the Church for all the pastoral programs during the Year of the Bible, saying it has shaped the culture of reading the Bible among the youth.
“We are now able to understand and defend our doctrines using the Scripture,” he said.
Similar celebrations of Bible Sunday were held in all parishes within the country to mark the climax of the Year which celebrated under the theme Your Word is a lamp for my feet; a light on my path.
