Aug 3, 2011 / 07:41 am
Pope Benedict XVI has urged Catholics to read the Bible while on vacation, particularly the lesser known books of sacred scripture.
“This seems to be a good thing to do on the holidays: take a book of the Bible, so you have some relaxation and, at the same time, enter into the great expanse of the Word of God and deepen our contact with the Eternal,” said the Pope in his Wednesday General Audience address at his holiday residence of Castle Gandolfo, 15 miles south of Rome, Aug. 3.
Pope Benedict noted how “each of us needs time and space for meditation, reflection and calm” adding “thank God it’s so!” He said this tells us that “we are not made only for work but also to think, reflect, or simply to follow a story with our minds and hearts.” Hence many books are read “mostly for escapism.”
The Pope, however, challenged pilgrims to attempt some slightly “more challenging” reading.