From Oct 23rd - Jan 23rd about 25 young people joined the 12-week online Bible Study on Mission hosted by the Apostolate of Catholic Tertiary Students (ACTS) of the Church of the Holy Family, Kajang. While 11 of them were locals from the parish, most of the others were students who had returned home due to the MCO. These students joined in from as far as Sandakan and Kuching, in spite of the challenging internet connectivity.
The Bible Study leaders were members of the Mission trip to Paitan in Aug 2020. The material had been part of their daily Bible reflection while on mission and this was now the opportunity to deepen their conversion in serving the Lord. Eva Cabrini and her team of young leaders from Sabah overcame initial concerns of leading young people they had never met, some of whom were older and more knowledgeable about the Bible than themselves. Though scheduled for 1 ½ hours, some sessions went on for almost 3 hours as the students enjoyed the chance to discuss their faith.
This was the first time the youths from Holy Family, had been involved in a Bible Study and they really loved it. The sessions that impacted most of them was “Gen 3: The God Who Seeks” and “Phil 2: The Son who Sacrifices”. Through the anonymous feedback, some commented that they gained confidence to share their opinions, while others deepened in prayer and Scripture reading, “I’ve learn to read the Bible and the stories not at face value, but to put myself in the shoes of the characters like Abraham and Jonah, and see it as they saw it within their setting”. Another reflected, “i can actually know myself very well through every session of the bible study, from the first until the last”. Vanessa Francis shared that this Bible Study came at a good time when she was finding her way back to God.
It was as if by the guidance of a divine hand that the Bible Study ended just before the inaugural celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God on Jan 25th, 2021. In his letter, Aperuit illis, Pope Francis exhorts that Catholics “urgently need to grow in our knowledge and love of the Scriptures and of the risen Lord, who continues to speak his word and to break bread in the community of believers. For this reason, we need to develop a closer relationship with sacred Scripture; otherwise, our hearts will remain cold and our eyes shut, struck as we are by so many forms of blindness.”
As such, ACTS Campus Ministry bible studies do not intend primarily to be scholarly, but seeks the transformation of the person in discipleship to Jesus Christ. It recognises students are at different stages of the faith journey and offers a variety accordingly. A few of the participants indicated they would want to start their own group and share this Bible Study: Mission with other friends. Others indicated they are looking forward to the next bible study which will be The Meaning of Life & Love which will be online from Feb 28th - Apr 25th.
