SPIRITUAL READING IS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT GOD - PART ONE

 

Getting to Know God Through Spiritual Reading

Greetings, children. I want to talk to you about something really special: how we can get to know God better. Just as we get to know our friends by talking to them and spending time with them, we can get to know God too. One good way to do that is through something called spiritual reading.

What Is Spiritual Reading?
Spiritual reading is when we read books that help us grow closer to God. These can be:

• The Bible: God’s Word, full of stories, lessons, and love letters from God to us
• Books about saints: people who lived holy lives and loved God with all their hearts
• Books that teach us about our faith: such as catechism books or devotionals.

Why is spiritual reading important?
Imagine you had a best friend but never learned anything about them. Would you really know them well? Probably not.  It is the same with God. 

Spiritual reading helps us learn:

• Who God is: His Love, His Mercy, and His Power
• What God has done: God the Father sent Jesus to save us
• How we can live for God: by being kind, praying, forgiving others, and trusting Him.

How does spiritual reading help us?
Spiritual reading helps us:

• Grow in faith: we learn to trust God more
• Make better choices: we learn right from wrong
• Feel close to God: we realise that God is walking with us in our lives, every day.

Examples of spiritual reading:

• When we read about prophet Daniel and the lions, we learn that God helps us be brave
• When we read about St. Francis of Assisi, we learn to care for people and animals
• When we read the Psalms, we learn how to talk to God in every kind of feeling. We can talk to God when we are happy, sad, scared, or thankful.

How do we start with spiritual reading?

• Read a little bit of the Bible each day, perhaps with your parents or someone who can help you with your reading
• Ask your teacher for a good saint story to read.
• Keep a catechism notebook to write down what you learn about God.

So remember, reading is not just for school. Reading can also help us grow closer to God. When we read about God, we come to love Him more. The more we love Him, the happier we are.

Image inspiration ChatGPT and CN Whittle