Finding Time for Scripture in College
Finding time to read the Bible is a challenge I think we all face in our busy lives. Especially once classes start. We go to class, work, check our Facebook, check our e-mails, watch YouTube and read Texts From Last Night. We play sports, go out, write papers, then probably check our Facebook again, and by the time we finally get to bed, we're usually exhausted or too distracted to pick up the Bible and read a few passages.
In Bread for Life, Fr. Ted Stylianopolous writes, "Truths about God and man expand our horizons and enliven our spirit. Yet we know from experience that it takes a certain discipline, especially as we have become a visual generation, to turn to the Bible and other good books to be enriched by them on a regular basis."
But it can be easier than that. As a generation constantly surrounded by technology, it can be simple to make reading the Bible a part of our day, every day. You can subscribe to receive the daily Scripture readings by e-mail, along with the lives of the saints, from www.Goarch.org, or www.ACROD.org. You also can download the Daily Readings app for your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, add the Facebook application, or add the Readings to iGoogle.
You also can purchase The Planner, a daily calendar for Orthodox Christians that also serves as a resource guide, published by the GOA Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. The Planner includes Orthodox Christian feast days, moveable ecclesiastical dates, morning prayers, evening prayers, the Creed, fasting guidelines and Biblical quotes. Each day in The Planner lists the daily Scripture readings and saints commemorated, along with the symbol of the Cross for fasting and strict fast days.
As St. John Chrysostom writes, "The Scriptures were not given to us for this only, that we may have them in books, but that we might engrave them in our hearts."
Reading the Scripture is so incredibly essential for our spiritual growth, however it seems to be one of the easiest to put off when you're in college. But these helpful resources can serve as reminders to us. We must choose to open our Bible, or open the readings in our e-mail, so that we may open our heart to Christ.
-Arianna Ranahosseini
from the OCF Headliner
Diocese of Eastern PA
Orthodoxy in America
