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  Dialogue - Guidelines

Give Scripture Dialogue a Try
Spend Some Time Studying the Bible Together

Marge & Con Terr

(An excerpt from the Spring 1997 Matrimony magazine)

As Lent approached this year, we thought about preparing ourselves with the daily Gospel reading and reflection together. As always, the question arose, "Where do we find the time for yet another daily commitment?" One solution was to combine the reflection and discussion with our dialogue time by using scripture dialogue.

Many of our priests have no daily dialogue partner and use a form of scripture dialogue almost exclusively. We can discover our inner feelings while contemplating our spiritual path by learning more about the example of God-centered living that Jesus is for us.

If you are not familiar with scripture dialogue, begin by trying the suggestions here. For me, Con, the first pitfall is to avoid trying to teach or to convince Marge that my understanding of the passage is "the right one." My objective in dialogue is always to know Marge better so I try hard to state my understanding simply and to listen carefully to Marge's understanding. When we write our letters, the biggest part of the letter is (as always) about the feelings that come up as we read or discuss the scripture. Sometimes, if we have drastically different understandings of the passage, we will dialogue about the way we feel when we are so far apart in our understanding.

May your hearts be changed by your journey together in scripture.

· Devotional Bibles offer daily readings with reflection starters that can help lead your discussion and provide a question to use in dialogue. Check your Christian bookstore. Bible study programs such as God's Word Today are helpful. God's Word Today is a daily study guide published monthly by University of St. Thomas 800-246-7390. Each issue covers a theme such as "Lenten Prophets" or one book of the Bible. Commentary for each daily passage is provided, along with reflection questions that are suitable for dialogue starters.

· Our Daily Bread is a similar Christian publication, available at many Christian bookstores as a complementary pamphlet. It is published by RBC Ministries.

· Liturgy Training Publications, 800-933-1800, offers a workbook as a Gospel readers' and lectors' guide with notes and interpretation for following the Sunday Gospel cycle.

One way to Scripture Dialogue:

1. Select a passage from the daily Missal, or simply choose a chapter from the Acts of the Apostles or one of the Gospels. Read aloud so that you can hear it together.
2. Briefly discuss the meaning of the passage for each of you.
3. Decide on a dialogue question based on the reading and your discussion, or use “What do these verses mean to me as a servant of Christ?”
4. Write your letter examining your feelings, attitudes and needs. Choose the strongest feeling and describe it in detail
5. Dialogue on your feelings as usual.

Click here for a printable page (PDF, 7KB)