What is "Swallowed Scroll"?

"I want YOU to be a prophet!"

Why "Swallowed Scroll"?

Why is this weblog named after a Scripture account of God calling a prophet? Well, we all have a great challenge before us. By virtue of our baptism, we are ALL called by God to a share in the prophetic role of Jesus Christ! Being a prophet does not mean that you can expect to predict the future or receive some new revelations from God (sorry, public revelation ended with the apostles). Being a prophet DOES mean being a witness and proclaiming the good news (gospel) of salvation to the world. Again, this is not just the job of priests and nuns—this is for ALL the baptized. As baptized Christians, we are challenged to:

1.) delve deeply into God’s revelation through Sacrede Scripture and the teachings of His Church (that is, to “eat this scroll” as the Lord told Ezekiel) and

(2.) to proclaim that divine message through our actions and words to both those within the Church and the wider world (to “go, speak to the house of Israel”). [“Israel” was the name for the original People of God—God desires all people to be a part of the NEW family of God—the Church]
We must remember that evangelization means sharing our faith with both non-believers AND also with those fellow believers who need a deeper faith.

The newly released Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states this idea nicely: “The people of God… share in Christ’s prophetic office when with a supernatural sense of faith they adhere unfailingly to that faith and deepen their understanding and witness to it.” --Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #155.

So, to “adhere unfailingly” to the faith means that we TRUST God who reveals Himself to us—a God who will never deceive us. We trust God’s Church (the body of Christ) when she hands down the truths of the faith to us and continues to teach us as our loving mother. Even if we do not initially understand a particular Church teaching, we must have humility and pledge to study the teaching so that we can come to understand and embrace it.

In order to “deepen [our] understanding” of the faith, we must study Scripture, the teachings of the Church (especially in the Catechism), and most of all PRAY, PRAY, PRAY. This is how you EAT THE SCROLL (that is, the word of God),… you feed on God’s word by reading Scripture, praying with the Scripture, and receiving the sacraments (especially Confession and the Eucharist). Once you begin to assimilate God’s word into your own life, you can be a powerful witness to a word that is starving for truth.

I hope that this little website can help point out some resources that may aid you in your personal spiritual growth and your efforts to teach the faith to others. Our Catholic faith is so deep and rich,… there is a great deal to cover, but even the longest journey begins with a small step… let’s get going and dig in!

PS: yes, the picture at the top is an icon of the prophet Ezekiel