The Bible is not a static collection of ancient works but the living Word of God which continues to speak to us today, so for Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD, a recent Biblical study course in the Philippines provided new insights which he is eager to share upon his return to Australia.
Fr Elmer is the Biblical Coordinator for the SVD AUS Province, and he took part in the course with two other new members of the Province, Fr Mariusz Kubista SVD, a Polish priest who has been in Kenya for some years and Fr Tuyen Nguyen SVD, from Vietnam, who has been in Argentina for 10 years. Both Fr Mariusz and Fr Tuyen (pictured below with Fr Elmer) were taking part in the Biblical study course in the Philippines to prepare them for their upcoming assignment teaching the Bible in Myanmar, the AUS Province’s newest mission.
“As Biblical Coordinator for the Province, it was crucial for me to spend time with them both, to have that connection with these two confreres who are going to Myanmar, where the Biblical Apostolate will be the focus of their work,” he says.
“And, on a personal level, it was good for me to do this course to brush up and know the latest in scholarship and methodology with regards to the Biblical Apostolate.”
Fr Elmer says the ‘Bible Updating Course’, held at the Philippines’ main SVD seminary, consisted of lectures by Fr Randy Flores SVD (nephew of Fr Dom Flores a member of the AUS Province). Fr Randy was joined by Sr Miriam Alejandrino osb and Fr Dante Barril SVD. The visiting students also sat in with the seminarians for some lectures.
“Apart from the lectures, we also went to Manila on a field trip, to visit the Episcopal Commission on the Biblical Apostolate, which is a body of the Philippines Bishops Conference,” says Fr Elmer. “And following that we visited the Philippines Bible Society and toured through their Bible Museum, which was very interesting.”
Fr Elmer says he found the opportunity to engage in ongoing formation to be a valuable experience.
“I really benefited from it,” he says. “Because it gave me a chance to brush up and update my knowledge of the Bible and of Biblical scholarship. It’s been more than a decade since I left the seminary and so it’s good to keep in touch with the latest in the different methods of Bible studies.
“I will definitely use much of what I learnt during the course in my work in the Biblical Apostolate.
“For instance I will have a lot of rich new material to draw from in my monthly Bible talk with the community here at Marsfield and perhaps in the future, depending on the needs of the people, we might be able to explore different styles of Bible study and Bible sharing.”