The work of former Catholic News editor Fr Michel de Verteuil CSSp. in teaching Lectio Divina has been lauded by Archbishop Edward Gilbert.

Giving the invocation at last Wednesday’s opening of  “Lectio Divina and the Future” conference, the Archbishop thanked Fr de Verteuil for his years of teaching the Lectio Divina method of reading the Bible.

The conference, held at the University of the West Indies Learning Resource Centre, and organised in honour of Fr Michel, featured local, regional and international speakers including Msgr Patrick Anthony of St Lucia, Fr Henry Charles, Dr Everard Johnston, Fr Thomas Louis Brodie, OP, and Guyanese-born Andrew Cromwell. Other speakers were Frs Stephen Geofroy and Brendan Clifford, Professor Gordon Rohlehr, Pearl Lezama and Ronald Tagallie.

Fr Brodie and Cromwell participated in a colloquium “Taking the Bible to the Streets” on Tuesday evening at the Amphitheatre of the National Library. They were joined by storyteller/dramatist Valerie Bethel who, in local dialect, presented the Gospel of John Chapter 9 in different scenes much like a play.

Fr Brodie, a former lecturer at the Regional Seminary during the late 60s and early 70s, then compared and contrasted the scenes, seeing each in terms of the stages of life: birth, childhood, schooling, parental separation, and maturity.

The co-director of the New Bible Centre in Ireland said the gospel is “a summary of the most difficult transitions in our life and gives us a sense of the deeper aspect of our lives”. 

In his contribution, Cromwell told the 100-plus audience of clergy, religious and laity, including Vicar General Msgr Christian Pereira and guest of honour Fr de Verteuil, that story-telling is important. He said each one of us had a story to tell and it was important to understand exactly what the story is.

Cromwell, a graduate of the Regional Seminary now a counselor based in Toronto, said as people tell their story they get insight into themselves. Anyone listening to someone tell his or her story should not interrupt the process as it brings self-understanding, resulting in a level of decision-making.

He said we want people to listen to our story, which enables us to grow and make a change. This process can take a lifetime but we each have a responsibility to allow people to tell their story, he ended.

A few members of the audience made contributions before the session closed.
 - RS