By Mary Stadnyk | Associate Editor
Understanding the Bible isn’t easy. Teaching others about how God is trying to reach them through his Word is even more challenging.
But there are ways to help Scripture come alive for people, whether they are first graders or adults in a Bible study.
“I believe it’s a sin to bore people with the Gospel,” said Allan Wright.
“We share with others about our favorite restaurant, sports team and vacation. Can we share our faith with ease? The Gospel will not be relevant to others if it’s not relevant to us in our own daily lives,” he said.
PHOTO GALLERY: 2026 Catechist Formation Day with Allan Wright
Wright served as the keynoter of a March 14 formation day for some 150 catechists and parish ministers held in St. David the King Parish, Princeton Junction. Wright is a national speaker, former dean of evangelization for the Diocese of Paterson, author of 20 books, adjunct professor at Seton Hall University, South Orange, and executive director of the NJ Family Policy Center.
He approached the day’s topic, “Making Scripture Come Alive,” by sharing a number of familiar biblical stories from a first century, Middle Eastern perspective in which he set the scene of what life and culture was like at the time.
“The details would have been understood by Jesus and would not have been lost on his listeners,” said Wright, who reviewed several Gospel stories.
One such example was the “sinful” woman in Luke 7. Her pouring ointment on Jesus’ feet is indicative of her pouring out her former way of life, Wright said. The woman also let down her hair at the feet of Jesus, which is an “outward sign of commitment” to Jesus, he said.
“Jesus calls us to ‘hear and do’ his Word, so any time we make the connection between Scripture and our own life, it helps move the needle in our own discipleship,” said Wright.
Regardless of how obscure it may seem, “there is beauty in the Scriptures,” Wright said, noting that studying the Scriptures is a way to build relationships with the Lord.”
When studying the Scriptures, he said, “we may not always know where we are going but we know who we’re going with.”
“Allan gives us a different way to look at Scripture,” Michelle Angelo Santoro said.
“With his background, he was able to provide a Middle Eastern perspective and explain what it was truly like at the time and then relate it to the times of today,” she said. He also provided the participants with tools in which they could “take what they learned and apply it in their ministries and to the people they are called to serve.”
Suzanne Hughes found the day’s topic to be relevant in her ministry as a volunteer eighth grade catechist in St. Theresa Parish, Little Egg Harbor.
“It’s important because we need to bring the Word of God to the learners in a special way so that they can make [appropriate] life decisions going forward,” she said. “We may be their only source of hearing the Scriptures,” she said.
“I hope to implement more Scripture reading and discussion in our class because the learners need to be informed of the true meaning of Scripture,” she said.