The twelve essays in this book have grown out of twenty years of work with adults in the ecclesial lay ministry program for the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, Indiana. I do not see it as mere coincidence that I am writing this on the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist, my patron saint (his birth is celebrated the day after mine).

That is why I have called these essays Entry Points into the Scriptures; they treat of things to know and things to appreciate as one prepares to enter serious study of these sacred texts. They do not substitute for the reading of the texts but try to open minds and hearts to respond to God's message sent to us through the mediation of the human words in the Bible. These essays have been tried and tested and revised over twenty years and have met with some success. However, hearing and doing the Word of God is a matter of grace. Therefore, may John the Baptist, who prepared the way of the Lord, intercede for both author and readers as we approach the "holy place" of God's revelation.

--John P. Nichols, STL, PhD

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