RESTORE
This chapter from the BFG Handbook (Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching) presents the gospel through a new "Expression" of God’s Love to RESTORE the Truth.
Chapter 35 from the BFG Handbook (Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching) presents the gospel through a new “Expression” of God’s Love to RESTORE people to the Truth.
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Chapter 35: Mystical Word of God
Receive the Spirit of God 1
For the world will come together as One
Those who come will receive no harm 2
But will find peace and joy
The sound of music and good food 3
Make travelers stop for momentary pleasure
But the spoken Word of God
Sounds plain without a taste for life
When you look for it, it is hidden 4
When you listen to it, it is silent
Yet when used, it is beyond measure
Receive the Spirit, Become One
“Receive the Spirit of God
For the world will come together as One”
Chapter 35 of the Christian edition of the Tao Te Ching emphasizes the profound and transformative power of receiving the Spirit of God. It draws a parallel to the idea that when God’s Spirit is embraced, the world comes together in harmony and unity. In Christian terms, this refers to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, which unites believers in Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). The Holy Spirit creates one body in Christ, transcending divisions of race, culture, or status, and empowering believers to live in peace and joy, as promised in 1 John 5:18. This divine unity offers the peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7), regardless of the circumstances.
Notice that the chapter begins with receiving. We cannot make the Spirit come by effort, any more than we can make our own breath. On Easter night the risen Jesus breathed on His frightened disciples and gave the Spirit as a gift. The Church receives that same gift in Baptism and Confirmation, and every Christian can ask for it again each day.
“…he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.””
John 20:22NRSVue
Then the gift goes to work. The body St. Paul describes has many parts, and they are not all the same: eyes, hands, feet. The Spirit does not erase our differences; He joins them. That is why Pentecost reversed Babel. People from many nations heard one message in their own languages, and a scattered world began, in Christ, to “come together as One.”
“And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.”
Acts 2:6ESV
This unity is not sameness, and it is not a political project. It is communion: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit sharing their own life with us and drawing us to share it with one another. Jesus prayed for it the night before He died, “that all of them may be one” (John 17:21).
“Within the unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples and cultures is gathered together.”Catechism 814
“The body’s unity does not do away with the diversity of its members… Finally, the unity of the Mystical Body triumphs over all human divisions…”Catechism 791
Look at your phone and count the groups: the family thread, the work channel, the neighborhood page, the friends who no longer talk to each other. Any one of them can split over a single comment. Most of us have watched a holiday dinner go quiet over politics or an old hurt. Chapter 35 starts somewhere else: “Receive the Spirit of God, for the world will come together as One.” Unity does not begin with winning the argument. It begins when one person lets the Spirit in and stops treating the others as the enemy.
Try this today: Before you reply to the next tense message, pray “Come, Holy Spirit,” and write the answer that brings people together.
Safe in His Hands, Full of Joy
“Those who come will receive no harm
But will find peace and joy”
The chapter turns the gift into an invitation: “Those who come.” God does not force anyone through the door; He calls, and we come. Its footnote points to St. John’s promise that the Son of God keeps His own. This does not mean believers never get sick, lose jobs or grieve. Jesus Himself suffered. It means the evil one cannot touch what matters most: our life in God.
“We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them.”
1 John 5:18NRSVue
So “no harm” is about the soul held safe in Christ. St. Paul lists every power he can think of, death and life, the present and the future, and says none of them can pull us out of God’s love. Coming to Jesus does not lift us out of the storm, but it puts us in the boat with Him.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39ESV
And then: “But will find peace and joy.” These are not moods we manufacture. They are fruits of the Spirit, given to those who stay close to Christ. His peace is not the world’s peace, which depends on everything going right (John 14:27). His joy can live right next to tears, because it rests on Him, not on how the day went.
“One who entrusts himself to God does not dread the devil. ‘If God is for us, who is against us?’”St. Ambrose, quoted in Catechism 2852
“Hope is also a weapon that protects us in the struggle of salvation… It affords us joy even under trial: ‘Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation.’”Catechism 1820
It is late, and you are lying awake running through the list: the bills, the test results, the kid who is not answering texts, the job that might not last. You check the news, which only adds to the list. Chapter 35 does not promise that nothing hard will happen. It promises something deeper: “Those who come will receive no harm, but will find peace and joy.” Coming to Jesus in the middle of the night, with the list still in your head, is enough. He keeps you, and His peace can find you even there.
Try this today: Tonight, name each worry out loud to Jesus, and after each one say, “You keep me safe.”
Music, Food and a Passing Feast
“The sound of music and good food
Make travelers stop for momentary pleasure”
The chapter also contrasts the superficial pleasures of the world, such as music and food, which may provide momentary satisfaction but do not fulfill the deeper needs of the soul. This echoes the distinction between earthly pleasures and the eternal satisfaction found in God’s Word. In Exodus 32:1-21, the people sought pleasure and satisfaction in idolatry, only to find it hollow and ultimately destructive. The Christian perspective highlights that, unlike these fleeting distractions, the Word of God offers lasting peace and joy to those who truly seek it.
The chapter does not say music and food are bad. God made taste and rhythm, and Jesus was known for eating with sinners and celebrating at a wedding. The problem is the word “stop.” Travelers have somewhere to go. A pleasure becomes a trap when it makes us forget the journey, and the people at the foot of Sinai forgot it fast.
“Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.””
1 Corinthians 10:7ESV
St. Paul retold that story as a warning for Christians. The golden calf did not look like rebellion at first; it looked like a party. Idols still work that way. They are rarely statues now, but anything that promises to fill the empty place, for a moment. God offers a better feast.
“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”
Isaiah 55:2ESV
Notice how Isaiah moves from eating to listening. The real food is God’s Word, and in the end Christ Himself, the Bread of Life. Music and good food become holy again when they lead us to give thanks, not when they become the place where we stop.
“These empty idols make their worshippers empty… God, however, is the ‘living God’ who gives life and intervenes in history.”Catechism 2112
“God calls man first. Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer.”Catechism 2567
Friday night: the playlist is on, the takeout has arrived, and the show starts the next episode on its own. None of it is wrong. But by Sunday you notice the same restless feeling you had on Friday, maybe with a little regret added. Chapter 35 names it: “The sound of music and good food make travelers stop for momentary pleasure.” The pleasure was real, and it lasted only a moment. You were made for a joy that is still there when the music stops.
Try this today: At your next meal, pause before eating, thank God for the food and for anyone at the table, and ask Him to feed your soul too.
A Word That Sounds Plain
“But the spoken Word of God
Sounds plain without a taste for life”
After the noise of the feast comes something quiet: “the spoken Word of God.” Next to music and food, it can seem plain. God chose to speak in ordinary human words, in simple stories about seeds, sheep, coins and a lost son. He comes humbly, the way He came in a stable, and the way He comes in the plain bread of the Eucharist.
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
John 6:63ESV
The chapter says the Word sounds plain “without a taste for life.” The problem is not the Word but the palate. Someone who lives on sugar finds real food bland. In the same way, a heart filled with noise and quick pleasure can find Scripture dull. The cure is to taste it, slowly and often, until the appetite changes.
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
Psalm 34:8ESV
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus knew the Scriptures, but grief had taken away their taste for them. Then Jesus opened the Word to them, and their hearts burned within them (Luke 24:32). The same Lord still opens the Scriptures to us, above all at Mass, where the Word is proclaimed and then given as food.
“In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his goodness God speaks to them in human words…”Catechism 101
“…the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God’s Word and Christ’s Body.”Catechism 103
“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”St. Jerome, quoted in Catechism 133
You open the Bible app with good intentions, read half a chapter of names and rules, and close it to check a message. Meanwhile a video with a catchy beat holds you far longer. It is not that you do not care about God. Chapter 35 explains it: the Word “sounds plain without a taste for life.” Our taste has been trained by speed and noise. Like learning to enjoy real food after years of candy, it takes a little time. Start with the Gospels, read one story slowly, and let that be enough for today.
Try this today: Read one short Gospel story today, slowly, then stop and ask: “Lord, what are You saying to me?”
Hidden from the Hurried Eye
“When you look for it, it is hidden”
Furthermore, the passage points out the paradox of God’s Word—while it may seem plain or hidden to those without a spiritual appetite for it, it holds immeasurable power for those who listen with open hearts. In Mark 4:21-25 and Matthew 13:10-17, Jesus explains that the Word of God is often hidden from those who do not seek it with a pure heart, but to those who are open to God’s revelation, it becomes a source of profound insight and understanding. The Word of God, though simple in its appearance, is beyond measure in its ability to transform lives and draw people into deeper communion with God.
Jesus spoke this way on purpose. In Matthew 13 the disciples ask why He teaches in parables, and He answers that some people look without seeing. A parable is like a lamp in a dark room: it shows what is there to anyone who will open their eyes, and it stays a riddle to anyone who only glances.
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.”
Matthew 13:16ESV
So why is it hidden “when you look for it”? Because God is not an object we can track down like a lost key. We do not find Him by grabbing; we find Him by letting ourselves be found. The Word opens to humble, patient seeking, the kind that keeps coming back. And it is never hidden in order to stay hidden.
“For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.”
Mark 4:22ESV
“Meditation is above all a quest… to understand the why and how of the Christian life, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking.”Catechism 2705
“Seek in reading and you will find in meditating; knock in mental prayer and it will be opened to you by contemplation.”Spiritual writers, quoted in Catechism 2654
“The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual understanding of the Word of God to those who read or hear it, according to the dispositions of their hearts.”Catechism 1101
You search your phone for answers all day: directions, reviews, a recipe, a symptom. Results appear in seconds. So when you ask God what to do about a hard decision and nothing appears, it feels like He is hiding. Chapter 35 says it plainly: “When you look for it, it is hidden.” God’s Word does not work like a search bar. It opens to the person who keeps coming back, who sits with a Gospel story more than once, and who asks with a humble heart instead of a demand.
Try this today: Go back to a Gospel passage you have read before, read it again, and ask God to show you one thing you missed.
Silent, Yet Beyond Measure
“When you listen to it, it is silent
Yet when used, it is beyond measure”
This idea resonates with the Christian call to listen for God’s voice, which often comes not in grand displays or outward manifestations but in quiet, still moments where one’s heart is attuned to the Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit works subtly but powerfully within believers, so too does the Word of God bring transformation and life when received with faith. The chapter thus invites believers to move beyond surface-level pleasures and distractions and to seek the deeper, eternal satisfaction found only in God’s Word and Spirit.
Silence is not the opposite of God’s Word; it is where the Word is heard. While Martha rushed around the kitchen, her sister Mary sat still and listened, and Jesus said she had chosen the better part. His mother Mary kept the words of the angel and the shepherds and “pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Even when God seems silent, as Jesus felt on the Cross, He is still speaking.
“And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.”
Luke 10:39ESV
Then the chapter’s last line changes everything: “Yet when used, it is beyond measure.” The Word is not only for listening; it is for living. A seed left in the packet does nothing. Planted, it grows by itself, even while the farmer sleeps (Mark 4:26-29). Jesus says the measure we give to His Word comes back to us, “and even more” (Mark 4:24).
“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:11ESV
“God’s silence prolongs his earlier words. In these moments of darkness, he speaks through the mystery of his silence.”Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini 21
“…letting ourselves be struck by the inexhaustible freshness of God’s word which never grows old, overcoming our deafness to those words that do not fit our own opinions or prejudices…”Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini 46
“God’s word is unpredictable in its power… The Church has to accept this unruly freedom of the word, which accomplishes what it wills in ways that surpass our calculations and ways of thinking.”Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 22
Think of the first quiet moment you had today. Maybe there was none: an alarm, a podcast in the car, the TV on in the background, earbuds until bedtime. We fill every gap, and then we wonder why God seems silent. Chapter 35 says, “When you listen to it, it is silent,” but it does not stop there: “Yet when used, it is beyond measure.” One verse, carried in silence and then lived, a patient answer to your child or an honest word at work, can do more than you could ever measure.
Try this today: Drive, walk or wash the dishes in silence once today, and carry one line of Scripture with you into it.
Living the Chapter
The whole chapter, put into practice
Chapter 35 moves from gift to fruit. It begins with receiving the Spirit, who gathers a divided world into one Body. It warns us about stopping for the music and food of the moment. And it leads us to the Word of God: plain to the hurried, hidden to the grasping, silent to the noisy, yet beyond measure for anyone who lives it.
So we live it simply. We ask for the Spirit each morning. We come to Jesus with our worries and let Him keep us. We enjoy good gifts without stopping there. We open the Gospel, read slowly, listen in silence, and then carry one line into the day.
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.”
Jeremiah 15:16ESV
“…prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that a dialogue takes place between God and man. For ‘we speak to him when we pray; we listen to him when we read the divine oracles.’”Catechism 2653
“When the Holy Spirit awakens faith, he not only gives an understanding of the Word of God, but through the sacraments also makes present the ‘wonders’ of God which it proclaims.”Catechism 1155
Picture an ordinary Tuesday lived this way. You wake up and whisper, “Come, Holy Spirit.” You read one Gospel story with your coffee before the news. At work you choose the comment that unites instead of the one that wins. At dinner you enjoy the food and thank God for it. In the car you turn the music off for a while and listen. Nothing looks dramatic. But Chapter 35 promises that when God’s Word is used, “it is beyond measure.”
Try this today: This week, begin each morning with “Come, Holy Spirit” and one short line from the Gospel.
RENEWAL
The Trinitarian M.A.P. is the method for RENEWAL, where God’s Love shapes our MINDSET, Trust in the Son directs our AIM, and Faith in the Holy Spirit guides our PRACTICE.
This chapter offers a new “Method” for the New Evangelization to RENEW our hearts and minds through the Trinitarian M.A.P. Bring this chapter into your day with the BFG Companion App. Pick Chapter 35 and an area of your life, and get Guidance made for you.
Chapter 35 begins with an invitation, not an order to try harder: “Receive the Spirit of God.” A renewed mind starts by receiving. On Easter night Jesus breathed on His frightened friends and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). We are used to earning everything: grades, paychecks, likes, respect. But the Spirit is a gift, poured out, not won. So the first change in our thinking is simple and hard: open your hands. Before you plan, fix or prove anything today, let God give you His Spirit. Everything else in this chapter flows from that.
The chapter then says what the Spirit does: “For the world will come together as One.” Our minds are trained to sort people into sides: us and them, my group chat and theirs. St. Paul says the Spirit does the opposite: “we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13). A Spirit-filled mind stops asking, “Whose side are you on?” and starts asking, “How are we already one in Christ?” That one question changes how we see the coworker, the neighbor and the relative who drives us crazy.
Try this: Today, when someone gets on your nerves, quietly pray: “Holy Spirit, show me how we are one.”
John 20:22NRSVue “…he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.””
1 Corinthians 12:13NRSVue “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
More Scripture: Ephesians 4:3 · Galatians 3:28
The chapter gives the heart a clear direction: “Those who come will receive no harm, but will find peace and joy.” Our aim is not a life without trouble; Jesus never promised that. Our aim is to come to Him, again and again, and find what nothing can take away. St. John writes that “the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them” (1 John 5:18). Held by Christ, our deepest self is safe. So we point our days toward Him the way a traveler points toward home, trusting that His peace and joy are waiting there.
Then the chapter names what pulls us off course: “The sound of music and good food make travelers stop for momentary pleasure.” Music and food are good gifts, but a traveler who stops at every roadside party never arrives. At Mount Sinai the people grew tired of waiting, made a golden calf, and “sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry” (Exodus 32:6). We do the same with endless shows, snacks and scrolling. Our aim is to enjoy the gifts without making them the goal, and to keep walking toward the Giver.
Try this: Notice what you reach for when you feel restless, a snack, a show or your phone, and this week say one short prayer before you reach for it.
1 John 5:18NRSVue “We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them.”
Exodus 32:6NRSVue “They rose early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being, and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to revel.”
More Scripture: Romans 14:17 · Philippians 4:7
Renewal becomes real when we open the Word. The chapter is honest: “But the spoken Word of God sounds plain without a taste for life.” If we read the Bible like a terms-and-conditions page, it will feel dry. A taste grows by tasting. The psalmist says, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103, NRSVue). So we practice small and steady: one Gospel passage in the morning, read slowly, with a short prayer first: “Lord, give me a taste for Your Word.” Little by little, the plain words begin to feed us.
The chapter ends with a paradox: “When you look for it, it is hidden. When you listen to it, it is silent. Yet when used, it is beyond measure.” God’s Word does not shout over the noise; it waits to be lived. Jesus says, “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more” (Mark 4:24). So we practice using it: one line carried into the day and put into action at work, at home or online. A verse lived out at breakfast can change the whole day.
Try this: Choose one short line from today’s Gospel, put it on your phone’s lock screen, and try to live it before night.
Psalm 119:103NRSVue “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Mark 4:24NRSVue “…Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and it will be added to you.”
More Scripture: James 1:22 · Isaiah 55:11
In short: think humbly, aim at what is eternal, live by the Spirit. Receive the Spirit who makes us one, aim for the peace and joy that outlast every passing pleasure, and practice tasting and using God’s plain, hidden Word until it proves beyond measure.
RESPOND
Renewal brings the transformation of our spirit with ardor, empowering us to RESPOND to the call of holiness and make disciples of all nations. This encourages meaningful dialogue to embrace shared truths that transcend cultural and religious boundaries.
Renewal does not stay inside us. Chapter 35 begins with a gift, “Receive the Spirit of God,” and that same Spirit always moves outward: “For the world will come together as One.” At Pentecost the Spirit came, and a crowd from many nations heard the apostles in their own languages. The Word that once seemed plain became fire on their lips. The Spirit you received is the Spirit who gathers the world.
In 1983, Saint John Paul II called the Church to an evangelization that is “new in its ardor, new in its methods, new in its expression.” The Gospel never changes. The way we carry it must be alive for our time. Chapter 35 shows why: in a world of loud music, endless feeds and momentary pleasures, the Word of God can sound plain, so it needs fresh words and lives that give it taste again.
Ardor is the fire of a heart that has been loved by God. People feel it before they hear a single word. Chapter 35 says the Word “sounds plain without a taste for life.” The fire is not louder words; it is a heart that has tasted God’s Word and cannot keep it to itself.
Use the words people use today: simple, honest and personal. Share your story, not a lecture. Chapter 35 knows that music and good food make travelers stop, so meet people around a table or a song, then point past the “momentary pleasure” to the Word that lasts.
Meet people where they are: on the phone in their hand. The BFG Handbook and the BFG Companion turn one conversation into a path to Christ and His Church. Chapter 35 says the Word is “hidden” and “silent” until it is used. Our tools only open the door; the Spirit is the One who makes the Word come alive in a heart.
Use the words people use today: simple, honest and personal. Share your story, not a lecture. Chapter 35 knows that music and good food make travelers stop, so meet people around a table or a song, then point past the “momentary pleasure” to the Word that lasts.
What my life was like before I really met Jesus.
How He met me, and the moment things began to change.
What is different now, and the hope I carry. When did a Bible verse that once sounded plain suddenly come alive for you, “beyond measure,” as the chapter says?
Meet people where they are: on the phone in their hand. The BFG Handbook and the BFG Companion turn one conversation into a path to Christ and His Church. Chapter 35 says the Word is “hidden” and “silent” until it is used. Our tools only open the door; the Spirit is the One who makes the Word come alive in a heart.
Every chapter has its own song and is written in a language people of every faith can understand. A doorway for dialogue. Chapter 35, Mystical Word of God, helps anyone who finds the Bible dry, feels that God is silent, or longs to heal a divided family or team.
A friend shares a struggle. Together, pick a chapter and an area of life (start with Chapter 35 when someone feels God is silent, finds Scripture plain, or is caught in a divided home or group). In seconds: a reflection, the M.A.P., a saint, a prayer, Scripture, a song and a church nearby. Send it by email, PDF or a share link.
Hard question? Ask it together. Answers are grounded in Catholic teaching, the saints and the BFG Handbook. Talk or type. Try asking together: “Why does the Bible sometimes feel plain to me, and how can I get a taste for it?”
Pray the Rosary with a guided voice, the daily mysteries and beads that follow along. Pray it with someone, even over the phone. In the Rosary we walk through the Gospel with Mary, who listened in silence and treasured God’s Word until it became “beyond measure” in her life.
Catholic churches near anyone, with Mass and Confession times, directions, and one tap to add a time to the calendar. Every conversation can end at a church door. At Mass the Word is proclaimed and then given as the Bread of Life, the one meal that satisfies beyond any “momentary pleasure.”
Morning, midday and evening prayer reminders, a daily streak and a steady prayer rhythm help a new believer keep going. A daily pause to listen, because the Word that seems silent speaks to the heart that stops.
Free to start, no card needed. Read aloud in 48 languages.
One tool that walks with a person from the first question to the church door.
Jesus sent His apostles first to Jerusalem, then to Judea and Samaria, then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Start where you are. Chapter 35 says “those who come will receive no harm,” so the hurting people right around you are the first ones to invite to come.
- Pray the Rosary together on Pray My Rosary.
- Bless your children at bedtime.
- Share a Guidance with a spouse or child who is struggling.
- Find Sunday Mass times together with Church Finder.
- After dinner, read one short Gospel line aloud and ask each person: “What did this taste like to you today?”
- Text a verse from your Guidance.
- Ask, “How can I pray for you?” and pray right then.
- Invite a friend to Mass, then go for coffee.
- Send the line: “When you listen to it, it is silent. Yet when used, it is beyond measure.”
- Be the calm, kind one.
- Pray on your lunch break with a reminder.
- Start a small chapter group that meets once a week. Begin with Chapter 35, Mystical Word of God.
- Respect the rules: invite, never push.
- Listen for the moment: “Things have been hard.”
- Offer: “Can I send you something that helped me?”
- Share the Chapter 35 song.
- Ask good questions and really listen.
- Share your three-part story.
- Open Ask BFG together when a question comes up.
- When a friend says the Bible feels boring, share the line “sounds plain without a taste for life,” and offer to read one passage together.
- Visit the sick, the elderly and the lonely; pray the Rosary with them.
- Serve at a food bank.
- Welcome newcomers at Mass.
- Join your parish evangelization team.
- Ask shops, cafés and offices to display a BFG card with a QR code.
- Offer a short lunch talk on faith at work.
- Business owners: offer the Companion to staff as a free gift, never a requirement.
- Go where people already gather, and be the friendly one who listens.
- Pray quietly for the people around you.
- When a talk turns real, share a Guidance or the chapter song.
- Wear or carry a simple sign of your faith, like a cross or a rosary, that can start a conversation.
- At a coffee shop or a game-day cookout, enjoy the food and the music, then share that Chapter 35 calls them “momentary pleasure” and points to a joy that lasts.
- Host a Chapter 35 “Mystical Word of God” night, a Handbook chapter night, a Rosary night or an “Ask Anything” faith night.
- Show the Companion on a big screen and let people try it.
- We did this at our free conference, The New Evangelization in the Age of AI, at Christ Cathedral.
- Share a Guidance, a chapter song or a Scripture card. Try: “Receive the Spirit of God, for the world will come together as One”
- One post can reach someone you will never meet.
- Join a parish or diocese mission trip.
- The Companion speaks 48 languages, so you leave behind something that keeps speaking after you go home.
- Chapter 35 promises that “the world will come together as One,” and at Pentecost people of many nations heard God in their own languages, the same hope behind sharing in 48 languages.
- Your parish ministries, the Legion of Mary, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities, prison, hospital and campus ministries, and mission groups.
- Bring the BFG tools to their work.
Not everyone will want the Word right away. To many it will sound plain, and some will stay at the music and the food. That is all right. Chapter 35 says that when the Word is used, “it is beyond measure.” Go and live it. Go and share it. Go together. The same Spirit who renewed you now sends you, to help the world come together as One.
Spirit of God, who makes the world one, Holy Spirit, set my heart on fire. Jesus, send me to the one You love. Father, make me Your witness today. Amen.
NRSVue © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.