Matthew Boffey
If someone wants to renew their love for Scripture, challenge themselves to grow spiritually, and revel in the awe-inspiring character of God, there’s no substitute for studying the Mind of the Church.
That’s why we make Verbum: an exceedingly easy way for anyone to experience the rewards of deep Catholic study—from priests with PhDs to the average layperson.
Here are just five ways (of many) that Verbum helps anyone study the Mind of the Church quickly, intuitively, and deeply.
1. Step-by-step instructions are built right in
Lectio Divina has been a powerful form of contemplative prayer for over a thousand years. Although it’s a spiritually rewarding practice, knowing how to start and sustain it can be challenging.
With Verbum, you’ll never feel stranded.
Our team of biblical experts has captured the essential steps of lots of different study types—from Lectio Divina to homily prep to exegesis. All you have to do is enter the passage, topic, person, or word you need to study, and Verbum lays out every step to take. You’ll even get clear, thorough instructions.
And best of all, every book and tool you need along the way is right in Verbum. You can even create your own workflow to match your favorite study process.
2. Get to the book you need in a couple clicks
Verbum comes with a built-in library of digital books—but what good is a library if you can’t find what you’re looking for?
In Verbum, it’s easy to find the right book for your study—even if you’re not sure exactly what you need.
For example, let’s say I’m studying the Church Fathers. I know I own several patristic collections, so I open up my library in Verbum 8, click on the “Fathers of the church” filter, then drill down to the particular resource I need.
Ordinarily, I’d head straight for the books from the A
That’s right: there are two patristic volumes of systematic theology. My Verbum package is full of so many great books, I might not have realized that. But because of the way we’ve cleanly organized everything in Verbum, I’m able to find these hidden gems.
It’s like browsing a digital bookshelf sorted by subject and author—but way, way faster.
3. Start your study with a click
Mere seconds after launching Verbum, you’ll be in the thick of Bible study. The Home Page lays out your favorite tools and books for easy access.
If you start a Workflow, it’s ready and waiting the next time you open Verbum, so you can jump in where you left off. And of course, you can customize what you see by dragging, dropping, adding, and deleting cards. This is perfect for having your reading plan, workflows, prayer list, and sermon doc ready to go at a moment’s notice.
4. Find your notes in a flash
Capturing your insights is an essential part of in-depth Catholic study. But what good are those notes if you can’t find them right when you need them?
Verbum automatically tags any note with the book title, date, Bible reference, Greek or Hebrew lemma, or other important data. That means your note is there the next time you need it.
You can collect all your notes on a subject into a Notebook—for example, a notebook dedicated to “Pope Benedict XVI on Christology” or “Theology of the Body.” Or just add a few tags to quickly categorize your notes.
And it’s really easy to find your notes. You just click on a few links to drill down to the note you need. Sort all your notes by books of the Bible, original language lemmas, and other metadata.
5. Run smart searches
With Search Templates in Verbum, highly specific Bible searches are open to anybody.
If you can fill out a form, you can search with Verbum.
Simply choose the Search Template “A Person Speaks about Something” and fill out this little form:
And that’s just one example. There are plenty of other search templates to choose from—and many are based on the original Greek and Hebrew. Whether you’re brand new to Verbum or are a power user, you’ll love how much time this new feature will save you.
***
Give the gift of Verbum this Easter, with versions tailored for new Catholics or deacons and priests. Learn more.
Verbum
