Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Younger, 1628

Besides reading the Bible while sipping a cup of coffee, how else can we learn about God? There are several ways to read and learn from the Bible. One of them, which is widely practised in the Catholic Church, is called Bibliodrama.

From January 28 to February 1, a Bibliodrama workshop was held at Xavier Learning Community (XLC) by Caritas Thailand under the guidance of the Bishops’ Conference of Thailand. Fr Oscar Alunday SVD and Mary Almonte of Notre Dame de Vie led us through the five-day programme, which focussed on “the Roles of Women in the Bible”. Participants included XLC Director Fr Pichet Saengthien SJ, religious sisters, laypeople, diocesan seminarians and Jesuit candidates. The programme was conducted entirely in English with Thai translation.

The workshop began with a prayer, but not just an ordinary prayer. We posted physical movements along with it. Each movement corresponded with the meaning of the prayer. For example, we glanced at the back of our foot as we said the prayer to re-examine our past actions. And as the central theme of the workshop was on women in the Bible, Fr Oscar highlighted Luke 10:38-42 which portrayed a scene about Martha and Mary.

He led us in analysing the story and sharing our thoughts on it. We then did the “Martha-Mary Dance” in which the dance moves corresponded with the Words. We were also introduced to the contemplation with pictures of the “Life Map of Jesus”, in which we got to choose a picture of a scene in Jesus’ life and shared our reflection on it. Fr Oscar showed us a picture of Martha and Mary and explained their role as faithful followers of Jesus. These women placed Jesus in the centre of their lives.

The workshop introduced us to a new way of exploring the Bible that deepened our understanding of the Word to implement it in our lives. The programme also helped us realise the equality of men and women in the eyes of God.