200 in diocese study Psalms with Scripture scholar Jeff Cavins

By Jennifer Willems

Jeff Cavins may not have explored each of the 150 Psalms found in the Bible, but the select few he “broke open” at a workshop in Peoria last Saturday filled every minute allotted to him and left participants wanting to know more.

Sponsored by the diocesan Office of Catechetics, “Journey Through the Psalms” drew 200 people to the Spalding Pastoral Center. By his reckoning, the seminar was the eighth time he has visited the Diocese of Peoria to present overviews of his popular Scripture studies and it marked his second trip to central Illinois this spring -- St. Paul’s in Macomb hosted a presentation of his foundational study, “The Great Adventure Bible Timeline,” at the end of March.

Such faithfulness has its rewards: Cavins told participants they were the first group to walk through “Psalms: The School of Prayer” in a day. Before he left, he also gave them tips on how to get the most out of their study of the Psalms and other Scripture passages through the process of lectio divina.