Editorial: Bible in a Year a good resolution for the new year

As the calendar page turned over to 2021 a year ago, one of the major surprises was that the No. 1 podcast in America — not just religious podcasts but all podcasts, going head to head with This American Life and National Public Radio and Joe Rogan — was the Bible in a Year podcast from Ascension Press and the Diocese of Duluth’s own Father Mike Schmitz. 

Many people locally and across the country followed the podcast, based on Jeff Cavins’ Bible Timeline, throughout the entire year. 

As the year closed, Ascension has announced a Spanish language version and promoted the podcast in Times Square in New York City. 

If you’re still looking for a New Year’s resolution and you haven’t already gone through the whole thing — or maybe even if you have — consider giving the podcast a try. Father Schmitz’s inspiration, as he described it to The Northern Cross last year, was being surrounded by the world’s noise and distraction and catastrophe and the need to be rooted in something eternal, like the Scriptures. 

It’s all too obvious that those conditions still apply to many of us. Consider foregoing “doomscrolling” and giving it a listen. It’s available wherever podcasts are found, but for a simple way to get started, simply visit Ascension’s website at media.ascensionpress.com/all-bible-in-a-year-episodes.