Mary. Judas. Peter. Their voices echo through scripture — and now through Augustine Jeyaraj’s poetry. In this episode, we explore The Word in Their Voices, born from Augustine’s life in medicine, Catholic tradition, and a deep desire to bridge the gap between ancient scripture and modern readers. His poems help us step into these lives with fresh eyes, rediscovering the humanity, struggle, and hope at the heart of their stories.
Sam Youmans: Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!
This episode is being written and produced during the holiday season, so in the spirit of family, friends and Christmas, I thought it made sense to join Dr. Augustine Jeyaraj — a liver transplant surgeon — in his virtual walk with Jesus.
That isn’t as random as it sounds.
Augustine has written a book that’s been getting a lot of positive reviews from Catholic reading circles. People are saying it doesn’t preach at you from above — rather, it walks beside you. Which is on target with his goals because he is walking beside Jesus. It’s called “an easy read, but deep theologically,” which can be a rare mix.
The book is called The Word In Their Voices: A catholic pilgrims journey through Scripture and Poetry, and it’s a collection of poems spoken through the eyes of the people who lived the stories — Mary at the foot of the Cross, Judas in his agony and others. Here’s Augustine.
Jeyaraj: Faith has always been very important to me throughout my life. It’s just that I never gave it the attention it needed until maybe the last 15 years. And as I grew more in the faith, I began to realize that there was a very rich tradition of not only scripture within the Catholic Church, but in fact, para-biblical sources, like for example, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and even the mystics. And when you put them all together, there’s this huge wisdom in the literature that’s out there, but difficult to get access to.
Sam Youmans: He say’s his original intention was to write a book that was easy and simple for people to understand biblical issues and he knew he was on the right track because as he dug deeper, scripture began to shift from something printed on a page into something breathing and alive.
Jeyaraj: Scripture is not something distant, preserved in pages, but perhaps there’s a living story within it, you know, pulsing with the breath of those who once walked the earth. And so I tried to actually relive their lives through poetry in their voices. And that’s what was going on here.
Sam Youmans: So that realization became the seed for the book. Then came the foundation — what the Bible truly is at heart.
Jeyaraj: The Bible is not a book of doctrines, or a book of philosophies, compiled together. It’s a chronicle of human lives, men and women who love, they doubted, they hoped, they despaired, they made choices, and bore the cost of their faith. They inhabited cultures and languages, you know, vastly different from our own. And yet, through their fragile humanity, God spoke. So, you know, when God didn’t, like, choose Abraham, or Noah, or, you know, David, even, who were like superlatives in their faith, they were humans with their flaws. And actually, I wanted to really explore that, you know, the people, people who live the lives, mistakes they made, and how they overcame it, because that’s an important story for us, that we too can actually live the faith, make our mistakes, but come back. And, if you’re ready for a plot twist, he points out that faith is not a guarantee of a good life.
Jeyaraj: That’s the one mistake that people make, and they think that, you know, if I’m going to invest in this faith, my life’s going to be perfect. No, that’s not true. Faith is not a life of certainty. Faith is about living with uncertainty, it’s a peace that helps you navigate the difficulties of life. That’s what faith gives you, yeah.
Sam Youmans: What about those who have no faith at all? There are plenty of non-believers out there who think it’s all a bunch of religious nonsense.
Jeyaraj (Super Rational) People always say that faith is irrational. But in fact, faith is super rational because when you look at all these witnesses in the Bible and live their lives, they too lived as we did. They had the same, you know, worries and tendencies and uncertainties. But the hope is what got them through.
Sam Youmans: So that is the thinking behind the book, his philosophy if you will. Now let’s open it up and have a look at some of the poetry about the people within the Bible. As you know these people lived thousands of years ago so the first thing he wanted to do was to help bridge the time gap.
Jeyaraj (The People) I started with the two popes, Pope Francis and Pope John, because they are within our own cultural era, you know, our same period. So, it’s easier to go into their minds. People would understand when I start the poems with these two. And then, I moved back to St. Augustine. St. Augustine, who lived about AD 430, I think he’s really important, because he’s really the theological lens through which you actually appreciate all the other poems. Because I think the poem that I wrote about St. Augustine is entitled Odo amoris, which means the order of love. Basically, what he says, it’s not wrong to love things, but you must love them in the right order. And I think love of God is central. And then everything falls into place.
Sam Youmans: There are poems in the book about Judas, Peter and Stephen – the first Christian martyr. He writes about a Roman Centurion and the Unnamed people who walk with Jesus but he says one of his favorites is the one he wrote about Mary.
Jeyaraj (Mary) It was a reflection on St. Michelangelo’s Pieta, which I saw in Rome. It’s this year of jubilee, I visited, you know, the churches. And this magnificent, you know, sculpture by Michelangelo. And, you know, it’s Mary holding Jesus, but one hand is open and another hand clutches. And, you know, I meditated on it. And, you know, I went on a tour organized by Edward Street. And, you know, he had asked us to think about that, about that statue, and about the two hands, one open and one clasped. And, you know, it’s a mother’s dilemma. On the one hand, she wants to hold on to Jesus, right? On the other hand, she’s letting him go down to the altar. And so, I thought, hey, maybe I would see it through Mary’s eyes, you know, a mother’s dilemma of loving your son, but having to let him go to fulfill his duty that he was born to do. So, that’s my other favorite poem.
Sam Youmans: And he saved the most important voice for last. Jesus himself. Augustine asks the question: Do you know Jesus?
Not know about him… but truly know him?
Jeyaraj (Do you know Jesus?) And that’s the last poem I leave everyone in the book. And I realized that no matter how much theological insight, or academic knowledge you have, or how much you read the Bible, at the end of it, it’s really the encounter with Jesus, right? Do you have an encounter with Jesus? Do you not know about him, but do you know him? And I think that’s the most important question we need to answer. And the last poem tackles that before I close off.
Sam Youmans: I’m a skeptic at heart and have lived most of my life with one eyebrow raised. I don’t pretend to have the answers, but I am really good at asking questions. And that curiosity has been both a blessing and a curse. So if you too are the kind of person who is naturally suspicious or skeptical, I think you will appreciate Augustine’s final bit of advice.
Jeyaraj: I think it’s very important to discern the truth for yourself, not just listen to anybody interpreting the word for you. And I think what Paul tells you is to test everything and hold on to what is true. And that’s what I’d like to leave everybody with.
Sam Youmans: “Test everything and hold on to what is true.” A great place to wrap up this edition of Newsgram.
The book, The Word in Their Voices: A Catholic Pilgrim’s Journey Through Scripture and Poetry by Augustine Jeyaraj, is out there waiting for you to discover it for yourself. It’s heartfelt, relatable, and written to help anyone — at any stage of faith — draw closer to the God who spoke through ordinary, imperfect human beings like us.
No matter what your faith, religion, or level of belief, I wish you a most joyous holiday season. And as always… Thanks for listening to this edition of Newsgram from Webtalkradio.com.
https://www.amazon.com/Word-their-Voices-Catholic-Scripture/dp/1543784305
