Diocese enters partnership with Ascension, Knights, to unlock the Bible’s hidden power

This partnership is meant to help us receive that Good News more deeply and live it more faithfully.”

Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell

Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell is inviting Catholics of all ages to grow more deeply in their faith through an abundance of engaging resources.

He’s introducing a new, yearlong partnership between the diocese, Ascension Press and the Missouri Knights of Columbus to draw the faithful into a deeper encounter with God through accessible and enjoyable guidance through Sacred Scripture.

A grant from the Missouri Knights of Columbus’ Religious Information Bureau (RIB) gives registered parishioners access to premium spiritual resources, studies and live events from Ascension (AscensionPress.com/Jefferson).

“Through the work of people such as Father Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavins, Ascension has helped many Catholics encounter Sacred Scripture, better understand the teachings of the Church, and grow more deeply in their relationship with Jesus Christ,” Bishop O’Donnell noted.

The Knights grant reduces the cost for access to all the premium features of the Ascension app, the No. 1 Catholic Bible app, to $1 per new subscriber for the first year of this initiative.

The diocese will also host two Bible in a Day live events — one on Sept. 19, another next spring.

Ascension’s Bible in a Day introduces the Bible Timeline® learning system, which organizes Scripture into its major time periods, making it easier to follow the “big picture” of salvation history.

This system has already helped millions of Catholics read and understand the Bible without confusion or frustration.

The partnership with Ascension will also include resources for a fall Bible study called “Unlocking the Mystery of the Bible,” by Jeff Cavins; and a Lent 2027 Bible study called “No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk through Christ’s Passion,” by Ted Sri, STD.

Ascension will also provide Advent and Lenten studies for individuals, as well as training for Bible study and small group leaders.

Maureen Quinn, diocesan director of Religious Education and Youth/Young Adult Ministry, said this initiative is the result of years of research and preparation.

“We’ve been able to provide some really good resources in the past,” she noted. “But we went into this year knowing we wanted to provide something very wide and very deep.”

Fundamental truth

Ascension primarily distributes its materials to individuals and families.

Mrs. Quinn and her staff approached Ascension about buying printed materials in bulk and providing new app subscriptions for the whole diocese.

That proposal became Ascension’s first initiative with a diocese.

“These are incredibly strong resources at the fingertips of anyone who downloads the app,” Mrs. Quinn noted.

Ascension also agreed to offer the Bible in a Day presentations at a discounted rate.

Bishop O’Donnell called the partnership a singular opportunity for the people of this diocese to “grow in our knowledge, love and living of the Catholic faith.”

He said Ascension’s entire offering is built on the simple, history-altering message that “God loves us, he has sent his Son to save us through his death and resurrection, and he invites each of us into new life, forgiveness, hope and communion with him.”

“This partnership is meant to help us receive that Good News more deeply and live it more faithfully,” the bishop stated. 

Mrs. Quinn noted that the diocese has a strong history of providing faith sharing materials for small groups.

“This goes back 40-plus years,” she said, “so it’s not a foreign concept to our people.

“But we’re not in a place now where we can produce our own materials,” she said. “But the resources Ascension provides are of high quality for our people to walk through Scripture and grow together.”

She emphasized that everything Ascension provides — the app, faith formation opportunities, Bible studies, Bible in a Day gatherings and facilitator training events — “is centered on the proclamation that we are created in God’s image.”

“And although we are broken, God sent his own Son to live, die and rise for each of us, and he continues to be present to every single one of us at every single Mass throughout the world and throughout time,” she said.

“This is foundational truth,” she noted. “We are all called to be in relationship with God, and that call requires a response from each of us.”

Time and eternity

The first Bible in a Day live event, cosponsored by Women’s Ministry of the diocese, will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Cana Hall in the Cathedral of St. Joseph, 2305 W. Main St. in Jefferson City.

Catholic theology teacher, author, speaker and longtime minister Colin MacIver (ascensionpress.com/pages/person/colin-maciver) will help participants discover how the Bible tells one unified story of God’s love for his people.

Using the Bible Timeline® Learning System, Mr. MacIver will reveal how the key people, places and events of Scripture connect from Genesis all the way to the Church today.

All are encouraged to sign up and attend. There is no cost, and lunch is included.

Visit diojeffcity.org/registration-workshops to register.

Knight shift

Bishop O’Donnell was quick to thank the Knights of Columbus Missouri State Council for providing the funding for this initiative through its Religious Education Bureau (RIB).

“Their generosity is a gift to our entire local Church,” he said.

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization.

One of the Knights’ main objectives is to help families become domestic churches of faith and love, so that they can work with their pastors to support their parishes in evangelizing and forming people in the faith.

“This initiative is part of our mission to help build up the Church and the faith lives of Catholic families, in keeping with the legacy of our founder, Blessed Father Michael McGivney,” said David Kiesling, the Missouri Knights chairman for the Jefferson City diocese.

The Missouri Knights started the RIB in the 1940s, originally to help non-Catholics understand the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church.

Through the decades, the RIB helped instruct many Catholics and non-Catholics in the basics of faith.

The Missouri Knights revamped the RIB program in 2019 in order to work more closely with the state’s four Catholic dioceses.

The members of every Knights council and women’s auxiliary in the state are invited to make a voluntary contribution to the RIB when they renew their annual dues.

Grants given through the program have expanded faith formation across Missouri, often through widely accessible digital tools, “thereby helping to strengthen the whole Church and point people toward heaven,” said Mr. Kiesling.

Excellent timing

Bishop O’Donnell said the Ascension Faith Formation Initiative has the potential to engage every Catholic in the diocese: “those who have studied the faith for many years, those who may be beginning again, and those who are searching for a deeper relationship with the Lord.”

It’s also an open door for inactive Catholics to return to the active practice of their faith.

Mrs. Quinn believes the Ascension materials will assist Catholics in these 38 counties live and confidently proclaim the Good News of salvation.

“At a time when there is so much brokenness and disconnect and ugliness, we need to be the good in the world,” she said.

That means much more than doing and saying nice things.

“It’s about being Christ to others and sharing his love with others,” she said. “Through resources like these, we learn how to be more like Christ, who fulfills and sustains us.”

Visit AscensionPress.com/Jefferson for more details or scan the QR code below.