How to Read the Bible – A Three Step Plan (written for Catholics - valid for all)

taylormarshall.com ^ | September 30, 2013 | Dr. Taylor Marshall

[NYer]

How do you read the Bible? Today is the feast day of Saint Jerome, who once quipped, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” – Saint Jerome

It’s a running joke that if you want to find a Bible verse, you ought to ask a Protestant and not a Catholic. Protestants read the Bible. Catholics not so much.

This raises the question:

Why Don’t More Catholics Read the Bible?

I think the answer lies in the fact that we Catholics go to Mass. The Holy Mass has at least two Bible readings every time. If you pray the Breviary or Liturgy of Hours, multiply that several times.

Joe Catholic says to himself, “Why should I study the Bible? I go to Mass. I hear it there. Check and check.”

There is something beautiful in this. For Catholics, Bible reading is liturgical. Hence, Bible reading remains chiefly a community experience.

Three Step Plan to Kick It Up a Notch

It’s good to listen to the readings from the Bible at Holy Mass. However, we also need a personal (even private) encounter with God in the pages of Sacred Scripture. All of the saints breathed Sacred Scripture. Scripture served as the grammar for their souls. They couldn’t communicate without it.

Here are some basic spiritual needs that you have every single day of your life:

1. Praise – Voicing your delight in God and His provision for your life. Gratitude destroys discouragement.
2. Wisdom – You need practical advice to navigate the complexities of life.
3. Challenge – You need to be lifted higher. You need to grow in your faith. You need to be inspired. You must be an intentional Christian.

So when you wake up tomorrow, do the following:

1. Read a Psalm. Start with Psalm 1. Make it your anthem of praise for that day.
2. Read at least one Proverb. Proverbs are the wisdom morsels of your day. There are 31 chapters. Why not read one chapter every day during the month. Oct 1 is Provers 1. October 31 is Proverbs 31. You get the idea.
3. Read a chapter of the one of the Gospels. This is your challenge. Your Savior challenges you in the four Gospels. He calls you to be not merely a nominal Catholic but a disciple. You cannot seriously read the Gospels and stay lukewarm. Christ speaks in a way that cannot be ignored.

“But I’m so busy. I don’t have the time!”

What? You’re too busy. Sorry, you just got served a yellow card:

That’s a yellow card. You’ve been warned…

Doing these three readings will take you only 3-5 minutes. That’s the time of a commercial break. It will change your life for good. I promise. It takes 21 days to make a habit, so give it 21 days and see if you aren’t hooked. Put the Bible on your night stand and read it in the mornings. Start fresh.

“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” – Saint Jerome, Doctor of the Church

[NYer]

Ping!

[Alex Murphy]

It’s a running joke that if you want to find a Bible verse, you ought to ask a Protestant and not a Catholic. Protestants read the Bible. Catholics not so much. This raises the question: Why Don’t More Catholics Read the Bible? I think the answer lies in the fact that we Catholics go to Mass. The Holy Mass has at least two Bible readings every time. If you pray the Breviary or Liturgy of Hours, multiply that several times.

Joe Catholic says to himself, “Why should I study the Bible? I go to Mass. I hear it there. Check and check.”

BWA HAHAHAHAHA

[RoosterRedux]

Whatever else is said on this thread, that painting of St Jerome by El Greco is magnificent.

Love El Greco!

[Repent and Believe]

You bet! Here’s a great tool I’ve used successfully to complete the goal. (LINK & review):

http://christtheking.stores.yahoo.net/howtorebievd.html

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE EVERY DAY
A GUIDE FOR CATHOLICS

Compiled by Carmen Rojas (Foreword by Archbishop John F. Whealon); 48p, PB.

How to Read the Bible Every Day helps Catholics read through the entire Bible. It includes an easy-to-use plan for beginners as well as plans for those already reading Scripture regularly. It even includes a supplemental reading plan keyed to the Church year. The three-year plan involves only 5-7 minutes a day of reading the Bible. Two-year and one-year reading plans give the more ambitious reader the opportunity to read Scripture 10-15 or 20-30 minutes a day. The two-year plan follows the daily readings of the liturgy. Its compact size means you can easily slip it inside your study Bible. Here is an invaluable guide for Catholics who want to grow in their understanding of God’s Word.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Why Don’t More Catholics Read the Bible?

For many years, we were actively discouraged from reading it, lest it lead us to question or challenge any dogma officially coming from Church hierarchy.

Case and point...the other day in Corinthians I was reading a passage where Paul was responding to complaints about people who came to Church and filled up on the bread and wine, literally becoming drunk, and leaving nothing for the remaining worshippers. (ahhh...first century Corinth was a rough and rowdy place, eh?)

He responded by saying that the bread and wine was for the Sacrament of Communion....”Do This in Rememberance of Me”....and that anybody who was hungry should EAT before coming to Church.

This would seem to fly directly in the face of the one-hour fast before taking Communion. And yet the Church routinely likes to quote the advice of Paul when defending a celibate clergy.

Guys in red dresses who deign to get into discussions on stuff like that with us hoi palloi.....THAT’S why they discouraged us from reading the Bible (though I must say, the Church has changed markedly in this regard in recent years).

[NYer]

Excellent! Thank you very much for the information and link.

[mlizzy]

Ah ha! A convert! Great post; I like the way he writes. I've signed up to receive his blog posts. Thank you!

http://taylormarshall.com/2012/01/why-you-should-wear-miraculous-medal.html

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

“I think the answer lies in the fact that we Catholics go to Mass. The Holy Mass has at least two Bible readings every time. If you pray the Breviary or Liturgy of Hours, multiply that several times.

Joe Catholic says to himself, “Why should I study the Bible? I go to Mass. I hear it there. Check and check.””

---

It’s because Catholics have such a shallow idea of what actual Biblical study looks like that they say these silly things. Just hearing some of the superficial ways scripture is used in a Papist mass doesn’t help you at all, and then they’re even disjointed too, taken out of context, and interpreted for you.

You have to actually read the text for yourself, in context. You have to take notes, look up commentaries, often times some disagreeing, examine the language. My degree is in English, and I don’t even do anything less when examining prose or poetry for its intended meanings. This is simply the basic way you approach any text. To understand something, you must read it for yourself, or say it to yourself, reading over the entire book to understand the author, his motivation, his meaning.

You can’t just read a section out of John chapter 5, or Romans 6, and Titus 1, and think that you know anything about any of those books.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

It would be fantastic if every Catholic read God’s Holy Word daily.

Frankly, it would be fantastic if everyone who wants to follow Christ read what God inspired every day.

[what's up]

Bible reading remains chiefly a community experience.

God's Word to the individual is what brings truth so the individual can stand before God on judgment day claiming Christ's righteousness and not his own.

No human will be standing next to you to advocate for you other than Christ.

This is not a "community experience". Sure the Bible should be studied and shared in community to strengthen fellowship. However, individual Bible reading and study is vital for individual assurance.

[huldah1776]

I use the Inductive Bible study approach by Kay Arthur.

[Alex Murphy]

For many years, we were actively discouraged from reading it, lest it lead us to question or challenge any dogma officially coming from Church hierarchy.

Sounds about right. I know of a Catholic whose mother was expressly taught in Catholic school (pre-Vatican II days) that she should not read the Bible for herself, out of fear that she might form an opinion contrary to church teaching. To this day, that woman refuses to read the Bible, for fear of losing her salvation.

[smvoice]

I would be tempted to say “poor mother”, BUT..she has every opportunity to read it for herself. If she chooses NOT to, for any reason, and depends on her church for her salvation, then she can only blame herself when judgment comes.

[The Public Eye]

I bought an old used missal at a used book store. It’s got the bible divided up nicely into daily bites that I can digest. I know, I could just go to mass, but I like to read. It would be difficult to memorize which chapter and verse I was reading, but I can’t do that anyway, so I don’t care.

[smvoice]

Seems the richer you are, the “holier” you are. Of course they would never admit that, but the proof is in the Pope Pudding.

[verga]

Your post is filled with misinformation. Catholics were prohibited from reading incorrect or heretical translations.

Not eating before Mass is a practice or a discipline, it is not a dogmatic teaching and there fore is subject to change.

also keep in mind that a majority or people were illiterate and could not read the Bible, consequently this meant that they could be subject to false teachers.

[Sergio]

bkmk

[NKP_Vet]

I was born and raised Southern Baptist. I was taught to read the Bible from a very early age. I went to Sunday School class after every service. I quit going to church in my 20s but always read the Bible. Used to get drunk to gospel music, especially Hank Williams gospel. I always believed in the Good Lord, but knew there had to be more to being Christian than going to church and listening to a fire and brimestone preacher telling me I was going to hell if I didn’t change my ways. Got married to a Catholic gal in the early 80s and both daughters were raised Catholic. I would go to all the cathacism classes with them and discussed the Bible. I would occasionally attend Mass but didn’t understand what was going on. I got a divorce in the late 90s, met a very devout Catholic lady and would occasionally go to Mass with her. I got to know a lot of people in church and was taken back by how friendly they were, especially a friend who ended up being my sponsor and who also headed the RCIA class. We met for a few months and read the Bible, discussing scripture. Then RCIA class started and last for 6 months. He was surprised that I already knew a lot of scripture and of course it was because I was brought up reading the Bible. He was also a convert, who had been in and out of various Christian denominations, before, as he put it “I finally found the one I was looking for in the Catholic Church, it took me a lifetime but I found it”. On Easter Saturday 2008 I was accepted into the Catholic Church. I have tried to live the faith. It’s not easy being a good Catholic. This was all explained to me by my friend who sponsored me into the Church. He also said a lot of people would make fun of me for being Catholic and I would lose some friends. Both have been the case, but the real friends supported me. I struggle every day with my faith, but with the Grace of God I try my best, and that’s all God wants in us. To try our best, and He will always be there to pick us up when we fall.