“If you go to Mass every day, you will hear the entire Bible read in two years — three years if you go just on Sunday — along with a homily on those readings.”
Or you could (I know this might be a stretch) sit down and read and study the Bible at home as well as going to church. Invite some friends, someone bake something. Serve a little coffee and next thing you know, you have a nice Bible study group going on.
>>Or you could (I know this might be a stretch) sit down and read and study the Bible at home as well as going to church. Invite some friends, someone bake something. Serve a little coffee and next thing you know, you have a nice Bible study group going on.<<
Why?
I’d much rather go to Holy Mass and receive Jesus himself.
Or even Adoration. Which would you prefer? To be with your Father or to read a letter from your Father. I’d rather be with Jesus than just read His Words.
You wrote:
“Or you could (I know this might be a stretch) sit down and read and study the Bible at home as well as going to church.”
True. Protestants - generally - spend more time studying the Bible. I don’t assume that means they know it better than all Catholics, or that they learn it in depth, but many Protestants, of all ages and walks of life, are more than willing to show up on Wednesday night for scripture study.
I’m Catholic, have studied the Bible, and own far TOO MANY lexicons, Bible handbooks, etc. I can’t get enough. I just bought three more such books two days ago and am trying to get ahold of a used book dealer about another book (a book of scripture passages about salvation set up for study and meditation). I wish more of my fellow Catholics in my area were as interested. I do, however, have the chance every Sunday to drive to the next town over and do Lectio Divina every Sunday with some great, Bible-loving Catholics.
(I also can’t wait until the Ignatius Study Bible-New Testament comes out in 2009! More than ten years in the making!)
Why, we can go to Mass everyday and receive Jesus in the Eucharist and hear the Word of God proclaimed.
We have Bible studies and prayer group and altar societies and groups that help the poor and theology studies and full libraries and untold other spiritual resources, both in the parish or from the diocese.