“I also was raised Catholic, and in 8 years of Catholic school, we were never once encouraged to read a Bible, and you never ever heard the word Bible and study in the same sentence.”
And yet the Church did encourage it and so did every Catholic Bible itself. Ever hear of Vatican II?
“Not once. Sure, we were read some of the stories in the Bible, but that all we ever got, just a few verses here and there.”
Ever go to Mass? There's way more than a few verses here and there.
“I know of only just a few Bibles on the church property, one at the altar, and maybe a few of the nuns had them. There were never ANY Bibles in the pews, just that missal thing.”
There's no reason to put Bibles in the pews when the Missal is what is needed for the Mass.
“We had one at home, but since we were never encouraged to read it, we never did or were even curious about it.”
The real problem would be your own lack of curiosity.
“In short it was big ripoff.”
No, in itself it wasn't.
“I am so blessed that the Lord opened my eyes in recent years.”
Apparently they're not open enough yet.
Vatican II? How about the Imprintur from the Douay-Rheims in 1582 & 1609. There was an encyclical from Pope Leo XIII in the 19th century, too.
So long as people have been literate and properly catechized, it's been encouraged.
You wrote
“And yet the Church did encourage it and so did every Catholic Bible itself. Ever hear of Vatican II?”
Not in the church, or the school I went to !
“Ever go to Mass? There’s way more than a few verses here and there.”
We went every Sunday, there was just a few readings with out much explanation of it.
“There’s no reason to put Bibles in the pews when the Missal is what is needed for the Mass.”
NO REASON ?, are you afraid people might read it discover some truth ?
“The real problem would be your own lack of curiosity.”
As a grade school kid, we were never encouraged or taught to read the Bible, the ONLY emphasis was just to show up every Sunday, otherwise, it was a “mortal sin”
“In short it was big ripoff.”
No, in itself it wasn’t.
You’re right, church tradition isn’t worth knowing !
“I am so blessed that the Lord opened my eyes in recent years.”
Apparently they’re not open enough yet.
Hey,you have no idea what The Lord has revealed to me !!