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

[metmom]

Maybe someone needs to tell that to THESE Roman Catholic churches.

[metmom]

They’re pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.

It doesn’t work.

*We’re infallible because we said so*, doesn’t cut it.

[Jvette]

There is no Roman Catholic church.

It is the Catholic Church, Latin Rite.

When used in the way it is in your photos, it is as a way to distinguish them as of the Latin Rite which is centered in Rome. Roman Catholic is an adjective describing the church itself.

Note that NONE of the them say THE Roman Catholic Church.

There are Eastern Rites that differ from the Latin Rite which is generally the rite followed in the Western world.

[Jvette]

Again it is distinction of the Rite. I call myself a Roman Catholic and by that people understand what I believe and how I practice my faith.

The Church is just Catholic. Roman does not mean it has its origin in Rome but rather signals communion with the Holy See in Rome.

[Elsie]

Note that NONE of the them say THE Roman Catholic Church.

Then I guess THIS one is the 'correct' church!!!

[Elsie]

Roman does not mean it has its origin in Rome but rather signals communion with the Holy See in Rome.

HMMMmmm...

what's so different about the OTHER catholic rites, that you AIN'T in communion with THEM?

[Jvette]

Good heavens NO!

[Jvette]

There are differences which I can’t summarize here in just a few sentences but the “Roman” in the title is a distinction.

There is a connotation that is meant when used here by non Catholics which does not exist. It is a fantasy church which can then be bashed and rejected with impunity.

[Iscool]

You mean the Bible that the Catholic Church compiled and Catholics determined what would be divinely inspired and not be considered divinely inspired and the Word of God.

Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Psa 12:7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Psa 12:8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

Of course this is the information put out by your religion that you are repeating but as we can see, your religion is trying to steal God's glory by corrupting the word of God with its deception...

2Co 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. God picked the canon and God preserved the scriptures...

Your religion gets zero credit...Why you guys continue to push this deceit upon unsuspecting Catholics would be a mystery but many of us know the answer...

God in his scriptures has something to say about you people who try to deceive and pervert his words...

2Co 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

The Catholic Church has never in 20 centuries erred in any matters pertaining to morality. None. Nada, not the first one. That is because God’s Word never changes and Catholic doctrine is not determined on a show of hands like the vast majority of protestant denominations.

Oh what nonsense...How may priests, bishops and cardinals has any of your popes excommunicated for sexual immorality??? None??? Well fancy that...

And the other one??? More nonsense....Most all Catholic doctrine was chosen by a show of hands in the many councils your religion dreamed up...And NEVER with unanimous consent...

[Iscool]

I know that the Catholic teaches that God is merciful and that Jesus is the Savior

But is he YOUR Savior???

[Iscool]

Now you did it...

[Jvette]

Were I the only person who ever lived, Jesus would have died for me. For God so loved me that He sent His only Son. Yes.

[WVKayaker]

I did not see anyone painting Jesus as a sinner ... -Dan

...for ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of GOD careful now, Jesus was 100% man as well as 100% God, did His 100% man part commit a sin??....how about that angry scene with the money changers in the temple....did He sin by losing His temper???did He err in destroying property that didn't belong to him, did He fall short by depriving people of their livlihood??? - Terycarl

The implication is pretty clear. To me, it sounds a little like the serpent speaking to Eve...

Genesis 3: 3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

[NKP_Vet]

“If you mean the institution of the Roman church that shuffled child molesters around to protect them from prosecution while giving them fresh kids to go after, you are wrong. To this we could add additional moral failings of “popes””.

The same liberal talking points when they are pissed at the Catholic Church for not ordaining women and homosexuals. And allowing abortion on demand. You should get along fine with Rachel Maddow on PMSNBC.

I have never once mentioned protestant sex predators in protestant faith. Their percentage is higher than Catholic who have been involved in sexual crimes. I don’t mention it because it is no more indicative of faithful protestants than the 2% of Catholic priests that have been charged with crimes.

I don’t go that low when trying to get a point across.

[NKP_Vet]

Catholics make up 20-25% of the US population, but 45-50% of the US military.

Catholics have been defending their faith and their country since it’s founding. There is no faith more patriotic than the Catholic Church. The reason for that is simple. When you have God on your side who is there to fear. Catholics are also taught from an early age that that this life is short but life is eternal in heaven. Hence there is no fear whatsover of dying in most Catholic men that serve their country.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“The same liberal talking points”

When a conservatives and liberals are observing the same behavior, perhaps you should pay attention.

As it is, instead of dealing with facts, you’ve decided to attach the observer. Your call.

I mention the deplorable behavior of popes and priests because you posted the Roman church is never immoral. I asked if you distinguish between teaching and behavior of those who represent the teaching.

You ignored my main point in your response. You also failed to condemn the deplorable behavior of many popes, priests and bishops.

The exchange had nothing to do with protestants. It was a response to your outlandish claims.

[metmom]

I have never once mentioned protestant sex predators in protestant faith. Their percentage is higher than Catholic who have been involved in sexual crimes.

Stats?

[metmom]

There is no faith more patriotic than the Catholic Church.

That explains the Catholics by and large voting liberal for decades, right?

Electing abortion and homosexual marriage supporting democrats to office sure is being patriotic, isn't it?

I can see that it's done this country a world of good.

[boatbums]

Bigotry is the state of mind of a bigot: someone who, as a result of their prejudices, treats other people with fear, distrust, hatred, contempt, or intolerance on the basis of a person's ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. described bigotry in the following quotation: "The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract."

Etymology

The origin of the word bigot and bigoterie (bigotry) in English dates back to at least 1598, via Middle French, and started with the sense of "religious hypocrite". This meaning still survives in Italian, in the cognate word bigotto. The exact origin of the word is unknown, but it may have come from the German bei and Gott, or the English by God.

William Camden wrote that the Normans were first called bigots, when their Duke Rollo, who when receiving Gisla, daughter of King Charles, in marriage, and with her the investiture of the dukedom, refused to kiss the king's foot in token of subjection – unless the king would hold it out for that specific purpose. When being urged to do it by those present, Rollo answered hastily "No, by God", whereupon the King, turning about, called him bigot, which then passed from him to his people.[2] This is quite probably fictional,[citation needed] as Gisla is unknown in Frankish sources. It is true, however, that the French used the term bigot to abuse the Normans.[3]

The twelfth-century Norman author Wace claimed that bigot was an insult which the French used against the Normans, but it is unclear whether or not this is how it entered the English language.[4]

The French used to call the English les goddams after their favorite curse; Clément Janequin's "La Guerre",[5] which is about the Battle of Marignano, similarly uses the Swiss German curse 'bigot', i.e. "by god!", in a context about the Protestant Swiss.

According to Henry Bradley, the meaning of bigot in the Old French was "detested foreigner", "heretic", and it is supposed that the word was a corruption of Visigot. To the Catholic Franks, the Visigoths of Southern France and Spain were the objects of bitter hatred, both on religious and worldly grounds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigotry

big·ot·ry/ˈbɪgətri/ Show Spelled [big-uh-tree] Show IPA noun, plural big·ot·ries.

1. stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own.

2. the actions, beliefs, prejudices, etc., of a bigot.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Origin:
1665–75; bigot + -ry, formation parallel to French bigoterie

Synonyms
1. narrow-mindedness, bias, discrimination. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bigotry

[WVKayaker]

The same liberal talking points when they are pissed at the Catholic Church for not ordaining women and homosexuals. And allowing abortion on demand. You should get along fine with Rachel Maddow on PMSNBC.

I have never once mentioned protestant sex predators in protestant faith. Their percentage is higher than Catholic who have been involved in sexual crimes. I don’t mention it because it is no more indicative of faithful protestants than the 2% of Catholic priests that have been charged with crimes.

I don’t go that low when trying to get a point across.

Hahahahahahaaaaa...

Hahahahahahaaaaa...