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

[roamer_1]

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.

More than that, I find a predominance of Christians that have never read from 'In the beginning' to 'Amen'. I defy anyone who thinks that they can understand what it says without reading it as a body of work - As one would read a novel - Thus the 'line upon line, precept upon precept' curse. The very first interpretation HAS to be what it says, on it's face, en toto. THEN, having seen the grand scheme, understanding the sweeping general themes and symbols, one can start to peel it like an onion, 'rightly dividing'.

I reject the outline laid out in the OP for that reason - jumping hither and yon is possible, but only after having read it straight through, and that, multiple times. Even now, when the Spirit moves me into a new (for me) revelation, it is more often that I have to re-read the whole work in that context - very seldom can one find such things in interspersed and varied verses.

[CynicalBear]

Seems to me that the very fact that they don’t hunger to read God’s words is indication enough that they have no heart for God but have some other motive for belonging to the RCC organization.

Then there is this quote.

“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

What’s up with that? I thought that the RCC believes you don’t even need to know Christ to be saved.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

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

It’s not hard to do. every night I read at least one or more chapters. You will be amazed at what you find, namely that the Bible is not a Cecil B DeMille script.
Ok, C B DeM left out a lot of important stuff to keep it under 4 hours.

Start with Genesis-2 Chronicles or Matthew. Luke, then Acts.

When done go back to the individual books like Job, Ruth and the prophets. See what you have been missing!

Read it slow! You are not in a race. Meditate on what you have read.

[NYer]

This is not a "community experience".

Have you ever attended a Catholic mass?

[Biggirl]

Just read the readings for the mass/Sunday/daily is a good start.

[Biggirl]

Folks also forget that certain prayers, such as the rosary, is based on the Gospels.

[smvoice]

Your post was beautiful. But wrong, Scripturally. God is not interested in us doing our best. Why have Christ die for our sins if doing our best would be enough? I pray you, in Christ’s stead, read 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 prayerfully. THIS is what God wants from us. And THIS is what He has done for us, in order to be reconciled to us. All I ask of you is to read it. That’s all. And if you want to talk about it, you can private FReepmail me. It’s up to you.

God Bless,

smvoice

[NYer]

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.

God bless you, Vet, for your testimony! I maintain a personal list and pray for those souls each day. You have been added to it. Once on .. it is forever. No one has ever asked me to remove them : - )

[NYer]

Seems to me that the very fact that they don’t hunger to read God’s words is indication enough that they have no heart for God ...

You win the outrageous statement of the day award. Perhaps you missed this in the original post.

For Catholics, Bible reading is liturgical. Hence, Bible reading remains chiefly a community experience.

The hunger is fulfilled at mass.

[vladimir998]

I read through the comments. I cannot believe how ignorant Protestant anti-Catholics are. Seriously, it’s as if being Protestant anti-Catholic actually makes them stupid.

[CynicalBear]

>> The hunger is fulfilled at mass.<<

That’s what I said. No hunger for the words of God. Just a little snippet in mass and their satisfied.

[what's up]

Yes.

I don't think Bible reading should be "chiefly" a community experience.

[Biggirl]

Even in small amounts, it is better than not knowing at all.

[Biggirl]

The anti-Catholic bashing is so embaressing to the ones who do it.

[Salvation]

We’re getting better at it. Thanks to all.

[Salvation]

double fantastic on that one!

[Salvation]

Are you having a bad day? Count yhour blessings, your feet hit the floor this morning.

The people who died today couldn’t do that.

[rwa265]

God Bless You, my FReeper brother in Christ. The fire in the Spirit that glows from those that come into the church through RCIA is truly an inspiration for me. You are so right that it is not easy being a good Catholic, especially if we take the words of Christ to heart. When I read Matthew 25, I ask myself if, when the Son of Man comes into his glory, will I have brought extra oil for my lamps, will I bring as many talents as I have been given, will the king welcome me into the kingdom, for I ministered to the needs of the least of my brothers? I struggle with these questions every day.

Peace

[verga]

Welcome home!

[verga]

it’s as if being Protestant anti-Catholic actually makes them stupid.

I have said repeatedly that it is absolutely impossible to have an intelligent discussion about theology/ religion/ Jesus with a protestant.