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And at what "church" do you hear the entire Bible?

Not a Roman Catholic one.

It is estimated a Roman Catholic who attends only Sunday Mass and Major Feasts will hear 40.8% of the NT and 3.7% of the OT over a three year period.

Pre-Vatican II results were worse with only 16.5% of the NT and 1% of the OT were heard.

http://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/Statistics.htm

This would not even be considered Bible study in Evangelical circles.

The Roman Catholic is leaving 59.2% of the NT unheard and an astounding 96.3% of the OT unheard.

What is your "church"'s calendar? And what "bible" do you subscribe to?

Calendar? You have to have a calendar to tell you what to read and when?

I personally use the NASB and the Greek for the NT. The NASB is the most literal English translation available of the original languages.

I'm enrolled in my last NT Greek Exegesis class. We're studying James this semester.

For this class we're required to write to papers. One, a background paper on James and then an exegetical paper on one of seven passages selected by the professor.

Only academic commentaries are allowed for the exegetical paper and we must use a minimum of six. We have to break down the Greek, explain it, understand the context, etc.

That's real Bible study to me.

I'm trying to pick up Hebrew.

Which Bible does the Roman Catholic read?

I personally use the NASB and the Greek for the NT. The NASB is the most literal English translation available of the original languages.

I'm enrolled in my last NT Greek Exegesis class. We're studying James this semester.

For this class we're required to write to papers. One, a background paper on James and then an exegetical paper on one of seven passages selected by the professor.

Only academic commentaries are allowed for the exegetical paper and we must use a minimum of six. We have to break down the Greek, explain it, understand the context, etc.

Pride, even false pride, is a sin.

If you read and study only James in one semester, how can you read the entire bible in a year?

I can read the Bible myself without nutty study groups.

re: the “What Bible” question.

Currently what is common in the Mass is the New American Bible, revised edition. I don’t think it’s very good. It is too often a paraphrase more than a translation.

Personally I use the RSV Catholic Edition. I check the worrisome parts with the Koine and the MT Hebrew. When I win the lottery I’m going to get the LXX.

Bibleworks is a great program.

May God prosper your efforts with Hebrew. My experience is that a LOT of the OT is fairly straightforward. And some of it is tear out your hair difficult.

I know I'm not a representative Catholic, but FWIW, I don't go to Mass for Bible study. I study on my own time, so to speak.

My parish has several Bible Study groups. But we're unusual.

I became a Catholic in 1994 and Lay Dominican in 2008. I think the Catholic “model” is a lot more “ground up” than even I expected. Lay associations and orders are plenteous. Their members join for prayer, study, and “works of mercy.” So if you want to interact with Scripture both in terms of study and also in terms of “lectio divina”, a prayerful engagement with Scripture, you can knock yourself out. We put it at your feet, but it's between you and God whether you pick it up.

I don't like arguing about it. It seems to go nowhere. But my experience of being Catholic has been one of increasing intimacy with God. The clergy, even when they're dopes, facilitate that. I don't EXPERIENCE the structure as inhibiting. Sometimes it does make me crazy, true. But I find the whole thing helpful, if a tad bizarre sometimes.

It is estimated a Roman Catholic who attends only Sunday Mass and Major Feasts will hear 40.8% of the NT and 3.7% of the OT over a three year period. Pre-Vatican II results were worse with only 16.5% of the NT and 1% of the OT were heard.

So let me simply transplant this idiotic argument into a Protestant context:

"It is estimated that a Protestant who only goes to church on Sunday and never opens their Bible at any other time will read only 10% of the OT!"

If you DO the minimum, you GET the minimum.

Golly gee, there's a shocker!!

What about Daily Mass, all the various votive Masses and other ceremonies like Benediction?

What about the pre-Vatican II Holy Week, with its long readings of all the Evangelists' Passion Narratives straight through? What about the Easter Vigil, with 12 readings from Genesis, Exodus, Baruch, Ezechiel, Isaiah, Jonas, Deuteronomy, and Daniel? Ever sat through that one, like I have?

And what about the whole other half of the traditional liturgy: the Divine Office? You know, the one that was mandatory for clerics on pain of sin? Where you read the entire series of Psalms every week? The Office of Matins, with extensive Scriptural readings? And what about the most common extant book from Middle Ages: The Book of Hours, with Psalms, readings, and extracts from the Gospels which was expressly for the laity to read multiple times a day?

And I'll turn it right back around...at your Sunday Meetin', where do YOU ever hear the stories or read the writings of the Church Fathers: Saints Augustine, Chrysostom, Cyprian? When do you ever hear the stories of the Roman martyrs? The great Bishops who met at Nicaea, at Chalcedon? Leo turning back Attila? Perpetua and Felicity?