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

[NKP_Vet]

Like I said the majority of Christians in the US military are Catholic. You can spout all you want about who grandma and grandpa vote for, but I can guarantee you that the vast majority of the Catholic men fighting for this country are as conservative as they come.

[daniel1212]

...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??

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

No, in all fairness the poster is arguing against "all" in "all have sinned" as being inclusive of every single person, which would include the man Christ Jesus.

And as it does not, thus, the argument goes, if there is one exception then there can be two, meaning Mary, and an argument by silence follows, that nowhere does it say Mary sinned, and that a sinless vessel was needed to bring forth the sinless Christ.

However, arguments from silence (which RC's much rely on elsewhere as well) will not do, as one could argue that many others were sinless since it never says they sinned.

Second, what the the Holy Spirit characteristically mentions are exceptions to the norm among notable persons, from great age (Methuselah), to excess size, fingers (Goliath), strength (Samson), devotion (Anna), diet (John the Baptist), and miracles when they are miracles.

Thus the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus is mentioned thrice. However, nothing is said of Mary being sinless, nor among other things attributed to the Mary of Catholicism above that which is written, (cf. 1:Cor. 4:6) is being perpetual virgin in a unique marriage (leave but no cleave). Thus as the Holy Spirit characteristically mentions exceptions to the norm, then unless He does then the norm is to be assumed,

Third, the logic that a sinless vessel is needed to bring forth a a sinless vessel would require the parents of Mary to be so, while if instead Mary was somehow prevented from being stained by sin, as RCs hold (not Orthodox who do not subscribe to RC theology on Original sin), then the same intervention must be allowed for who Mary birthed.

Moreover, it was not necessary for the inspired writers who brought forth God's perfect word in Scripture to be sinless, proving that a clean thing can come thru an unclean instrument, by God's special working.

Much more refutation here on claims made for the Mary of Catholicism

[metmom]

In spite of Catholicism, not because of it.

I would expect a higher percentage of conservative, country loving people to join the military instead of those leftists who hate it.

Those stats prove nothing. The Catholic vote is by and large liberal.

[NKP_Vet]

“The Catholic vote is by and large liberal”

Just like your protestant friends, church going Catholics are vote conservative. The hypocrites, who never sat foot in a church, should not be included in statistics. That is a fact. When a Catholic supports abortion or homosexual “marriage”, they have excommunicated themselves and should quit calling themselves Catholic. The media knows that and ignores it and throws all Catholics into the same pool for their own left-wing purposes. The Catholic Church has a set doctrine that it’s members are expected to abide by. If they can’t, they need to get out and join one of the many liberal protestant denominations all over the country. I would suggest the Episcopalians, who believe in sodomite priests, take no stance on abortion and believe in sodomite “marriage”. But then again, the Episcopalian Church is about dead. Thousands are converting to Catholicism every day because of their liberal doctrine.

[daniel1212]

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

So it is acceptable to use Roman Catholic but wrong to use the "Roman Catholic Church" in any way?

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“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.”

.................

OR maybe it is because most hispanics are roman catholics and poor and there aren’t a lot of jobs or opportunities for them.

Does your worldview not permit any explanation other than “catholicism is great and is responsible for all things?”

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“The hypocrites, who never sat foot in a church, should not be included in statistics. That is a fact. “

That takes away +80% of those you counted as catholic when you claimed 1 billion catholics...

[Jvette]

It depends on the context. If used to describe the Church according to the communion rites, then Roman Catholic is the proper use.

If used as a derogatory acronym to identify the church which is the figment of imagination and which so many here think is the boogieman, then that would not be the proper use.

Roman describes the Latin rite that we follow in the west, for the most part anyway. The Catholic church has many rites but is centered in Rome. Before the 16th or 17th century, there was no distinction of Roman when speaking of the Church.

I belong to the Catholic Church and I am a Roman Catholic because I celebrate the Latin Rite.

[daniel1212]

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

As a collector of stats, that sounds highly suspicious to me. What survey is your source?

Research i found showed that out of almost 1 million 400k in the US military, there were 291,000 Catholics (285,000- RCs) in the US military, but far mored Prots (271,00 nondenom Christians, 173,000 Baptists, 43,000 Methodist, 30,000 Lutheran, etc.) - http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/11/12/raw-data-religious-preference-in-the-military

UPI stated that

overall, 44 percent of Americans in the volunteer military call themselves Protestants and 24 percent say they are Catholics, according to the Defense Manpower Data Center. - http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2003/04/21/Feature-Few-atheists-in-US-foxholes/UPI-80671050943822/

Also,

National Public Radio reported in 2005 that 40 percent of active duty military personnel were evangelical Christians. - http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/5/dod-presentation-classifies-catholics-evangelicals/#ixzz2hGuhAZWZ

And while the Huffington Post complains that evangelical chaplains are over represented,

That precise question has been raised in a series of cases, going back a decade, over the way that the U.S. Navy selects chaplains. These lawsuits allege that the Navy has hired chaplains using a “thirds policy.” According to the people bringing the suits, the Navy used a formula dividing its chaplains into thirds: one-third consisting of liturgical Protestant denominations (such as such as Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians and Presbyterians); another third consisting of Catholics; and a last third consisting of non-liturgical Protestant denominations (such as Baptists, evangelicals, Bible churches, Pentecostals and charismatics) and other faiths. The lawsuits claim that the Navy’s criteria are unconstitutional because they disfavor non-liturgical Protestants, who make up a great deal more than one-third of the Navy, while Catholics and liturgical Protestants each make up less than one-third. - http://www.pewforum.org/2008/07/03/accommodating-faith-in-the-military/

[daniel1212]

It depends on the context. If used to describe the Church according to the communion rites, then Roman Catholic is the proper use.

Which is usually necessary here, and Vatican.va often uses the Roman Catholic church when specifying itself.

If used as a derogatory acronym to identify the church which is the figment of imagination and which so many here think is the boogieman, then that would not be the proper use.

Not so, as it is proper to specifies which boogieman adherents imagine is the NT church.

The Catholic church has many rites but is centered in Rome.

Thus referring to the the Roman Catholic church as "Rome" is no more wrong than referring to the US government as "Washington."

I belong to the Catholic Church and I am a Roman Catholic because I celebrate the Latin Rite.

Which has significant differences with the EOs despite the communion they share.

[metmom]

Just like your protestant friends, church going Catholics are vote conservative.

Not true.

When I worked full time, I worked with a lot of Catholics and those Prots voted conservative and asked the Catholics why they voted dem when the dems supported abortion, and the answer from ALL of them was the same. The Democrats are *for the poor*. That trumped the abortion issue. And these were faithful, attending mass on a more than weekly basis. Holy days and everything.The hypocrites, who never sat foot in a church, should not be included in statistics. That is a fact. When a Catholic supports abortion or homosexual “marriage”, they have excommunicated themselves and should quit calling themselves Catholic.

Except when someone wants to claim that Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination on the planet, 1.2 billion strong. How convenient.

If they've ex-communicated themselves, then Catholics need to stop counting them to over inflate their numbers to try to impress people.

These are not twice a year Catholics. Even the old lady next door to me just recently, this past summer, who faithfully attends Sunday mass, gives generously, attends morning mass during the week as often as her health and the weather permit it, supports abortion and gay marriage. Her response? *I know what the Church teaches but......*.

It's a myth that Catholics like to quote and apparently believe, that those who vote liberal are not faithful Catholics. I can count on one hand the number of Catholics who I have met in real life, who are faithful mass attending Catholics who vote conservative.

Even the stats that daniel provides supports my observations.

I know other former Catholics can verify the same from their experience.

[Jvette]

“Roman” Catholic began as an insult. It is used derogatorily here, as in RCC, by those who wish to demean it.

So, when I see RCC, I know that it is being used in a way that is meant as an insult.

***** Vatican.va often uses the Roman Catholic church when specifying itself.******

Yes it does, though it was begun as an insulting term, over time it has come into common usage to specify the Latin Rite church which is centered in Rome.

Catholics call themselves Catholic, but will say they are Roman Catholic if asked. I must say that is rare as most people don’t need to ask when told I am Catholic.

[metmom]

GMTA

[terycarl]

THAT is the kind of worship and fellowship God wants for ALL His children and it IS found outside of the Roman Catholic Church. I know, because that's why I left.

no it isn't and it is only found outside the Catholic curch...you are assuming that the T.V evangalists, who give their verson of reality aree somehow overly pleasing to God.....Maybe they are and maybe they are not, but He is FAR MORE impressed by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because He said so...

[metmom]

So, when I see RCC, I know that it is being used in a way that is meant as an insult.

Oh, you do, do you? Mind reading much?

It didn't occur to you that just perhaps it's easier and quicker to type RCC than R-o-m-a-n C-a-t-h-o-l-i-c C-h-u-r-c-h-?

Catholics. Church of the Perpetually Offended.

[terycarl]

He just canNOT get away from that REPETIOUS thing!

If you're not out of ink, why don't you post that inane list of naughty popes once more????repetitious (s)

[metmom]

no it isn't and it is only found outside the Catholic curch...you are assuming that the T.V evangalists, who give their verson of reality aree somehow overly pleasing to God.....

bb is assuming that? You know that how?

Maybe they are and maybe they are not, but He is FAR MORE impressed by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because He said so...

Chapter and verse?

[NKP_Vet]

“OR maybe it is because most hispanics are roman catholics and poor and there aren’t a lot of jobs or opportunities for them”.

I guarantee you if you take away Hispanics (of which all are not Catholic to start with), the majority of Christians in the military are Catholic.

Do you have one good thing to say about Catholics? It borders on the ridiculous. I post something positive about my faith, and it is immediately attacked. Makes no difference whatsover what is posted. If it’s Catholic, the longknives come out.

[Elsie]

If you're not out of ink, why don't you post that inane list of naughty popes once more????repetitious (s)

You say the RCC has had some inane popes?

Who voted for those LOSERS anyway??

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The popes list uses a LOT less characters than narses' Latin stuff he posts continually; like it's supposed to mean something to someone.

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1 Corinthians 14:23

If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are insane?