Are Catholics encouraged to read the Bible?

[Memaw]

The Catholic Church is HOLY. (One,Holy,Catholic and Apostolic), but some of the people in in may not be as holy as they should be. Saints are not born that way. The Grace of God and our response to that Grace is what makes Saints. Starting with Baptism! Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are the guides given us by Our Lord within His Catholic Church, to help us on our Journey to Heaven. With the Holy Sacraments to strengthen us as we go. I am sooo thankful I was born and raise a Catholic but many Catholics take that for granted and don’t appreciate what we have as much as those who truly study and follow the fullness of the TRUTH into the Catholic Church.You are soooo welcome and while you can learn from us and the Church, we can learn from you. I had a cousin that was strong Southern Baptist years ago when they were very anti-Catholic. She had a beautiful love for Our Lord and did her best to bring me into her denomination. I stood strong and we had many talks. Years later as she was dying from Cancer she wanted to talk to a priest. She was received into the Catholic Church before she died and I was sooo happy for her. God Bless, Memaw

 

[Markie_Boy]

The Catholic Church is HOLY. (One,Holy,Catholic and Apostolic), but some of the people in in may not be as holy as they should be. Saints are not born that way. The Grace of God and our response to that Grace is what makes Saints. Starting with Baptism! Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are the guides given us by Our Lord within His Catholic Church, to help us on our Journey to Heaven. With the Holy Sacraments to strengthen us as we go. I am sooo thankful I was born and raise a Catholic but many Catholics take that for granted and don’t appreciate what we have as much as those who truly study and follow the fullness of the TRUTH into the Catholic Church.You are soooo welcome and while you can learn from us and the Church, we can learn from you. I had a cousin that was strong Southern Baptist years ago when they were very anti-Catholic. She had a beautiful love for Our Lord and did her best to bring me into her denomination. I stood strong and we had many talks. Years later as she was dying from Cancer she wanted to talk to a priest. She was received into the Catholic Church before she died and I was sooo happy for her. God Bless, Memaw

A simple God Bless back at you! You made me smile today!

 

[exnihilo]

Now here on CA, I have found Catholics that seem to know scripture forward, back, inside-out - so please no offense - you guys (and gals) are good.

Coming from a Baptist background to possibly back to the Catholic Church (was baptized Catholic, first communion, RCIA and confirmation) I have noticed one thing - I can’t ever recall someone asking me to read my Bible? Pastor, deacon, CCD teacher. I may be forgetting if it happened, but it sure was not common at best.

Pretty much everything I learned about Christianity came from protestant teaching. As I am getting in to the Catholic Church and talking to several CCD teachers they openly admit they are not comfortable as they don’t know much, and neither does the DRE.

I recently asked our local priest after mass, when he prays that “my sacrifice and yours be made an acceptable offering”, what the “yours” part of the sacrifice was. He had no idea or answer. If you pray without knowing what you are praying, is that not vein repetition?

I am wondering, in practice I don’t see Catholics encouraged to read scripture, and as I go up the ladder it’s not looking better.

In my short experience as a Catholic I also don’t find a lot of encouragement to read the Bible in the Catholic Church. But I didn’t necessarily find all that much in my old Protestant church. They did give me a Bible as a child in Sunday School. They did give me a Bible at my confirmation. They did study the Bible in Sunday School and other times. But they never really encouraged me to read the Bible. During a Sunday Service no one ever made a general call to read the Bible more. I think the reason being it was just an assumption that this is what you did because this is how you understood doctrine.

So I’m curious how were you encouraged to read the Bible? As a Baptist your experience may be different from mine. But I’m wondering if this came more from evangelizing. And if so I’d say I think the Catholic Church has a very different approach to evangelizing. It approaches it more from and idea of handing on Tradition which includes the Holy Scripture but also the received teachings not in Scripture. I’d also say that some Protestantism can treat every Sunday service as an evangelizing event. The Catholic Church has more of an idea that the Mass is worship and not evangelizing. In fact in the early days of the Church non-Christians had to leave before the Eucharist.

As for the priest it is unfortunate he didn’t have an answer to your question. You’ll find priests have different strengths and weaknesses like any man. Ideally he would be able to articulate a good explanation for all the various aspects of his faith and practice. If an individual priest can’t you can most certainly find the answer since the Catholic Church has well thought out explanations for just about everything.

One difference between a Baptist minister and a Catholic priest is that the Catholic priest is practicing the Faith as it has been handed on. There are definitely received traditions that he may not understand. The Baptist may be doing this too, though he denies it. But for the Catholic priest he can just accept the tradition on the authority of the Church whereas the Baptist needs to articulate an explanation from Scripture. So the Baptist will have a scriptural answer, maybe just a quote of a few lines, even if it doesn’t hold up well upon further scrutiny. He will have an answer even if it is in some contradiction with other parts of Scripture.

Since you have some experience with the Catholic Church I’m sure you realize that in each Mass lots of Scripture is read and much of the prayers come from Scripture. So it most definitely isn’t the case that the Church doesn’t embrace Scripture. But I’ve certainly been instructed in Mass about the Faith. I’ve been instructed on what the Faith is and how to live it. What I do know is that Bible reading can’t be a necessity of the Faith. I know this because there were plenty of great Christians, especially including early martyrs, who would not have even able to read the Bible of it had been completed and canonized. So while it can be good to read the Bible it isn’t an absolute necessity.

 

[Markie_Boy]

I listen to some non-denominational teaching on line (Greg Laurie was one of the first), and they constantly remind you to read your Bible some every day!

Went to the Baptist Bible study recently (there is none at the Catholic parish), and we read a whole book of the New Testament (a short book), in less than 10 minutes. The point was to show that there is time to read you Bible every day.

At the end of the study, the pastor made the point that if you only learned one thing today, he wanted it to be that there is time to read scripture every day.

 

[Bookcat]

Are Catholics encouraged to read the Bible?

Most certainly. Absolutely!

 

[Bookcat]

Catechism of the Catholic Church

A few quotes

133 The Church "forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful. . . to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.

141 “The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord” (DV 21): both nourish and govern the whole Christian life. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105; cf. Is 50:4).

104 In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, “but as what it really is, the word of God”.67 "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them."68

scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c2a3.htm#101

---

And of course too the recommendation of lectio divina

I would not call them “devotions” more a way of life.

Speaking to a gathering of Youth:

"…I urge you to become familiar with the Bible, and to have it at hand so that it can be your compass pointing out the road to follow. By reading it, you will learn to know Christ. Note what Saint Jerome said in this regard: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (PL 24,17; cf Dei Verbum, 25). A time-honoured way to study and savour the word of God is lectio divina which constitutes a real and veritable spiritual journey marked out in stages. After the* lectio*, which consists of reading and rereading a passage from Sacred Scripture and taking in the main elements, we proceed to meditatio. This is a moment of interior reflection in which the soul turns to God and tries to understand what his word is saying to us today. Then comes oratio in which we linger to talk with God directly. Finally we come to contemplatio. This helps us to keep our hearts attentive to the presence of Christ whose word is “a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Pet 1:19). Reading, study and meditation of the Word should then flow into a life of consistent fidelity to Christ and his teachings.

Saint James tells us: “Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act - they will be blessed in their doing” (1:22-25). Those who listen to the word of God and refer to it always, are constructing their existence on solid foundations. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them”, Jesus said, “will be like a wise man who built his house on rock” (Mt 7:24). It will not collapse when bad weather comes.

To build your life on Christ, to accept the word with joy and put its teachings into practice…"

~ Pope Benedict XVI

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/youth/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20060222_youth_en.html

Latin: lectio divina -divine reading
lectio: reading
meditatio: meditation
oratio: prayer
contemplatio: contempation

also another quote from another place:

"We are grateful to God that in recent times, and thanks to the impact made by the Dogmatic Constitution “Dei Verbum” the fundamental importance of the Word of God has been deeply re-evaluated. From this has derived a renewal of the Church’s life, especially in her preaching, catechesis, theology and spirituality, and even in the ecumenical process. The Church must be constantly renewed and rejuvenated and the Word of God, which never ages and is never depleted, is a privileged means to achieve this goal. Indeed, it is the Word of God, through the Holy Spirit, which always guides us to the whole truth (cf. John 16:13).

In this context, I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of “Lectio divina”: “the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart” (cf. “Dei Verbum,” n. 25). If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church – I am convinced of it – a new spiritual springtime.

As a strong point of biblical ministry, “Lectio divina” should therefore be increasingly encouraged, also through the use of new methods, carefully thought through and in step with the times. It should never be forgotten that the Word of God is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path (cf. Psalm 119[118]:105)"

~ Pope Benedict XVI (Sept 16, 2005)

More could be added…

 

[Memaw]

I listen to some non-denominational teaching on line (Greg Laurie was one of the first), and they constantly remind you to read your Bible some every day!

Went to the Baptist Bible study recently (there is none at the Catholic parish), and we read a whole book of the New Testament (a short book), in less than 10 minutes. The point was to show that there is time to read you Bible every day.

At the end of the study, the pastor made the point that if you only learned one thing today, he wanted it to be that there is time to read scripture every day.

Basically, that’s all the non-Catholic denominations have is the Bible and the preacher preaching. And they got the Bible from the Catholic Church!!! The Catholic Church has soooo much more and including the Sacred Scriptures in the fullest! God Bless, Memaw

 

[Bookcat]

From the Compendium issued by Pope Benedict XVI
**
24. What role does Sacred Scripture play in the life of the Church?**

131-133
141-142

Sacred Scripture gives support and vigor to the life of the Church. For the children of the Church, it is a confirmation of the faith, food for the soul and the fount of the spiritual life. Sacred Scripture is the soul of theology and of pastoral preaching. The Psalmist says that it is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). The Church, therefore, exhorts all to read Sacred Scripture frequently because “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (Saint Jerome).

vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html

One could go on and on and on and on and on…etc with quotes exhorting the reading and study of Sacred Scripture from Popes, the Council, Bishops etc…

Pope Francis has also been exhorting the Faithful to carry the Scriptures with them in their pockets…

To listen to Jesus’ word in order to nourish ourselves! This means that Jesus’ word is the most nourishing food for the soul: it nourishes our souls, it nourishes our faith! I suggest that each day you take a few minutes and read a nice passage of the Gospel and hear what happens there. Hearing Jesus, and each day Jesus’ word enters our hearts and makes us stronger in faith. I also suggest that you have a little Gospel, very little, to carry in your pocket, in your purse, and when we have a little time, perhaps on the bus … when it’s possible on the bus, because on the bus it’s often a bit difficult to keep our balance and guard our pockets, isn’t it?.. But when you are seated, here or there, you can also read during the day. Take the Gospel and read two little words. Having the Gospel with us always! It was said that several of the early martyrs — St Cecilia for example — always carried the Gospel with them: they carried the Gospel; she, Cecilia, carried the Gospel. Because it is truly our basic meal, it is Jesus’ word, which nourishes our faith.

w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140316_omelia-parrocchia-santa-maria-orazione.html

And I would like to give you the Gospel, which you can take home. This Gospel is a pocket-size Gospel you can carry with you always, to read a short passage at a time; to open it like this and read a part of the Gospel, when I have to queue or when I am on the bus… but only when I am comfortable on the bus, because if I am not then I must guard my pockets! To read a little passage of the Gospel at a time. It will do us so much good, so much good! A little every day.

w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140406_omelia-parrocchia-san-gregorio-magno.html

 

[Lenten_ashes]

I spoke to a former seminary student who is a friend of mine, and it sounds like in our diocese, our parish is more the norm than not. When I wrote the diocese I get little or no response. Can’t say for other diocese around us.

“As my pastor told me recently, the Church is in CONSTANT need of reform from within. He reads the stuff from the Vatican and diocese and he says that is always emphasized, lately. So we know house cleaning is in order.” - thanks for sharing this, makes me feel like I am not totally off base.

And for Bible - I have an RSV “The Didache Bible” with commentaries based on the CCC. Prefer it to the NAB.

Have a great day all!

Sounds like no Charismatic parish in your diocese. That’s shame if it’s the case.

Basically, that’s all the non-Catholic denominations have is the Bible and the preacher preaching. And they got the Bible from the Catholic Church!!! The Catholic Church has soooo much more and including the Sacred Scriptures in the fullest! God Bless, Memaw

True, but as Fr. John Corapi used to always point out, they(protestants) Have less than us, but they often do MORE with what they do have than we do.

The Word of God, even w/o correct 100% interpretation is so powerful and there’s no replacement for reading and digesting it. This makes us so much better and well rounded Christians.

 

[Todd977]

Even if personal Bible reading is not encouraged locally, a Catholic who regularly attends Mass on Sundays will, over the course of three years, hear 57.8% of the Gospels and 40.8% of the entire New Testament read publicly. And, the Catholic who attends daily Mass will, over the course of three years, hear 89.8% of the Gospels and 71.5% of the entire New Testament read publicly. (Lectionary Statistics)

 

[Memaw]

Even if personal Bible reading is not encouraged locally, a Catholic who regularly attends Mass on Sundays will, over the course of three years, hear 57.8% of the Gospels and 40.8% of the entire New Testament read publicly. And, the Catholic who attends daily Mass will, over the course of three years, hear 89.8% of the Gospels and 71.5% of the entire New Testament read publicly. (Lectionary Statistics)

Add the Old Testament readings and you have nearly the whole Bible. And the Mass puts them together properly. No need for self interpretation. God Bless, Memaw

 

[po18guy]

Jesus Christ in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Once the Holy Spirit convicts you that He is present in the Holy Eucharist, you will have nowhere else to go. PLUS the bible! PLUS the Apostolic teaching! PLUS God-given authority!

Win-win X2.

 

[rcwitness]

Are Catholics encouraged to read the Bible?

Most certainly. Absolutely!

I think our last 3 popes have increasingly encouraged Scripture devotion. But the problem was the majority of clergy up to that point.

I would like to see earlier teachings.

Even Benedict, in one of your quotes, alludes to this:

“We are grateful to God that in recent times, and thanks to the impact made by the Dogmatic Constitution “Dei Verbum” the fundamental importance of the Word of God has been deeply re-evaluated.”

 

[AmbroseSJ]

Even if personal Bible reading is not encouraged locally, a Catholic who regularly attends Mass on Sundays will, over the course of three years, hear 57.8% of the Gospels and 40.8% of the entire New Testament read publicly. And, the Catholic who attends daily Mass will, over the course of three years, hear 89.8% of the Gospels and 71.5% of the entire New Testament read publicly. (Lectionary Statistics)

Good statistics!

But for those who don’t find that Bible study is encouraged locally, I would suggest they do something to make it happen. I can believe that in some localities, no one has ever noticed or tried to correct this situation, but I can’t believe that the locality would actually fight against it.

 

[rcwitness]

Good statistics!

But for those who don’t find that Bible study is encouraged locally, I would suggest they do something to make it happen. I can believe that in some localities, no one has ever noticed or tried to correct this situation, but I can’t believe that the locality would actually fight against it.

I agree. The faithful need to take action and work at implementing these things. I think that “new” churches that are started from scratch have success sometimes because the members are motivated and have the strong sense that it’s up to them, personally, to uphold the faith. Alot of Catholics feel drowned out, individually.

I’m not saying everything about “bible churches from scratch” are good. But there are aspects of genuine faith and success within them.

 

[Bookcat]

I think our last 3 popes have increasingly encouraged Scripture devotion. …

I would like to see earlier teachings.

Even Benedict, in one of your quotes, alludes to this:

“We are grateful to God that in recent times, and thanks to the impact made by the Dogmatic Constitution “Dei Verbum” the fundamental importance of the Word of God has been deeply re-evaluated.”

Yes in recent times there was the Second Vatican Council with its document Dei Verbum which yes plunged in deeply into the the nature of Divine Revelation including Sacred Scripture - it was “re-evaluated”. Just as other documents of the Council plunged into deeply into other aspects of the Faith such as the nature of the Churc**h .…that is not mean that the Church only then began to encourage reading of Scripture! - Nor did the Church just discover herself then She more deeply re-evaluated and plumbed more the meaning of the nature of the Church.

(The Sacred Scriptures were read from the very beginning - from the first century on wards…though not often the the faithful had a whole bible for themselves or other such large books- for that was very very expensive - until much after the advent of the printing press. But they might have copied parts - for those who could read- in the earliest centuries and of course memorized parts (even some memorized huge parts). And the Deacons kept the scrolls for reading out load in the Liturgy).

And yes Popes etc encouraged reading of the Scriptures …long before the last three…

Some examples:

From a letter from Pope St. Gregory I (6th -7th Century) - just to throw in a more ancient quote…

“The Emperor of heaven, the Lord of men and of angels, has sent you His epistles
for your life’s advantage—and yet you neglect to read them eagerly. Study them, I beg
you, and meditate daily on the words of your Creator. Learn the heart of God in
the words of God, that you may sigh more eagerly for things eternal, that your soul
may be kindled with greater longings for heavenly joys.”

Pope Pius VI in 1778 and Pope Pius VII in 1820 encouraged and exhorted the reading of the Bible.

The Third Council of Baltimore in 1884 in the USA noted:

“It can hardly be necessary for us to remind you, beloved brethren, that the most
highly valued treasure of every family library, and the most frequently and lovingly
made use of, should be the Holy Scriptures… We hope that no family can be found
amongst us without a correct version of the Holy Scriptures"

Pope Leo XIII in 1893 wrote:

“The calm and fair consideration of what has been said will clearly show that the
Church has never failed in taking due measures to bring the Scriptures within reach
of her children, and that she has ever held fast and exercised profitably that
guardianship conferred upon her by Almighty God for the protection and glory of
His holy Word…” Pope Leo XIII, Providentissimus Deus, On the Study of Sacred
Scripture

He even initiated an indulgence in 1898 for reading the Gospels for at least 15 minutes a day and a plenary indulgence once a month for daily reading of the Gospels.

Pope St. Pius X too encouraged the daily reading of the the Gospels.

Pope Benedict XV in 1920 wrote:

“Our one desire for all the Church’s children is that, being saturated with the Bible,
they may arrive at the all-surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ”

And he reminded them that,
“… in these pages is to be sought that food, by which the spiritual life is nourished
unto perfection …”

 

[exnihilo]

I listen to some non-denominational teaching on line (Greg Laurie was one of the first), and they constantly remind you to read your Bible some every day!

Went to the Baptist Bible study recently (there is none at the Catholic parish), and we read a whole book of the New Testament (a short book), in less than 10 minutes. The point was to show that there is time to read you Bible every day.

At the end of the study, the pastor made the point that if you only learned one thing today, he wanted it to be that there is time to read scripture every day.

The Bible is the root of their faith. So I’d expect this. They can’t point to anything else because the only real agreement is that the Bible is Sacred Scripture. A Catholic may be encouraged to use a devotional book that contains both prayers and Scripture. My wife uses one that is itself full of scripture.

I wonder what do you think is the reason you should read scripture each day? And, is it more important to read scripture each day or to pray each day?

 

[Bookcat]

I think

Some more examples (see post up above for the start).

Pope Pius XII in 1943

“Our predecessors, when the opportunity occurred, recommended the study or
preaching or in fine the pious reading and meditation of the sacred Scriptures."

“… This author of salvation, Christ, will men more fully know, more ardently love
and more faithfully imitate in proportion as they are more assiduously urged to
know and meditate the Sacred Letters, especially the New Testament …”

He also granted indulgences to those who read Sacred Scripture (this was to yes encourage frequent reading).

Vatican II Council : 1965 A little piece of Dei Verbum

“21. The Church has always venerated the Scriptures just as she venerates the body
of the Lord, since, especially in sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers
to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s Word and of Christ’s
Body. She has always maintained them, and continues to do so, together with
sacred tradition, as the supreme rule of faith, since, as inspired by God and
committed once and for all to writing, they impart the Word of God Himself
without change, and make the voice of the Holy Spirit resound in the words of the
prophets and Apostles. Therefore, like the Christian religion itself, all the preaching
of the Church must be nourished and regulated by sacred Scripture. For in the
sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and
speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it
stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons,
the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life. Consequently
these words are perfectly applicable to sacred Scripture: ‘For the word of God is
living and active’ (Heb. 4:12) and ‘it has power to build you up and give you your
heritage among all those who are sanctified’ ” (Acts 20:32; see 1 Thess. 2:13).”

Current Indulgences for the Spiritual Reading of Sacred Scriptures:

“A Plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who read the Sacred Scriptures as
spiritual reading, from a text approved by competent authority and with the
reverence due to the divine word, for at least a half an hour; if the time is less, the
indulgence will be partial.”

(Manual of Indulgences 30 USCCB 2006…the indulgences were issued by the
Holy See.)

As you note your already aware of the Last three Popes encouragement - but one could seek out quotes from the two prior to them as well…but no time at the moment and the quote from the Second Vatican Council suffices for it occurred while they were Pope.

I will just conclude again with Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 just to add him again

“…is also important to set aside a certain period each day for meditation on the
Bible, so that the word of God may be a light that illumines our daily pilgrimage
on earth.”

 

[Markie_Boy]

The Bible is the root of their faith. So I’d expect this. They can’t point to anything else because the only real agreement is that the Bible is Sacred Scripture. A Catholic may be encouraged to use a devotional book that contains both prayers and Scripture. My wife uses one that is itself full of scripture.

I wonder what do you think is the reason you should read scripture each day? And, is it more important to read scripture each day or to pray each day?

Great points! I feel sometimes that I have to choose. My reading and prayer time is mostly if I wake up early enough before the kids. If I sleep a little more or they get up early - my time goes bye-bye.

If I was disciplined enough I’d get up even earlier, or make sure to make it up later - and so some days I don’t do as well as I’d like.

More to the point - one without the other seems less effective to me. If my prayer is there, I seen to connect with scripture better. If I only read scripture, it seems more like text book thank conversation.

 

[Della]

Great points! I feel sometimes that I have to choose. My reading and prayer time is mostly if I wake up early enough before the kids. If I sleep a little more or they get up early - my time goes bye-bye.

If I was disciplined enough I’d get up even earlier, or make sure to make it up later - and so some days I don’t do as well as I’d like.

More to the point - one without the other seems less effective to me. If my prayer is there, I seen to connect with scripture better. If I only read scripture, it seems more like text book thank conversation.

Having an active family life can make setting aside time for prayer and Scripture reading difficult, so when you have the time you may want to combine them by practicing Lectio Divina, which is praying with Scripture. After a while you find yourself praying automatically while reading Scripture–it becomes second nature, as it were.

Also, getting kids ready for school and other ordinary daily tasks IS prayer, if we offer up such activities to God. It’s a way to keep St. Paul’s admonition to “pray always.”