Catholic Answers apologists have often recommended the multi-volume commentary,
The Navarre Bible, published by Scepter Publishers, but as mentioned by another poster the commentary on a few Old Testament books is yet to be published in the series.
For a single-volume commentary Catholic Answer apologists often recommend the out-of-print 1953 edition of
A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, edited by Dom Bernard Orchard, et al., published by Thomas Nelson & Sons. A copy might be had from used book dealers, such as
www.abebook.com or on
www.ebay.com
Of the books you asked about,
The Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture, by Bishop Frederick Justus Knecht, and reprinted by TAN Books in 2003, describes itself on the back cover, saying:
This book is a great introductory Bible study all by itself—for it brings out the Catholic teachings that are hidden in Sacred Scripture! A famous book—one which received recommendations from 14 bishops when first published and which went through at least 16 editions—this commentary is not a work for scholars, but rather a very practical book for the “ordinary” Catholic. It hands on to new generations the classic Scriptural teachings on faith and morals—from both Old Testament and New Testament—in a manner that is easy to understand.
A typical chapter will first tell the Bible story, based on the Douay-Rheims Bible, with many fascinating explanations of particular words and phrases. Then follow many brief explanations of topics in the Scripture passage, showing clearly the Catholic doctrines that are contained there. These include teachings on the Catholic Church, the Mass, the Sacraments—especially the Holy Eucharis—Sanctifying Grace, intercessory prayer, Mortal Sin and Venial Sin, Forgiveness, the Will of God, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and much more. Finally, a brief “Application” to daily life is given in each chapter. (Some of these are aimed at youth, yet overall they apply to everyone.)
Among other things, this extremely valuable book shows that the early Church was the Catholic Church and that the Bible is a Catholic book. Every Catholic family, every classroom, every home school, every catechist and every priest should have a well-used copy of
A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture.
As you can see from this description, the book is an “introductory Bible study” for “‘ordinary’ Catholics,” particularly those in “high school” and “not a work for scholars”
The book is not a proper verse-by-verse or even chapter-by-chapter bible commentary but more of a survey of bible history based on selected Bible texts taken from the historical books of Old and New Testaments of Douay-Rheims Bible. There is footnote commentary on some particular words or phrases found in the Bible text. This is followed by a section of catechetical instructions on the Catholic faith and morals suggested by the Bible text. First published in German in 1883 and first in English in 1894, this is a 2003 reprint of the 1923 edition. This 2003 reprint does, however, contain a few publisher’s footnotes that clarify certain aspects of the original text with regard to more modern developments.
Another Catholic Bible commentary you might consider is the 2-volume 1992 reprint of the 1859 edition of
Haydock’s Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, published by
Catholic Treasures.
The New Testament commentary only is available online
here.
The overall tone of the commenary is apologetical with frequent citations from the Church Fathers.
