Catholics: When did you last read the Bible?

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This is to offer some statistical response to an a-C who asserts:
Go into any RC church today and just see how many people have a bible! As a matter of fact ask the first 100 Rc’s when they last read the Bible themselves.
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The Poll is multiple choice and public. Please feel free to post as to your Bible reading and any other responses you might feel are relevent.

I’ll start. I own several (over 10 I’m sure) Bibles in various editions and translations. My personal reading is done mostly from either the Douay-Rheims Version or the new RSV-CE 2nd Edition but I will refer to others if I feel the need, which is rare. Only a few are non-Catholic versions because I consider them incomplete without all 73 books. For personal study, I would not use a non-Catholic Bible.

I read some of the Bible every single day, and I often look up the Mass readings before I go to Mass and (since I don’t own a Missal [yet]) print them to take with me to daily Mass when I can go. I often carry my Bible with me to Mass or Eucharistic Adoration just because…

Pax Domini sit semper Vobiscum,
 
Douay - Rheims ( main Bible we use )

Gideons Bible ( given to me )

American Standard Version ( bought before I returned to the
church )
 
Church_Militant said:
This is to offer some statistical response to an a-C who asserts:The Poll is multiple choice and public. Please feel free to post as to your Bible reading and any other responses you might feel are relevent.

I’ll start. I own several (over 10 I’m sure) Bibles in various editions and translations. My personal reading is done mostly from either the Douay-Rheims Version or the new RSV-CE 2nd Edition but I will refer to others if I feel the need, which is rare. Only a few are non-Catholics versions because I consider them incomplete without all 73 books. For personal study, I would not use a non-Catholic Bible.

I read some of the Bible every single day, and I often look up the Mass readings before I go to Mass and (since I don’t own a Missal [yet]) print them to take with me to daily Mass when I can go. I often carry my Bible with me to Mass or Eucharistic Adoration just because…

Pax Domini sit semper Vobiscum,
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I have NAB, Douay-Rheims, and KJV, not to mention several New Testaments (a Gideons I got in High School and a KJV as well, can’t be bothered looking up what versions the others are since I never read 'em anyways). Personal reading is most often done from the NAB, though I have taken the critques I’ve seen of it on board. Gideons New Testament is always in my purse and sometimes is useful to look up Mass readings if I don’t have time before church.
 
I could have said yes to several things on your poll. 😃 I read the Bible daily. In our home we currently have 6 Bibles. I have a KJV, NAB, and a RSV-CE. The RSV-CE is my daily Bible. The kids have these Bibles, Little Boys Bible Storybook , Little Girls Bible Storybook , and A Catholic Child’s First Bible. My dd will be receiving her First Communion next year. At that time I intend to get her this bible - Break Through!: Good News Translation, The Bible for Young Catholics. I read the kid’s Bibles to them all the time. The little storybook Bibles are fun because they have little angels hidden in the pictures. After we read the story we then go back and find the angels.
I also have A Textual Concordance of Holy Scripture. This thing is awesome! It divides the Scripture passages up by topic.
For the future I intend to get the DRV with Haydock commentary. Then of course there is the Mass. I also like to look up the readings before Mass.
Oh, and the kids always take their Bibles to Mass with them. Gives them something to do.
 
I found this thread very interesting because it made me stop and due some inventory and I was a bit surprized at the variety of translations I have from the “Good News” to NAB and in Latin and Greek (NT) and Hebrew as well.

I am not a collector, but I am a pack rat and over the years, due to different courses I either have taken or taught caused me to accumulate the amount and types I have. All that, my Bible of choice is the NAB (the translation may not be perfect but the message is!)

I enjoy this thread for two other reasons as well. It now gives me an outlet to bemond the lost of the four gospels I had. All were in greek and they were published in the mid 19th century and all were lost in a flood.They were not of rare copies and were not of great monetary value (I bought them in a ‘Brick a Brack’ store in England) but they were interesting to have especially Matthew - it seems that volume was used as a study bible and had notes and insights written thought out the gospel.

I also enjoy this thread because it has cause me to reflect on something both Divino Afflente Spiritu and Dei Verbum stressed. That is, good translations of the bible are important because it allows each of us to be exposed to the Word of God as often as each of us wishes. I think that is the real importance of the translations we so often read about in the various threads of this forum. Each translation has its own merits and flaws but I think we should keep in perspective the thought that what is most important is that so many of us do read and pray the bible (if that is an appropriate term) and it seems many do so out of a real love for the bible itself. And under the guidance of the Church, this is a great and good thing to do.
 
Lectio Divina with the daily Gospel, and LOTH, are the cornerstone of my daily prayer, since this is my commitment as a Benedictine Oblate. I use the Ignatius study bible one-book version for the Sunday lectionary cycle we are on, and I read the “in-between” verses that the lectionary skips. For the daily readings I just use Magnificat.

In addition I usually have a Bible study going on, I just finished Michael Barber’s on Revelation, and am about to begin Acts with a study guide from Loyola which we will be using for the Confirmation class, and I want to work through it first. For actual study I use the Oxford Catholic Study Bible (NAB). My take-with Bible for retreats, conferences etc. is a pocket size NAB, soon to be replaced with new smaller Ignatius RSV-CE I am getting for Christmas. At work and and home I have NAB, RSV-CE, Jerusalem (1966), New Jerusalem, and D-R-C, as actual books, and as on-line or CD-rom resources. Plus 3 Spanish Bibles.

Lectio is for my morning prayer time, bible study for the evening or as part of CCD or adult ed classes I am teaching or supervising. Between prayer, private study, and work-related reading/prep I spend between one and two hours a day with Scripture, more on days with RCIA classes. If you include the psalms and readings of LOTH, meditations with scriptures of the rosary, and Mass it would be a bit more.

I also have on hand several Protestant versions because of RCIA.
 
I read the Bible daily. I also participate in an adult Sunday school class at my church (Catholic) which meets between September and May. We break for the summer. I always try to read the Bible all the way through every year.

I own Douay-Rheims, KJV (with Apocrypha), NRSV, NASB, and NAB. I use all of them for my personal reading and my Bible study class.
 
Church_Militant said:
This is to offer some statistical response to an a-C who asserts:The Poll is multiple choice and public. Please feel free to post as to your Bible reading and any other responses you might feel are relevent.
,
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KJV from The Gideons.

My RCIA class at catechismclass.com requires us to read the three bible offerings of the day that are part of today’s Mass, folllowed by a in-depth commentary on them, followed by a dose of catechism. Five days a week, 50 weeks a year.
Monday’s class includes the Sunday readings

The Priest in charge of this program says that those of us who do this class daily know more about the scriptures then 80% of current catholics.
 
I have 2 bibles the NAB and KJV.

I wish one of the options was some where between a “cradle” Catholic and “convert”… Long story why 😉 Just wished it was an option.😃
 
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Andruschak:
KJV from The Gideons.
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Does your KJV have the deuterocanonical books and apocrypha though Harry?

If not you might want to download the extra books from the online Douay-Rheims version here. This translation dates thirty-odd years before the KJV, so the language is similar. I find the naming and numbering of some of the books confusing, but be assured they’re all there and then some and you’ll soon catch on 👍
 
On Sunday I read Esther and Wisdom. I read the Bible each week at RCIA and I am a cradle revert Catholic. I have in my collection:

The NIV
The King James Bible with Apocrypha
The Good News Bible with Apocrypha
The New American Bible
The Douay-Rheims Bible
The Ignatius Bible
The Ignatius Bible 2nd Edition
 
Daily…Several Bibles and use them all
Several NAB student Bibles…at least one per kid and DH(that would be at least 5)
Catholic Rainbow study Bible…use this one for Bible study because it has a ton of maps and commentaries about who wrote what books and about their lives.
2 RSV…one is a my favorite from when I was a teen and first started reading my Bible on a regular basis…got me through the toughest parts of my life.
1 Douay Rheims(sp?) newest…that I got at a used book sale at our library at the beginning of September
1 Lutheran Bible that DH got when he was confirmed
1 Childrens Story Bible that was a Baptismal gift…great for bedtime stories!!!

we also have 4 Catechism of the Catholic Church books and several other Catholic books…
And they all get used!!!
This tends to happen when your kids go to Catholic Schools that require certain versions of Bibles and hardback CCC’s.
 
Mommyof02green said:
I wish one of the options was some where between a “cradle” Catholic and “convert”… Long story why 😉 Just wished it was an option.😃
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Funny, I thought the same thing. I came from a Baptist family, but I was baptised at 8 years old as Catholic. Then my mother became Catholic when I was 10. To this day, we are the only Catholics in our family. So I don’t consider myself a cradle Catholic, nor do I think I am a convert.
 
Mommyof02green said:
I wish one of the options was some where between a “cradle” Catholic and “convert”… Long story why 😉 Just wished it was an option.😃
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I’m sorry…those are the only terms I have heard. Please feel free to explain if you wish.

Also…everybody, please remember to specify how often you read your Bible because this guy is alleging that we don’t.
Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum,
 
While I’m a convert, my husband is a cradle Catholic (just to stave off “oh, your poll is skewed because you have converts in there” complaints) …

Douay-Rheims, and NAB (old, pre-bowdlerized … those are mine). Husband also has a New Jerusalem. Two older children have their own Bibles, too (a children’s version with pictures, and a real one–NAB).

Oh, and we also have the complete missals … which, surprise, do contain pretty much the entire Bible (even have the cites in there, in case you wanted to look up the rest of the chapter/book, instead of just paging to the next day), just organized a little differently. That’s my husband’s preferred way of reading.
 
I have a multitude of different Bibles that I use for cross reference and research. As I just now did a cursary count, it appears to be around 22 different versions and I have several concordances that I use a well in my studies and research. I have various ones that range from
Douay-Rheims
KJV
RKJV
NAB
Good News
Gideons,
Extreme Teen Bible
The Way
NRSV
Catholic Youth Bible
and more…

For my personal reading and studying I use the New American (St. Joseph addition)
I read my Bible at least once a day along with other Christian Inspirational reading.
 
I hear the Scriptures read out at Mass every day, and I read them devotionally in my Bible at home.

Currently, my collection of Catholic Bibles, other than two of them that I use for preparing my Catechism class, are in the RCIA classroom, but I will get them back very soon because I have a box of ten Bibles in the back of my car right now that are intended for the RCIA class. 🙂

Going from memory: I have several editions of the NAB, including the St. Joseph edition and the one with the plain red cover that has the list of all the Popes in the front (I like that one, but I can’t remember who puts it out). I’ve also got various editions of the NRSV, including at least two “green cover” editions; one for my purse and one for the car.

I have a DRV sitting on my desk right here, which is the one I use for here and other bulletin board fora.

I also have several Protestant Bibles, including several editions of the KJV and RSV, at least one copy of the orange soft-cover Good News Bible, the purple edition of the NRSV, and a Phillips New Testament.

If anyone wants a list of my Bible study aids, I could give a fairly long list of those, as well. (I actually just recently sent a whole bunch of Bible study packages to a maximum security prison in Zambia because I ran out of room to store them all - I figure they’ll be well used, there. A lot of people have last-minute conversions when they find out that the date for their death penalty isn’t revokable any more, and they are genuinely curious about the Bible. I have a contact who sends them the Bibles, but she needed support materials to go with them - if anyone’s interested I can put you in touch with her ministry.)
 
Crusader777 said:
Funny, I thought the same thing. I came from a Baptist family, but I was baptised at 8 years old as Catholic. Then my mother became Catholic when I was 10. To this day, we are the only Catholics in our family. So I don’t consider myself a cradle Catholic, nor do I think I am a convert.
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I was baptized as an infant in a Catholic Church.

However, we went to a LCMS Church/School until I was in 5th grade.

Mom–was a “suppressed” Catholic.
Dad–was a member of the LCMS.

Mom had a rosary; I just thought it was a necklace.
Mom prayed the Guardian Angel prayer and Hail Mary with us at bedtime…but it was in German (Mom’s German, so Dad didn’t know) We also would say prayers in English, prayers for God to watch over us and other family members.

My folks divorced when I was in 1st grade. Mom still sent us (my sibling and I) to the LCMS Church/School because that is what Dad wanted, however she stopped going to the LCMS Church after the divorce. When we were at the LCMS Church she was at the Catholic Church. She never told us. We just assumed she stayed home, beside we were with Dad… so why would Mom come right??? Mom and Dad are divorce.

It wasn’t until I was in 5th grade did I learn why she stop going to the LCMS…Mom shared with us (my siblings and I). We were miserable and hated Church and School that was why she shared. She wanted to know if we wanted to go with her to the Catholic Church and we said yes.

6th grade and on I went to public school and CCD at the Catholic Church.

I received my first communion/reconciliation in 8th grade and got confirmed with my peers in 9th grade.

I never felt right at or with the LCMS. However I felt at home the moment I stepped into the Catholic Church. It’s good to be home.

So I’m not quite a Cradle Catholic… However I’m not a convert… I’m some where in the middle.
 
Andruschak said:
KJV from The Gideons.
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I have friends who are members of the Gideons. It is a wonderful Evangelical Protestant organization.
My RCIA class at catechismclass.com requires us to read the three bible offerings of the day that are part of today’s Mass, followed by a in-depth commentary on them, followed by a dose of catechism. Five days a week, 50 weeks a year.
Monday’s class includes the Sunday readings
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The Priest in charge of this program says that those of us who do this class daily know more about the scriptures then 80% of current catholics.
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Cool! 🙂

But you should still get yourself a Catholic Bible, at some point. 😉
 
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