Catholics: When did you last read the Bible?

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I was asked by CM to fix his poll and add the two votes for those of you who asked for “the other” option. I hope that helps.
MF
 
Mommyof02green said:
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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I actually was baptized as a Catholic, practiced until after college, and then fell away. I never understood the Church’s teachings. I was given a Bible by a Baptist at a Christian music festival that a Catholic friend took me to. I actually read the Bible, which I had never done previously. I realized that the Catholic Church teachings are completely supported by the Bible, and there is no contradiction. I confessed to God and to my priest, then came back to the Catholic Church. Since then, I have joined an adult Sunday school class at my parish, which is Bible study. God’s Word is what led me back to His Church! :bible1:
 
LilyM said:
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 👍
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Nope, none of those in the Protestant KJV, or in most other Protestant bibles. I suppose I am going to have to get one of those Catholic ones sooner or later. Back when I was a teen-age whiz-kid in the Lutheran Church, I was able to rattle off all the books in the (Protestant) Bible in order, start to finish. O well, and so it goes
 
I’m a convert having had no religion prior but exposed to many, primarily Islam having grown up in Saudi Arabia. I read the Bible daily.

Bibles in my possession:

New American Bible - St. Joseph’s Edition

Harper Study Bible - NRSV

New Jerusalem Bible - Saints Devotional Edition (contains writings of the saints - insights & interpretations directly next to the relevant passages)

King James (gift from childhood, more a keepsake - I don’t read this one. The english is archaic and hard to understand)

Gideons New Testament, Psalms & Proverbs

Collins pocket Bible

Book of Psams - Latin & English - Knox translation

Sunday Missal
Weekday Missal
Morning & Evening Prayer from the Divine Office

Lost Books of the Bible (non-canonical writings, some heretical, read with caution) (sometimes it is good to know what the heresy is in order to avoid it)

I belong to a prayer group that meets once a week where we read and discuss scripture. We have 3 to 4 different translations and read the same passage from each.

“A lamp to my feet is Your Word, a light to my path.”
Psalm 119:105 NAB St.Joseph
 
Douay-Rheims Bible

King James Bible (for comparison whilst studying, there are omissions etc)
 
New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible (1966 ed.), KJV, DRB and Bible de Jerusalem – unused because my efforts to re-learn French flopped :(.
Also, I get the daily readings via e-mail with the Navarre Bible commentaries from by e-mail.
 
Andruschak said:
Nope, none of those in the Protestant KJV, or in most other Protestant bibles. I suppose I am going to have to get one of those Catholic ones sooner or later. Back when I was a teen-age whiz-kid in the Lutheran Church, I was able to rattle off all the books in the (Protestant) Bible in order, start to finish. O well, and so it goes
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Oh well, happens to the best of us 😉

Like I said, you can download the Douay-Rheims Bible for free at the link I provided, though I know a lot of people don’t like reading too much from computer screens.
 
Quote:
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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To begin with, your friend is making two different points. We (normally) don’t bring Bibles to Mass because the Mass is not a Bible study. We have missals for Mass for following the readings and the prayers. We have Bibles for Bible studies. Many evangelical and fundamentalists Sunday services are merely glorified and extended Bible studies not, properly speaking, worship involving sacrifice, as does the Mass. Thus the need for them to bring Bibles.

Having said that, I am a revert who owns several Bibles:

Several NAB’s
Several RSVCE’s
1 RSV NT
1 JRB, Reader’s edition
NEB
GNB
1 French Gideon’s
A comparative NT with DRV, RSVCE, GNB, NAB, JB, NJB, CCB

I read the Scriptures everyday, usually studying at least one book of the Bible at all times. Like a previous poster, I am getting ready to begin Michael Barber’s study on the Book of Revelation.

I pray a shortened form of the Liturgy of the Hours, which contains many psalms, canticles, and Scripture readings.

Every other week, I lead a Rite of Dismissal Bible study based on the Sunday readings for the RCIA candidates.

I am currently teaching a chapter of Mark’s gospel a week to my two boys who are being partially homeschooled.

I prepare a weekly Bible study that can be found on my website linked below.
 
In the morning I ponder the Mass readings for the day for about twenty minutes. There are two Scripture readings for Mass on weekdays.

Then, in Morning, Evening, and Night prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours there are psalms, and more verses from the Gospel and letters of St. Paul, etc.

So, I can say I read and pray from the bible several times a day.
 
Well, lemme think . . .

NAB Study
KJV
RSV-CE [Ignatius 1st and 2nd ed.]
Jerusalem
New Jerusalem
Navarre OT Commentary [RSV and Latin Vulgate Text]
Douay-Rheims
New English

That’s all I can think of for now.

JSA
 
I am a convert. I read the Bible daily. The Bibles I have are…
The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
The New Jerusalem Bible
RSV-SCE
NAB
KJV (with Apocrypha)
NIV
New Living Translation Catholic reference edition
NRSV-CE
 
Not to distract or derail this thread but just to point some things out:

‘Gideons’ is the name of an organization which distributes Bibles. It is not a type of Bible or a translation. Most people who have a Gideons Bible probably have a KJV, a NKJV, or and NIV, in roughly that order–although I have seen a handful of other translations as well–including a couple of Catholic translations, including the Knox and Berkeley. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Gideons edition of the Douay, though I suspect they distributed those once upon a time.

Several posters have mentioned having Bibles which are actually types of ‘reference’, ‘study’, ‘devotional’, or ‘youth’ Bibles. There are distinctions between these: ‘reference’ Bibles will have some sort of exhaustive index or concordance system; ‘study’ Bibles will have very good indexes, maps, and other material designed to assist in Bible study; ‘devotional’ Bibles will frequently omit indexes or concordances but be designed for use in daily reflecting or praying over Scripture; and ‘youth’ or similar specialty Bibles are devotional or study Bibles aimed at a particular audience.

Many of these are available in multiple translations, so that The Way, Extreme Teen Youth Bible and Catholic Youth Bible, (as examples) might be based on the same translation. Rarely would Protestants list such as ‘types of Bibles’: they would list Bibles by translation first, and then they might mention that they have three different editions of NIV study Bibles, four KJV’s

Finally: I think the OP might want to consider that folks who post to forums such as Catholic Answers are likely to be more serious about their faith than are other Catholics. Folks here are therefore much more likely to own and to use Bibles than run-of-the-mill Roman Catholics. I meet many Catholics who don’t read the Bible regularly outside of Mass. I have known Catholics who mention owning ‘a’ Bible as if they think this is some sort of unique distinction–but many of them will make it clear that they seldom or never read however many Bibles they happen to own. Of course, such people are also usually not regular attendees at Mass . . . .again please understand that I don’t wish to distract from this thread so please don’t feel the need to ‘defend’ your fellow-Catholics’ Bible reading habits here.
 
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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Ignatius, The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition,

Translated from the original tongues being the version set forth A.D. 1611, Old and New Testaments revised A.D. 1881-1885 and A.D. 1901: Apocrypha revised A.D. 1894

I strongly suggest the Daily Roman Missal, Sunday and Weekday Masses, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois, World Library Publications, Schiller Park, Illinois
 
I read the Bible more than four times weekly, typically on my subway ride to and from work, and at night when my wife is asleep and I’m alone and have time.

I own a Douay Rheims from Baronius Press, the Ignatius RSV CE, and a Scepter RSV travel sized complete Bible, and an Ignatius Psalms and New Testament pocket sized, as well as a Boronius Douay Rheims Psalms and New Testament pocket sized.

I don’t carry a Bible to Church, I carry a Missal which will contain all the readings for that day, one Old Testament, one New Testament, a Psalm, and of course the Gospel. So while it isn’t a “Bible” per se’, it contains plenty of Biblical readings that we use at Mass.
 
flameburns623 said:
Not to distract or derail this thread but just to point some things out:

‘Gideons’ is the name of an organization which distributes Bibles. It is not a type of Bible or a translation. Most people who have a Gideons Bible probably have a KJV, a NKJV, or and NIV, in roughly that order–although I have seen a handful of other translations as well–including a couple of Catholic translations, including the Knox and Berkeley. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Gideons edition of the Douay, though I suspect they distributed those once upon a time.

Several posters have mentioned having Bibles which are actually types of ‘reference’, ‘study’, ‘devotional’, or ‘youth’ Bibles. There are distinctions between these: ‘reference’ Bibles will have some sort of exhaustive index or concordance system; ‘study’ Bibles will have very good indexes, maps, and other material designed to assist in Bible study; ‘devotional’ Bibles will frequently omit indexes or concordances but be designed for use in daily reflecting or praying over Scripture; and ‘youth’ or similar specialty Bibles are devotional or study Bibles aimed at a particular audience.

Many of these are available in multiple translations, so that The Way, Extreme Teen Youth Bible and Catholic Youth Bible, (as examples) might be based on the same translation. Rarely would Protestants list such as ‘types of Bibles’: they would list Bibles by translation first, and then they might mention that they have three different editions of NIV study Bibles, four KJV’s

Finally: I think the OP might want to consider that folks who post to forums such as Catholic Answers are likely to be more serious about their faith than are other Catholics. Folks here are therefore much more likely to own and to use Bibles than run-of-the-mill Roman Catholics. I meet many Catholics who don’t read the Bible regularly outside of Mass. I have known Catholics who mention owning ‘a’ Bible as if they think this is some sort of unique distinction–but many of them will make it clear that they seldom or never read however many Bibles they happen to own. Of course, such people are also usually not regular attendees at Mass . . . .again please understand that I don’t wish to distract from this thread so please don’t feel the need to ‘defend’ your fellow-Catholics’ Bible reading habits here.
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I have family members that belong to the LCMS. They have the same point of view as the section that is bolded.

My Grandmother boasts how the bible that sits on her coffee table is a “family bible”—so— She and my Grandfather have never read it. As a matter of fact growing up we where never allowed to touch it. The only time it was touch, was when my Grandmother dusted it. It’s the same way today in their home.

My copy of the bible is worn, tattered, I have taped the pages to the binding because I would loose them if I didn’t… it has notes in the margins and passages highlighted and underline.

My Grandmother looked at my bible sitting on the table…and asked, "Do you think it’s time for a new one??” I asked her what she meant… she said, “Well look at it, it’s a mess…”

My Non-Catholic Christian Friend has told me the same thing too… She told me that if it was her Bible, she would just “throw it away and by a new one”.

Irony is that both my friend and my Grandparents go to their respective churches weekly. However, none of them read the bible they own. My Grandparents, keep theirs on their coffee table and my friends bible sits on her bookshelf.

The bottom line is that there are Christians all over that are that way… It doesn’t matter what church they belong too. It’s sad that it’s that way. I just ask them, why don’t they read the Bible more… I don’t care who they are.
 
To add, my wifes cousins are “born again” and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen them read a Bible, quote a Bible, or ever seen a Bible in their home.

Fact is no matter which Christian denomination they are, there are plenty who do not read the Bible as much as they should. Look at the Joel Osteen services, 30,000 with Bibles opened and they do nothing with them. Knowing your Bible takes a lot more than knowing John 3:16 by heart and carrying it around with you like you learn from osmosis or something.

I’ll take the Pepsi challenge with any Protestant on Bible reading.
 
flameburns623 said:
Not to distract or derail this thread but just to point some things out:
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Then please don’t. Note the title of the thread:
Catholics: When did you last read the Bible?
Finally: I think the OP might want to consider that folks who post to forums such as Catholic Answers are likely to be more serious about their faith than are other Catholics.
Folks here are therefore much more likely to own and to use Bibles than run-of-the-mill Roman Catholics.
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Which is the whole point of the thread and poll. Why would I want a survey of inactive or luke-warm Catholics and wish to use them as exemplary of a refutation to the quoted assertion any more than anyone in their right mind would try to use lax or unfaithful n-Cs as exemplary of proof of anything worthwhile concerning those myriad churches?

Let’s keep responses to Catholics.
Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum,
 
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