Daily Devotional Suggestions

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My mother has recently been interested in learning more about the faith. I have tried to help her as much as I can, but am away at school most of the year. So our talks about Church teachings and Scripture are usually brief and spaced too far apart. She recently voiced an interest in reading the Bible, but when she tries to do this on her own she finds it difficult to understand and soon gets confused and gives up. She asked me if I could find her a good daily devotional or one of those read the Bible in one year study books.

I have looked around and have been unimpressed. Either the books I find seem like they’d be too complicated or technical for her or they aren’t entirely orthodox in the way they explain Scripture. For example, I was really excited about the release of Patrick Madrid’s book “A Year With the Bible”, but after flipping through it I’m starting to second guess whether that would be a good fit for my mom since she’d be reading this with no background knowledge of the Bible.

I would really appreciate it if some of the good people on CAF could give me suggestions for a personal Bible study that would be good for someone with no real experience reading Scripture. Thanks.
 
I’ve used many Little Rock Catholic Scripture Study books in the past, but I used them as part of a small study group. You could also use them for self-study, I imagine, maybe id you/she got the leader’s guide with it, which has the answers to the study questions.

littlerockscripture.org/en/Default.aspx

Also, I’ve heard many people recommend to beginners to start with the Gospel of Mark, because it’s straightforward and easy to read. Then Luke or Matthew, and John last.

If she’s starting with the Old Testament, that could be part of the problem–not the easiest books to read.
 
What about the “Truth & Life” audio Bible? My Mom really likes it. I have it ony iPhone & like it for traveling.
 
jtodisco said:
My mother has recently been interested in learning more about the faith. I have tried to help her as much as I can, but am away at school most of the year. So our talks about Church teachings and Scripture are usually brief and spaced too far apart. She recently voiced an interest in reading the Bible, but when she tries to do this on her own she finds it difficult to understand and soon gets confused and gives up. She asked me if I could find her a good daily devotional or one of those read the Bible in one year study books.

I have looked around and have been unimpressed. Either the books I find seem like they’d be too complicated or technical for her or they aren’t entirely orthodox in the way they explain Scripture. For example, I was really excited about the release of Patrick Madrid’s book “A Year With the Bible”, but after flipping through it I’m starting to second guess whether that would be a good fit for my mom since she’d be reading this with no background knowledge of the Bible.

I would really appreciate it if some of the good people on CAF could give me suggestions for a personal Bible study that would be good for someone with no real experience reading Scripture. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I love “Jesus Calling”
 
I forgot to add that the “Truth & Life” audio Bible even is approved by Pope Benedict XVI so it should fulfill your want of being true to our faith.
 
Thank you all for your suggestions. I’ll be looking into them shortly.

As for the Truth and Life audio Bible, I’ve listened to that myself. I think it’s a good audio Bible, but since my mom has trouble understanding the Bible when she reads it I’m not sure if she’ll have an easier time listening to it spoken.

I’m looking more for something that would include Scripture passages along with exclamations. Preferably something that was broken down into daily meditations so that it would be easier for her to tackle and not so intimidating as just picking up the Bible and trying to read it on her own.
 
A few recommendations that your mother may find helpful are “Walking With God: A Journey through the Bible” written by Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins and “The Bible Compass: A Catholic’s Guide to Navigating the Scriptures,” written by Edward Sri.

“Walking With God: A Journey through the Bible does a wonderful job explaining salvation history via the main narrative books of the Bible.

I have not read “The Bible Compass: A Catholic’s Guide to Navigating the Scriptures,” however I have heard that it does a very good job explaining common questions concerning how to read the Bible.

Neither of the books are a daily devotional, however they should help her to be more comfortable when reading the Scriptures.

Furthermore, The St Paul Center for Biblical Theology has a handful of free Bible studies on their website.

salvationhistory.com/
 
I would recommend she start reading one of the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, or John. There may be things she may not understand but there will be much she will understand.

The second book I would recommend is The Life of Jesus Christ by Fulton Sheen.
 
daisybee said:
Also, I’ve heard many people recommend to beginners to start with the Gospel of Mark, because it’s straightforward and easy to read. Then Luke or Matthew, and John last.

If she’s starting with the Old Testament, that could be part of the problem–not the easiest books to read.
Click to expand...
ignatius.com/Products/MK-P/mark.aspx

I just noticed that at Ignatius Press, Meditations on the Gospel of Mark is featured currently, by Adrienne von Speyr.
 
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