"Duty" to read scripture?

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Yes, we rely on the Church for the interpretation of Scripture. We don’t interpret it individually.

That doesn’t mean we then have no obligation to read them ourselves or be willfully ignorant of Scripture.

To be intimate with the Scriptures is to be intimate with Christ.

To neglect His Word is to neglect a part of Christ Himself.

Reading the Word is one of the holiest, most grace-giving things we can do, along with praying, receiving the Sacraments, and ministering to others, etc.

That’s why Mass has two parts…first the Word, then the Eucharist. Both are Christ.

We are blessed indeed to live in a time when we have the Scriptures so easily available to us. It would be a shame to ignore them.
 
great post; i agree

you’ve clarified some issues with scripture for me;’

thank you & God bless us
 
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I agree as well. I love reading the Bible excpessially when I feel a bit lost and the scripture has never let me down.
 
In a way this quote says it all , and if it’s true how can we not read the Scriptures ? - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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blockbuster post

showerofroses; can your post be “stickied”? ( i know that is a v-bulletin" thing)

but you you hit a grand slam
 
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That is wonderful!

If you’re interested, I would invite you to look deeper into the Catholic faith. Not only do we have the Scriptures, but we have Jesus Christ Himself, every day, in the Eucharist.

In the Catholic Church, communion isn’t just a symbol. Jesus is present with us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, when the bread and wine is consecrated at Mass .

It’s an amazing mystery. I don’t want to derail the thread, but if you agree that reading the Bible is rewarding…you should check out Mass or Adoration, where Jesus is literally the Bread of Life.
 
Thank you so much…I’m glad it helped you. ❤️

I get very passionate about this subject. 😊
 
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otrrl said:
I agree with him that every Christian has an obligation to read the Bible, end to end.
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I don’t. There is less important stuff that can be merely summarised and the important stuff needs to be explained by good commentators or teachers/academics.
For example I don’t think Revelations can be read alone unless you are highly educated already in Theology.
 
i am going to have had to go ahead & agree with this
rev is very difficult to interpret on your own

that is why we (catholics) don’t do that

and also why rev is so rare in the readings of the Mass
 
Great post.

I would just add that, as well as having the first part of the Mass there is also the daily Office of Readings which provides a beautiful way to ponder a piece of Scripture and something from the Fathers along with the rest of the Church.
 
It’s way past my bedtime, so I’ll just say in passing…many parts of Scripture are hard to understand, which is why it’s important to use a Catholic study Bible and consult a commentary when it gets confusing.

I definitely encourage the use of study aids. But the deeper you get in study, the more rewarding it is…you never want to come up for air!

There’s so much rich commentary by so many Saints and Fathers…you could never reach the end of it all.

Also, don’t discount the Holy Spirit, who loves to help bring understanding.

And often the point of reading isn’t even to understand it all…but to wait for the Spirit to speak to you through it.

I guarantee that if you sat down and read in the NT or the Psalms, or even one of my favorites, Isaiah–eventually a verse would light up and you would see clearly how it applies to you, in that moment.

He loves to speak to us like that. Suddenly, verses you’ve read hundreds of times are illuminated and it’s like you can hear His voice. Just ask Him.
 
Yes, so true! I love the LOTH and how it incorporates Scripture…it really brings it alive…and it’s so powerful knowing you’re praying with so many others.
 
i’ve been devoted to the Holy Ghost since grade school

i just was never “encouraged” to “read” scripture; that was always a “protestant” thing

i’ll look into this issue further

thank you & God bless you…
 
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Note: implying that Catholics are not Christians is worth a flag, imo.
I’ve noted at least four brand new members appearing within a few hours of each other, mainly on the homosexuality threads, all claiming to be “Christian” and all with very similar, anti-Catholic arguments and making similar grammatical errors. What a coincidence.
 
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St. Jerome really knew his stuff, huh? ❤️

I’ve heard he was rather a grump sometimes, but you can feel his love for God in those quotes.
 
I don’t think there’s any need for such negativity on this thread. There’s been no attack on the Church.

And if you’re referring to post 34, I think he was just making a distinction between Catholic Christian and Protestant Christian. No need to take up arms.
 
brian_custer said:
the “problem” w/ reading “reading” scripture is that you are interpreting scripture privately
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But can’t the same be said for any personal reading - the CCC, the early church fathers, the newspaper. We can read the same words and depending on our worldview/mental capacities/prior knowledge, interpret that A is saying B. If someone is going to misinterpret the Bible, they’ll probably do the same with the CCC. Ask Pastor Billy to interpret the CCC and see what he comes up with.
 
brian_custer said:
the “problem” w/ reading “reading” scripture is that you are interpreting scripture privately

there is the catholic “magesterium”

saints & Popes have already figured out scripture; and they’ve passed it along; the hard way; done by some at the cost of martyrdom

not you, not “pastor Bob” from bumfart arkansas can have the privilege of interpreting scripture

private scripture reading is why the “protestant” church (if such a thing even exists) has disolved into roughly 20.000 splinters off of the catholic church

pastor bubby says this; pastor billy says th\at

good luck finding your way in the protestant “church”

ask pastor tom … or pastor hmm… i forgot his name…
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OK, but Dei verbum is subtitled: the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
It was promulgated by Pope Paul VI
It says, that "the sacred synod also earnestly and especially urges all the Christian faithful, especially Religious, to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the “excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:8). “For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” and "let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together for “we speak to Him when we pray; we hear Him when we read the divine saying.” (St. Ambrose)

In other words, the Magesterium teaches that ALL the Christian faithful who are capable of doing so are earnestly urged to read divine Scripture themselves in order that God may converse with them directly.

Yes, of course we test what we think we are hearing against what we are taught is dogmatic truth, so we do not lead ourselves whatever way our personal inclination leads us. We have shepherds on this way. The Church does not teach us, however, that the shepherds or the saints are supposed to travel it for us.

You are very right, however, to say that the Bible is not an “instruction guide.” That is not how lectio divina works.
 
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You DO realize that same Magisterium ENCOURAGES Catholics to read the Bible on their own, right?
 
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