Friend has trouble reading/ understanding Bible

[Monkciate]

My friend (age 27), who lives away, and I are reading the daily Mass readings each day during Lent. Unfortunately, she has a learning disability and struggles with some of the words (like “presbyter,” “exhort,” “anoint,” “midst”) and the context (like, “Who is Elijah?” “Who is Jeremiah?” “What is Caesarea Philippi?”). I guess, in sum, she’s somewhat illiterate when it comes to Bible-speak. I spend time reading the passages with her and explaining them, but is there anything else out there which might help her to understand the Bible more?

Right now she’s using the daily Mass readings on the USCCB website, and I’ve thought about buying her a St. Joseph’s Bible but didn’t know if there might not be some better tool for her.

 

[JRKH]

Honestly I cannot think of any - other than your good efforts to help her.
In fact I suspect that you are probably learning as much as you are “teaching”.
She has a pure and child-like view due to her disability.
You must dig down to the simplest terms and lessons in order to help her understand.

This actually sounds like a win-win situation.

Peace
James

 

[NHInsider]

St. Joseph’s is still NAB, I believe, so may not make it any easier for her. Possibly a copy of the Today’s English Version might be simpler to read, although it won’t do anything for the names and the cross-references.

If it is working for you to discuss the readings with her as part of both your Lenten devotions, I think that really is the best option - there are lots of Bibles and websites that would give her access to cross-referencing but if reading is a challenge for her that may just make things worse - as we all know, the interconnectedness of the web can rapidly lead to overload!

 

[Monkciate]

St. Joseph’s is still NAB, I believe, so may not make it any easier for her. Possibly a copy of the Today’s English Version might be simpler to read, although it won’t do anything for the names and the cross-references.

If it is working for you to discuss the readings with her as part of both your Lenten devotions, I think that really is the best option - there are lots of Bibles and websites that would give her access to cross-referencing but if reading is a challenge for her that may just make things worse - as we all know, the interconnectedness of the web can rapidly lead to overload!

Thank you for this recommendation!

After reading your post, I immediately started looking at the more dynamic translations of the Bible, such as the Good News and Contemporary English versions.

The American Bible Society used to publish a great “Learning Bible” using the CEV containing many sidenotes and other bits of helpful info to help with context; however, amazon.com showed it out of stock. Therefore I purchased two GNBs (with deuterocanonicals); one for her, one for me - so that we be looking at the same words. I definitely think the more contemporary language will help her understand things better. When it comes to context, however, we’ll just have to leave that up to the holy Spirit, I suppose.