How often do you read the Bible?

[Matt_Guitar_Man]

Daily

 

[bmonk]

In our monastery:
Mass Readings: varies, probably total about 1 chapter or a bit more equivalent most days.
Divine Office: we get longer readings, about 1 chapter, plus several psalms each day, usually about 8 psalms or sections of psalms.
Lectio Divina: read and meditate about 1 hour total per day, but often only a few verses.

 

[rldlol]

Me? I feel not often enough. I used to be an avid reader but nowadays I read online more than anything else. Most bible studies in my community read another book in conjunction with the bible.

So I would like to know…do you do daily readings? Do your readings have a particular length or some sort of structure?

I read the Bible daily. During the week I read from the OT - one chapter in the morning and two in the evening. On Sunday I read six chapters from the NT. This gets me through the Bible in about a year. To date I have read through the entire Bible over 36 times.

 

[MrMegaphin191]

Yeah… Leviticus isn’t very bad at all, in my opinion. I have a much tougher time getting through Kings or Chronicles

Chronicles is pretty tough as well, but I actually like a lot of Kings! Honestly, I prefer the “stories” and find that Leviticus being one big list of rule and regulations, or any of the big lists of names I just find myself tuning out.

 

[Razanir]

Chronicles is pretty tough as well, but I actually like a lot of Kings! Honestly, I prefer the “stories” and find that Leviticus being one big list of rule and regulations, or any of the big lists of names I just find myself tuning out.

Chronicles is tough mainly because of the 9-chapter-long genealogy at the beginning. Whereas Leviticus was interesting to me, in part because it was a list of rules and regulations.

That said, my top three books are still Job, Tobit and Psalms.

 

[Tous_Logous]

I used to read a couple chapters from the OT and NT about 5-6 days a week but now it’s dwindled down to at least 3 days per week due to my new work schedule.

My current reading plan is read 1 chapter in the OT, half a chapter or a whole chapter in the NT, and one Psalm.

I really wish I could have bought one of those Catholic “one year Bibles” where you have all the readings presented to you in a 365 day reading schedule. They are impossible to come by, even where I live. All I find are the Protestant “one year Bibles.”

I think my biggest problem is that while I read the Bible, it’s difficult for me to pray certain verses (Lectio Divina) or actually “live the way.” I’ve been putting this into practice lately but I still fall incredibly short.

I really want to learn to pray the Liturgy of the Hours but my brain just doesn’t understand how to keep track of the daily readings. So I usually just pray the Rosary instead.

 

[Razanir]

I used to read a couple chapters from the OT and NT about 5-6 days a week but now it’s dwindled down to at least 3 days per week due to my new work schedule.

My current reading plan is read 1 chapter in the OT, half a chapter or a whole chapter in the NT, and one Psalm.

I really wish I could have bought one of those Catholic “one year Bibles” where you have all the readings presented to you in a 365 day reading schedule. They are impossible to come by, even where I live. All I find are the Protestant “one year Bibles.”

I think my biggest problem is that while I read the Bible, it’s difficult for me to pray certain verses (Lectio Divina) or actually “live the way.” I’ve been putting this into practice lately but I still fall incredibly short.

I really want to learn to pray the Liturgy of the Hours but my brain just doesn’t understand how to keep track of the daily readings. So I usually just pray the Rosary instead.

chnetwork.org/readguide04.pdf

1-year Catholic Bible reading plan. You’re welcome

Also, if you use a website like divineoffice.org/, it’ll keep track of the daily readings for you. That said, it wasn’t too difficult for me to figure out how the daily readings work. Now I only need help from the St. Joseph Guide whenever I’m unsure about which day takes precedence.

 

[White_Peony]

I read the daily Mass readings through Living with the Eucharist

 

[gus]

Every time I say the Liturgy of the Hours.

I read the daily Mass readings through Living with the Eucharist

I read the daily mass readings with daily reflection
The US bishops website adds both written commentary.
and vidio commentary.
Its amazing how much you can cover.
another tactic is the rosery
When praying and meditating on the mysteries
Mark out passages in svtipyure were those mysteries
are taken from. Read the intire mystery in context
To enhance hour meditation.

 

[gus]

Every time I say the Liturgy of the Hours.

I read the daily Mass readings through Living with the Eucharist

I read the daily mass readings with daily reflection
The US bishops website adds both written commentary.
and vidio commentary.
Its amazing how much you can cover.
another tactic is the rosery
When praying and meditating on the mysteries
Mark out passages in svtipyure were those mysteries
are taken from. Read the intire mystery in context
To enhance hour meditation.

 

[bmonk]

I never understood why Protestants usually read the Bible more than Catholics do.

I guess it’s because Protestants put more emphasis on Bible reading than Catholics usually do. Some Lutheran churches actually require their confirmation students to read from the Bible frequently, even daily.

One factor: Catholics have so many other avenues of grace, such as the sacraments, or devotional prayers, that we inevitably do not put as much emphasis on Lectio Divina or Bible Study as the Protestants do. Also, we do not believe in Sola Scriptura, so that the Bible is not the sole source of our understanding the faith.

Regarding the daily readings: As mentioned, there are a variety of websites that will help, particularly with the daily Mass readings, but also the Liturgy of the Hours. Another help would be a subscription to something like Magnificat, or the WORD among us, which have versions with the readings included. Most parishes also have Missalettes, which often include the daily readings, at least the references to where they are taken from the Bible. Another advantage to most of these resources: they will indicate the appropriate feasts and memorials for each day. One drawback: they will not necessarily include local particular feasts, especially the dedication of the parish Church, or the cathedral. Even some patronal feasts may not be included, for example if you belong to St. Mel’s or St. Anaximander’s.

(Also, the presider at Mass can choose to cover readings that would otherwise be skipped, if he considers it important to include them. Thus, tomorrow is All Saints Day, with proper readings for the Solemnity. These take precedence over the readings for the Friday of the Thirtieth Week of Ordinary Time. If the presider did not want to miss them, he might use them today.)

 

[bmonk]

Chronicles is pretty tough as well, but I actually like a lot of Kings! Honestly, I prefer the “stories” and find that Leviticus being one big list of rule and regulations, or any of the big lists of names I just find myself tuning out.

This can be one of the problems in “reading the Bible” through in a set time. How do you slog through the “boring” parts? Why were they included in the first place?

Well, Leviticus is tedious–but that is not a reason to tune it out. You might need to go even slower, and make sure you are giving “prime” time to God. Or do some study outside of your prayer time, to get a better sense of the context and content of the text.

Leviticus: Yes, the rules can be tedious. However, the first seven chapters give rules for offering sacrifice–and we can see how Jesus fulfilled them, why it was noted the Jesus was unblemished and pure (Lev 1:3, 10), that none of his bones were broken (Exod 12:46), how sacrifices were for communion (Lev 3), reconciliation, purification and reparation (Lev 4-5), how there were daily offerings (Lev 6), and so on. You might note that I snuck in a Exodus reference–but that chapter is laws as well.

As for the lists of names, I find it helps to recall that all Jewish names have meanings. Consider paying attention to what the name means.

 

[Barbara_Ann_Bau]

I read a couple chapters of the Bible every day. I have what I call my Bible Bucket list. The goal is to get through the entire Bible before I die. So I have made a list of the books as to how important they seem to me. So far I have read Acts, Proverbs, Joel (I chose to read that one because I like the poetry of penance), Revealation, Isaiah, Mark, Daniel, I also am taking two Bible Study courses

 

[mgmorrell]

I read the Bible every day. In about 10-15 minutes of reading each morning, every year I read the whole Bible - Old Testament Once and New Testament Twice. Each day I try to pick out a verse or 2 and post that on my Facebook page for others to share. I started doing this first thing of the day a number of years ago.

Since the Bible is what God has given to us, I think it is important to read it over and over through life. I meet so many people who think it is impossible to read. It’s not impossible.

I wrote a computer program and put it on the internet so I click and it brings up the whole text to read that day so I can do it first thing when I getup.

readings.bereans.org

I recommend to anyone to read the Bible each day.
Michael

 

[recklev]

Every day, for 11 years. Have read the bible cover to cover 11 times since I found this
amazing website: biblegateway.com/

Free, and you can get an email or mobile phone reminder each day, with the appropriate readings. What a Godsend!

 

[BillTheSlink]

I read the mass readings for every day and a meditation on one of them from “One Bread, One Body” which is published four times a year by Presentation Ministries here in Cincinnati. They will send you a subscription for a freewill offering. Just give what you can and what you think it’s worth to you. I also do bible “study” with my Navarre Study Bible set about three times a week for a couple of hours. I have never been very good at Lectio Divina as I don’t have much of an imagination and easily get distracted when trying to meditate. I will maybe try that once a week.

All that said don’t be comparing yourself to me or anyone else. We are each different and have our own strengths and time availability. For example I am disabled and could really do much more if I would put my mind to it, but you might be busy with work and kids and be barely able to squeeze in three 15 minuets a week with scripture. Hay, that’s three partial indulgences and that adds up. If you can throw in a daily rosary (partial indulgence) or family rosary (opportunity for a plenary indulgence under the normal conditions) and things really start to change in your life. If the rosary isn’t your thing try the Liturgy of the Hours. I heard it said on the radio by a priest that the Pope (it was Benedict then) would rather someone learn the Liturgy of the Hours than the rosary, which I found shocking. But he’s the Pope (or at least he was) and it isn’t for me to question. The priest also said this was the opinion of John-Paul II also which really blew my mind considering how devoted he was to Our Lady.

 

[Patat]

Thanks, I found all sorts of ways to establish a reading routine in your responses. Thanks also for the reminder that living it is more important than reading it, very true. I definitely don’t live it enough either, but think reading it helps with living it. Daily reading is a step in the right direction.

 

[Nelka]

Not as often as I should.

 

[Sheeniac]

I really want to learn to pray the Liturgy of the Hours but my brain just doesn’t understand how to keep track of the daily readings. So I usually just pray the Rosary instead.

I use the Universalis app (for Android). It costs about $10, but it uses the official versions. Laudate is free.

 

[yankees1990]

i have been astray from it lately which is probably why i have been having these problems i have. We have to be seeking god not self seeking. If we remain selfseeking well we get wrath and indignation for judgment