Is the Catholic Church a Bible-based Church?

[suits]

Our new priest is telling us we must bring our Bibles to church, he is constantly telling us during his homily to turn to a specific chapter he refers to. He says we are a Bible-based Church. This is new to most of us, who are used to relying on the missalettes in the pew.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Your priest means well, and I see no harm in humoring him, especially since he is emphasizing the importance of Catholics reading Scripture. But in his passion to share the Bible with his congregation, he apparently is making unfortunate overstatements. There is no requirement that Catholics bring Bibles to Mass. While other parts of Scripture may be referred to in a homily, the homily is supposed to be centered on the readings of the day, and so the missalettes should suffice. If the priest wants to lead a Scripture study, he should do so outside of Mass. And, finally, it is not precisely accurate to say that the Catholic Church is a “Bible-based Church.” The Church is based on Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, who reveals himself through the Church, sacred Tradition, and sacred Scripture (and, from a chronological perspective, in that order). That is why the first followers of Jesus were called Christians (cf. Acts 11:26), not Bibliophiles.