Reading the Bible--Not Catholic?

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Meggie

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My dad told me that Catholics aren’t supposed to read the Bible because that is why there is such a thing as the Vatican and the Pope. He said that the only proper place to read anything from the Bible is during Mass because the Bible is a sacred book and not a toy. He said that common people aren’t supposed to read it because we do not have the capability to understand what it really means. My mom and brothers agree with him…and my family is Catholic.
I disagree with their brand of Sunday Catholisim, they taunt me for going to Daily Mass, doing things with my youth group, and praying the rosary.
I asked someone from my youth group about this and they basically laughed and said it was not true.
I thought that my dad brought up valid points…please explain this to me.
 
Your father is mistaken. The Church encourages Catholics to read and study scripture. I believe there is even a plenary indulgence attached to regular scripture study.

It sounds almost as if your father learned the “Catholic” view of scripture study from a fundamentalist anti-Catholic.🙂

From the CCC:
131 "And such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigor and the children of the Church as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting font of spiritual life."109 Hence "access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful."110

132 "Therefore, the ‘study of the sacred page’ should be the very soul of sacred theology. The ministry of the Word, too—pastoral preaching, catechetics, and all forms of Christian instruction, among which the liturgical homily should hold pride of place—is healthily nourished and thrives in holiness through the Word of Scripture."111

133 The Church "forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful . . . to learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ,’ by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. ‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.’"112109 DV 21.

110 DV 22.

111 DV 24.

112 DV 25; cf. Phil 3:8 and St. Jerome, Commentariorum in Isaiam libri xviii prol.: PL 24, 17b.
 
Meggie,

Your dad is definately mistaken, but I must say that he believes what alot of people believe. That is what I used to believe, until I got a NAB Bible and found that not only does the Catholic Church endorse some translations but they have put out the best translations for their people to read.

And I have found that the Catholic Church has not only given it’s flock great versions of the Bible, but also they have provided us with all the Church Fathers writings, which is something that is concealed almost completely in Protestant Churches because it is very much a fact that the Early Church was Catholic, and is evident in the Church Fathers. That is why almost all Protestant Churches never mention Church leaders except during Reformation and after.

So if anything is concealed to those who seek truth, it is those in the Protetant Churches, because you usually never even hear the names of Polycarp, Ignatius, Clement, Jerome, etc etc when you are in a Protestant Church.
 
If your father is correct, then all of the saints were not Catholics. The saints (many of whom were not priests) had a command of the Scriptures which would put the greatest bible-thumping Protestant to shame.

Reading the Bible is thoroughly Catholic. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Peace,
Ryan
 
I am looking at the introduction to an older Catholic Bible I have (Douay-Confraternity). There are many places in the introduction where popes are quoted from their writings urging the faithful to read, study and meditate on Holy Scripture. The last paragraph in the intro reads:

“The Church has at all times encouraged her children to read and to study the Bible and to meditate upon its messages and its lessons. The faithful are constantly urged to acquire a greater knowlege and love for the Word of God and to apply the divine message to daily living. For the protection of her children she urges that translation in the vernacular be approved by the Bishops, the successors of the Apostles, because in the past footnotes in some of the versions of the Bible belittled the Church, her doctrines, teachings and traditions.”

It looks to me like it’s OK to read and study Scripture. If you do a little research in the Catechism and the writings of the Popes you will probably find encouragement from many of them to read the Bible - just don’t try and interpret it on your own. That’s where were lucky to be Catholic. We have the greatest resource in the world to assist us - Mother Church.
 
Indulgences are offered for reading the Bible as further encouragement to do so. From the introduction in the New American Bible:
A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who use sacred Scripture for spiritual reading with the veneration due the word of God. A plenary indulgence is granted if the reading continues for at least one half hour. (Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, 1968 ed. no.50)
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i think most serious Catholics are well aware the churches stance on reading scripture… It’s called read it, study it, keep it close at hand… only makes sence… we wrote,(a lot of it) established it’s order , compiled the canon , sheltered, and saved the sacred text, copied and printed and most importantly distributed to most of the planet… now we guard its truth… yeah, i would say we take issue with the mention of its something to hold the door open only… not hardly… 👍
 
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Meggie:
My dad told me that Catholics aren’t supposed to read the Bible because that is why there is such a thing as the Vatican and the Pope. He said that the only proper place to read anything from the Bible is during Mass because the Bible is a sacred book and not a toy. He said that common people aren’t supposed to read it because we do not have the capability to understand what it really means. My mom and brothers agree with him…and my family is Catholic.
I disagree with their brand of Sunday Catholisim, they taunt me for going to Daily Mass, doing things with my youth group, and praying the rosary.
I asked someone from my youth group about this and they basically laughed and said it was not true.
I thought that my dad brought up valid points…please explain this to me.
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You posted elsewhere that your “Catholic” parents (quotes in the original) also “don’t believe in Confession.”

First, I’m glad you overcame a lack of proper catechesis to feel a calling to the True Church. More importantly, I see a real need for you to catechize your parents!

I hope we can continue to answer your questions so you can get to work at home! 🙂
 
Thank you all…through my years trying to be a better Catholic I have obtained a NIV(protestant) teen bible (which is easy to read in near darkness) and a (ten year old or so)New St. Joseph Bible with pages so thin you could blow them away with a whisper.

but do you really have to read the bible for an entire half hour:eek: ??? That seems like a bit of overkill to me.
 
…one more question…if the church says to then what makes us different from the Protestants who believe in Sola-scripture? because then the Bible backs up what they say becasue they can interpret it anyway they want because they are supposed to read it.
 
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Meggie:
Thank you all…through my years trying to be a better Catholic I have obtained a NIV(protestant) teen bible (which is easy to read in near darkness) and a (ten year old or so)New St. Joseph Bible with pages so thin you could blow them away with a whisper.

but do you really have to read the bible for an entire half hour:eek: ??? That seems like a bit of overkill to me.
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On the one hand, a half-hour a day to devote to your salvation hardly seems overkill. On the other hand, it is sometimes difficut to read some passages.

I recommend the Catholic Study Bible as it gives some clarity to difficult passages, particularly where a present-day reading fails to reveal the ancient cultural reference necessary to a complete understanding of the issue (e.g., why Paul shaved his head at one point).

There are Catholic versions of the “read the Bible in a year” or “read the Bible in three years” books. The readings ranged from 5 to 15 minutes per day (one each from the OT, Psalms, and NT).

If you attend daily mass (or get the daily readings from USCCB’s website; here are today’s readings) you will basically read the entire Bible (with a few exceptions, such as most of Numbers) in three years. Or you can subscribe to the Daily E-Pistle, which includes a brief description of the day’s Saint/Feast Day/Holy Day and includes a link to the daily readings.
 
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Meggie:
…one more question…if the church says to then what makes us different from the Protestants who believe in Sola-scripture? because then the Bible backs up what they say becasue they can interpret it anyway they want because they are supposed to read it.
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One exception, funny enough, is the whole concept of Sola Scriptura. 😃

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that one should believe in Scripture alone. That would be a neat trick since the Bible wasn’t even written when the events that make up the Bible occurred!
 
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Meggie:
…one more question…if the church says to then what makes us different from the Protestants who believe in Sola-scripture? because then the Bible backs up what they say becasue they can interpret it anyway they want because they are supposed to read it.
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Rejecting sola scriptura is not even close to rejecting scripture. Sola scriptura means literally “scripture alone.” Rejecting sola scriptura is merely a rejection of the idea that scripture is the only way in which God revealed His word to us. Catholics believe in the inerrancy of scripture and they revere scripture as the written word of God. Catholics also believe in sacred Tradition which is the orally transmitted teaching from the Apostles. Scripture and Tradition along with the Church’s Magistereum (teaching authority) make up a “three legged stool” in a sense. Take away any of the legs and the stool falls.
 
I do attend Daily Mass…40 walking there, praying my knotted wrist rosary if I remember it (parents also hate wrist rosary, they call it a sacrlage…but its not blessed or anything its just a knotted braclet with a knotted cross) then is Mass…40 min and then I usually get a ride home with another generous massgoer and I pray at night if I don’t fall asleep first. Reading the Bible for a half hour seems like a lot and parts of it are really scarry. I started reading the Bible once and it talked about different color horsemen and they were like destroying the earth. I have this little pamplet that they give out at my church (not m parent’s tho) called Daily Living which has the place/number of the readings that they read in Mass. Would that be a good thing to start with?
 
The Daily readings of Mass are a great place to start with. But I personally would say one thing, even though you appear to have prayer going, make sure you do not study the Bible to the exclusion of prayer. It is a good idea to try to pray as much or more than you study. A saint said, (can’t remember which one?) it is better to live the knowledge you have of God than to have knowledge of God but not live it.

God Bless
 
…sigh…I don’t know what I believe…I just try to do the right thing
 
St Jerome said it best - “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” H.H. Pope Pius XII reiterated this in Divino Afflante Spiritu. There’s what your Pope has to say!
 
I have this little pamplet that they give out at my church (not m parent’s tho) called Daily Living which has the place/number of the readings that they read in Mass. Would that be a good thing to start with?
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That’s how I read the Bible, Meggie. I find it very manageable when broken down into daily Mass readings, and it’s amazing how much I’ve learned about Scripture and my faith since I started reading.

The nice thing about reading that way is that if you don’t have a lot of time, you are still able to get something in, and if you have more time you can start at the Mass reading and keep going. It’s also helpful to read the passages before Mass, so you know what to expect and can really focus on the message.

Don’t worry, reading the Bible is a very Catholic thing to do. It’s not Sola Scriptura at all.
 
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Meggie:
My dad told me that Catholics aren’t supposed to read the Bible because that is why there is such a thing as the Vatican and the Pope. He said that the only proper place to read anything from the Bible is during Mass because the Bible is a sacred book and not a toy. He said that common people aren’t supposed to read it because we do not have the capability to understand what it really means.
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As reported today by Zenit, in his pre-Angelus meditation on July 19, 2004 at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Pope John Paul II told the faithful, “To listen to the Word of God is the most important thing in our lives.” “Christ is always in our midst and wants to speak to our hearts,” the Holy Father continued. “We can listen to him by meditating with faith on sacred Scripture, recollecting ourselves in private and communal prayer, pausing in silence before the tabernacle, from which he speaks to us of his love.”

Also noteworthy regarding Catholics reading the Bible is that a partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who use Sacred Scripture for spiritual reading with the veneration due the word of God. A plenary [or, full] indulgence is granted if the reading continues for at least one half hour. (Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, 1968 ed., no. 62 & no. 50)
 
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Meggie:
but do you really have to read the bible for an entire half hour:eek: ??? That seems like a bit of overkill to me.
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Remember, the half hour reading is in order to receive a plenary indulgence. It is not a requirement to read that long and any amount of reading is going to be valuable!

It sounds like to me you’re doing great. I didn’t even become Catholic until I was in my 30’s and it sounds like you have a huge head start on me! Take your learning and prayer life a day at a time. They will both continue to grow as long as you stick with it!
 
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