Why are there not Bibles in the pews of Catholic churches?

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This is a genuine question and in no way intended to be judgmental or offensive. I had a long conversation with my parents on the phone last night about my decision to explore Catholicism and one of their number one questions was why there are no Bibles in the pews of Catholic churches. While it’s not a big stumbling block for me personally, my parents seem to think it should be red flag. Why is that pews in Catholic churches do not have Bibles?
 
The Mass parts are made up almost entirely of scripture so in a sense the Bible is in the Mass. If a person attends Mass every day for 3 years, they will hear from the whole Bible. There have been Masses said (in some form or other) longer than the Bible has been written down.
 
A lot of protestant churches don’t have bibles in the pews either, its strictly BYOB (bring your own bible)

Some Catholic churches have missals in the pews, however. Since the scriptural readings for any particular day are already pre-determined, the missal provides the appropriate readings for the public worship. Much more useful, we are unlike our Protestant friends who can preach from all through the bible any week they choose.
 
They kinda are: in the missals you’ll find the biblical texts that will be read for that day. I’d also note that the celebration of the Mass predates the new testament. In fact, there’s a CA Live episode in which Prof. Michael Barber says there’s evidence that may suggest that the Gospels may have been specifically written for the purpose of being read at Mass! I’ll see if I can find the link for you.

Furthermore, the Bible is all around you in a Catholic Church: Holy of Holies, stations of the cross, incense, bells, all sorts of depictions of biblical events… the list goes on and on. You’re sort of submerged in the Bible at Mass.
 
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Roman Catholicism is a liturgical church, as is the Anglican, Lutheran, and the many Eastern Orthodox churches, and their services are set to include standardized prayers and a specific order to the prayers. While Bible passages are read during the liturgy, and most times preached upon, they are not the focus of the service, as they are in other branches of the Church. If your parents come from a tradition where the Bible is read, preached upon, and even studied during worship, they would indeed be confused as to why there are no Bibles in the pews. It is a very different style of worship.
 
Thank you for your response! My parents actually left the Lutheran church recently because they felt that the liturgy “suffocated Scripture” and that they were not being spiritually fed at our liturgical Lutheran church. It’s going to be very difficult convincing them that the liturgy is a good thing because it’s the very reason they left.
 
I have heard a lot about the writings of Scott Hahn and have been meaning to read some of his stuff.
 
NewJourney said:
This is a genuine question and in no way intended to be judgmental or offensive. I had a long conversation with my parents on the phone last night about my decision to explore Catholicism and one of their number one questions was why there are no Bibles in the pews of Catholic churches. While it’s not a big stumbling block for me personally, my parents seem to think it should be red flag. Why is that pews in Catholic churches do not have Bibles?
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It’s very simple.

A typical Protestant style of preaching is to address scripture verses all throughout the bible–to preach about a particular theme rather than a particular selection (like a chapter). The preacher invites the listener to “follow along” turning pages with him and reading along with him.

On the other hand, Catholic preaching typically takes one event of Scripture and preaches about that one event. Usually the Gospel of the day. The readings are printed in missalettes or other guides, so an entire bible just isn’t necessary.
 
ColorMomma said:
If a person attends Mass every day for 3 years, they will hear from the whole Bible.
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This is not entirely accurate. While it’s true that the Revised Common Lectionary is set up in a 3 year cycle, it by no means covers the entire Bible. My guess is that using the daily lectionary, it would be about two-thirds. Sundays only, about 20-25%.
 
He also has an excellent Bible study course on DVD. I highly recommend it.
 
At every Mass we hear a reading from the Gospels, one from the Psalms and other readings from Old and New Testament. As was already pointed out the readings follow a defined schedule so we get different readings each day.

In any case a Catholic Mass is not a prayer meeting. It is a sacramental occasion in which we see again the Great Sacrifice of Christ at Calvary and have the opportunity to receive Him anew in the Eucharist. We can read our own Bibles at home.
 
I think my parish used to (I distinctly remember seeing the NAB at church as a child), but now it’s strictly missals with the Scripture readings included. That’s enough. We have “what we need”.
 
ComplineSanFran said:
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Zaccheus:
We can read our own Bibles at home.
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And thus is the crux of the problem.
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Please clarify for me. How is Catholics reading the Bible at home instead of in the pews at Mass, a problem?
 
Where did Jesus teach bible alone? Where did He teach that the faith - the Christian faith - would involve anything written whatsoever? Where did He teach that we are to run to the bible and argue over doctrinal matters?

He did not. Never.

Read Luke 10:16 "He who HEARS you HEARS Me.

Read the didache, the earliest known catechism. Written while the Apostle John was yet living. It delineates all sorts of things about the faith, but not a peep about anything written.

Hmmmm…

Jesus sent Apostles, armed with the doctrines that He taught them, and which the Holy Spirit reminded them of and the truth which the Spirit lead them toward. He gave them absolute authority over sin, and to bind and loose “whatever.” Does your current community have that?

Nope.

The bible?

Wonderful, irreplaceable, but a sub-set of the Church - NOT it’s foundation.
 
Zaccheus said:
Please clarify for me. How is Catholics reading the Bible at home instead of in the pews at Mass, a problem?
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Of course. How many Catholics these days actually have a Bible in their home? And use it? The primary problem that the OP’s parents have is that Scripture is ‘suffocated’ during liturgical worship, which is basically true for a non-liturgical Christian. Your comment implies that it doesn’t matter, because Roman Catholics just read the Bible at home. And that places the importance pretty low on the spectrum - no formal teaching, no commentaries, no guidance on what exactly you ARE reading and certainly no oversight from the Church. And you must admit that Catholics have a reputation for not allowing the people in the pew, as it were, to read the Bible on their own. It may be old school rules, but it certainly was taught. And that reputation has followed you over the years. My neighbor - in her 70s - says that ‘only the priests are allowed to have a Bible.’ It doesn’t bode well for the concern of the OP’s parents.
 
First off: Comgratulations for exploring Catholicism! It has helped me greatly in my life and I’ve not looked back; once I started practicing my Catholic faith in earnest. Second: I agree that the Mass is steeped in the Bible; so I’m guessing having Bibles in the pews is redundant. As for your parents’ problems with the liturgy; that’s sad and I hope they overcome it.
 
Anglican churches always have bibles though I notice usually the NRSV w Deuterocanonical Books.
 
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