The Critical Bible Skill for Catholics

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Do you read the Bible to change your life?

Most Catholics don’t do this. They read the Bible to get done.

Catholics don’t talk much about the power of the Bible to change lives. Even Catholic Bible studies are more academic.

I think Catholics lack a critical skill–reading the Bible to hear what God has to say.

Transformed and guided by Scripture

Check out this “Catholics Come Home” commercial. There’s one line in it that says, “We [the Catholic family] are transformed by Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, which have consistently guided us for two thousand years.”

That is exactly it! We Catholics are transformed and guided by the Scriptures. We always have been!

But if it’s such a part of our spiritual heritage, why don’t we see it emphasized more at the practical level?

It makes you wonder if it is a priority of the Church.

Scripture Is The Fundamental Priority

Well, after Verbum Domini came out, there’s no doubt in my mind that Pope Benedict feels Catholics should be Bible-reading, Bible-praying Christians!

He wrote, “With the Synod Fathers I express my heartfelt hope for the flowering of “a new season of greater love for sacred Scripture on the part of every member of the People of God, so that their prayerful and faith-filled reading of the Bible will, with time, deepen their personal relationship with Jesus” (Verbum Domini, paragraph 72).

Pope Benedict continually highlights the benefits of lectio divina. Since the beginning of his pontificate, it’s been his mission of sorts to see this devotion established among the faithful.

According to Michael Barber the Pope’s “fundamental priority” is “leading people to ‘the God who speaks in the Bible.’

Barber quotes from Verbum Domini, “With the Synod Fathers I express my heartfelt hope for the flowering of “a new season of greater love for sacred Scripture on the part of every member of the People of God, so that their prayerful and faith-filled reading of the Bible will, with time, deepen their personal relationship with Jesus” (Verbum Domini, paragraph 72; emphasis mine).”

What’s My Point? Listen to God Through the Bible

Catholics have always read and prayed with the Sacred Scriptures. However, this is not emphasized much today.

The consequence? We’re in a biblical deficit and only slowly digging out! This is a critical skill for spiritual maturity; most Catholics lack it.

Pope Benedict wants all the Catholic faithful to understand the power of the Bible first hand. He’s convinced it will bring a new springtime to the Church.

It’s time the Bible became an active part of the spirituality of the Catholic laity. It’s time to teach, talk about and study the life-changing power of the Scriptures.

It’s time for Catholics to become Bible-reading Christians and make the Bible a fundamental priority.

It’s your turn:

  • Do you read the Bible regularly to deepen your relationship with Jesus and to change your life?
  • Why or why not? Do you want to?

I would love to know!

About the author 

Marc Cardaronella

I'm passionate about the most effective ways to transmit the Catholic Faith and spread the Gospel to the world. Join me? You can find me on Facebook, Twitter for the catechetical ramblings of the day.

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  1. When I take prayer time the Bible is one of the main things I take with me. Reading the daily Mass readings in prayer time is a great way to see what God wants to say to me and to reflect upon that.

  2. Yes. I read the Bible regularly, but not explicitly to “further [my] relationship with Jesus and to change [my] life,” although it definitely does do that. This will sound shallow, but it’s just a fascinating book. The more I read the more the big picture of Catholicism becomes deeper, clearer, broader. One minute the Bible is dramatic; then affectionate; then amusing; then profound; prophetic; poetic; and romantic.nnThe problem is that it takes a certain amount of labor in the beginning to get comfortable with the Bible. It’s written in a way that requires the reader to go slow, reflect, flip to other passages, re-read: not like a modern book at all, which can be frustrating. But it’s like that so that the reader, by having to work a bit, will learn and remember. The writers (and by extension, God) did not intend for us to get the knowledge on the cheap. It is a lifelong effort…like raising kids or being married. The longer you do it the better you get.nnI’ll also say that I don’t have a set time for Sitting Down and Reading the Scriptures; I just read when I feel like it, or want to look something up. No schedule, no particular books (some I have not read), no goals.nnSomething that might work for someone just starting out is to get a cheap Bible that can be marked up without heartburn. I’ll recommend the red paperback NAB because the footnotes are great. Then pick something familiar, say Luke from the Annuciation through Christmas. Then read slowly. Read every footnote. Flip to every verse that the footnotes link to; read them to see the connection. Maybe even follow a link on one of those links. Don’t worry about going forward: let the commentary take you sideways. This is critical for getting the big interlocking picture of, well, Salvation History. Highlight stuff you like. If you’re bored, find another story. If you’re still bored, put it down and come back later. Patience.

    1. Great insights Christian. I can tell you read the Bible regularly because your catechesis is so biblical. I love this idea of patience and letting the commentary “take you sideways.” That’s awesome! Again, the Bible is not a book to just read and “get done.” It’s something to live with and meander through for a life time. It is a difficult book to get into but I agree, so very fascinating.

      1. “It’s something to live with and meander through”rnrnYes, meander; that’s a better expression than ‘going sideways.’

  3. Reading the Bible front to back has been on my personal “to do” list for longer than I would care to reveal. I don’t have any good excuse not to — I’d like to say it’s because juggling work and family responsibilities doesn’t leave me much time, but when I’m honest with myself I have to admit that I’m making excuses. I just don’t make the time to read it in a regular way.nnI like your point about Catholic Bible studies leaning towards the academic. I think in general Catholics aren’t well skilled in thinking/talking about their faith. This was a frequent criticism when we rolled out the Why Catholic? program in our diocese: “I thought I’d be learning something, not talking about my faith!” We’re still stuck in the “school” model of faith formation, which I’m not sure has served us terribly well.

    1. The “school” model of faith formation is a very good way to put it! I think we are stuck there. It’s good and bad. Great that we teach the doctrine. Bad that we get stuck in the academic. We need a balance of both the knowledge and the heart. Really, that’s the way the Church does it. Spirituality flows from the doctrines. Spirituality is like a “lived theology.” Ultimately, I think the faith has to be a matter of the heart before it really sticks. I think when Love penetrates you and takes over you, that’s when you really want to learn. Thanks for the comments. nn

    2. You know, a great way to read the Bible front to back is to take a 24 week Great Adventure course. You don’t read the whole entire Bible but you read a lot of it. Being in the class gives you accountability and keeps you on track. I thought it was great!

  4. You know, that’s an interesting observation about that quote. I thought it was really heart-felt and insightful, but I’m a religion geek. You might be right, it might just go over the heads of most Catholics in the pew. Obviously, something needs to be communicated in a different way because not many people are convinced. nnI have to say, it was Scott Hahn that got me interested in the Bible. He really made it come alive for me. He way he connected the Old and New Testaments and drew so much practical insight from the text for everyday life…it just captivated me. nnYes, I agree! It’s way past time for the laity to begin learning and teaching the Bible to make that living, personal encounter that brings the Bible alive.

  5. Lectio Divina! Lectio Divina! I’m really excited that Papa Ratzi has been encouraging the faithful to try lectio divina–it’s such a gift from the Church. I first learned it in high school and ever since it’s been a steady way for me to pray over Scripture when I want to go beyond the daily readings.

    I’ll echo previous commenters’ ideas on using the footnotes in the NAB, the great need for more instruction on how to plumb the depths of Sacred Scripture, and steering clear of the normal “cover-to-cover” Bible reading plan.

    As for learning how to better “speak” with Scripture…

    I’ll add that commentaries and writings of the Church Fathers are strongly encouraged as aids when reading. (There is also a text that the Magisterium puts out for helping with commentaries, cross references, etc…which is vague and the name escapes me right now…) Marc, is the Great Adventure series put together by Jeff Cavins? If so, that’s very good for putting the Bible into a thematic order for starters–one can read Scripture as a coherent Salvation story and then go “sideways” to explore the other books.

    Finally, I think it is vital to remember that the Scriptures are written in many different literary forms (epistles/letters, historical narratives, poetry…even bildungsroman!), to many different audiences (Jews in the old kingdoms, Diaspora Jews, Hellenists, converts, specific missionaries or disciples, etc.), and at many different time periods. That variety means Scripture always has something to offer throughout one’s life, but also can lead to frustrations for people when they first start going beyond the Mass readings.

    Take home message: persevere through Scripture with a wise guide–it’s well worth the effort!

    1. That’s awesome that you’ve gotten so much out of lectio. I have too. I think it’s an awesome way to get familiar with the Bible. You can gradually dive into it and digest it.

      Yes, the Great Adventure series is put out by Jeff Cavins. I agree, it’s an excellent resource for learning the Bible and especially for getting the big picture of what the Bible is all about.

      Thanks for the great comments!

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