My Bible and Me - 1/16/2026

My Ignatius Catholic Study Bible

I love my Iganatius Catholic Study Bible. It took a team of biblical scholars, led by the great Dr. Scott Hahn 26 years to complete this masterpiece. We Catholics, we don't get a whole lot of credit for studying or reading the Bible. In a way, I'd have to say, "Rightly so." On the other hand, truth be told, the Bible, aka "The Holy Bible" is at the root of Catholic prayer and life, and most especially, the Catholic Liturgy. Not only is there an Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel reading every Sunday, but many other prayers and passages in the Liturgy are straight from the Bible. But, I digress. This blog piece is about the Bible and me. Me? I love the Bible. I think I have six Bibles. But, of all of them, my Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is my favorite.

In Catholicism there's an ancient tradition called lectio divina. Lectio divina is a contemplative and meditative use of scripture as prayer. It's not an in depth study or analysis of scripture, but more a sitting with it contemplatively with one's heart, mind, and soul open. Maybe I'll get there, but I guess I'm too impatient, too interested, and too curious to know and understand to sit with scripture meditatively. Maybe I'll get there, but right now I'm too thirsty.

My Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is as if tailor made for me. It feeds my thirst for knowledge and understanding. Every page, or nearly so, is full of footnotes and references, explanations and definitions. All of it designed to help me understand how various Bible passages inter-relate, how the Old Testament foreshadows the New, how the New Testament fulfills the prophesies and promises of the Old. It explains how these things define my faith and my church, and brings me the kind of understanding that for me gives my faith meaning. 



Every page of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is full of explanations and notes. One of these pages is 2/3 notes, the other closer to 3/4 notes. All the scripture is there, plus all these notes, fertilizer for the garden of my faith.

My goal is to read one Bible chapter per day, three days per week. I will usually do more. I'm an over-achiever, I guess. By plan I alternate: studying a chapter from the Bible one day and the Catechism the next (which of course often leads me back into the Bible in it's own way). On Sundays I go to Mass.

Maybe some of what I'm about to say is scandalous or blasphemous, but here goes. I mean neither of those things. What I love most about the Bible, sacred scripture, is New Testament, specifically the Gospels, and of the Gospels, I love St. John's Gospel most. Is that wrong? Does it disrespect the other Gospels? Does it disrespect the Epistles? Old Testament? I think not. I hope not.

Right now I'm reading the Gospel of St. Matthew. It seems like a good place for a guy named Matthew to start. I'm planning to read the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles in order as published, a chapter a day, 3 days a week, including all the wonderful notes this Bible gives me. I'm not sure if I'll do the Epistles, Old Testament, or the Book of Revelation next. I've got plenty of time to decide. Don't get me wrong, I'm reading other Bible passages. I often read the daily Mass readings. And sometimes when I am reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which is a beautiful articulation of my Christian faith, one I'd recommend to Christians of all denominations, despite what I know will be some disagreement), I often read the Bible references cited within it.

Speaking of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, vis-a-vis Bible references, I know I'm touting my Ignatius Bible, but I love the way my Great Adventure Bible, by Ascension Press, references the Catechism. Ascension has a Great Adventure Catechism, and the Bible and Catechism point at each other with references, in effect showing the direct connection, correlation, and interdependence between Catholicism and the Bible. What my Great Adventure Bible has that the Ignatius doesn't, is room for notes. I have a note-taking version. As far as making study notes and highlighting, I'm doing that in the Great Adventure Bible.

My Great Adventure Note Taking Bible is single column and has room for my notes on the sides.

Another thing I admit I prefer in the Great Adventure version, and I know some people don't like this, but I do, is that the words of Jesus are in red. If I like the New Testament more than Old, and the Gospels more then the rest of the New, and St. John more then the others, what I like most of all are the words of Jesus the Christ, my Savior, out Savior. Is that blasphemy? I hope not.
 
Am I more saved than anyone else because I've found myself so passionate about scripture in pursuit of my faith? No, I don't think so.
 
Are people who know the Bible better than me more saved than I am because of that knowledge? I don't think so.
 
Can someone be saved without a burning passion for scripture? Absolutely.
 
This is my path. I don't claim it's better than anyone else's. I don't claim to be a biblical scholar or teacher. What I am is a man. A sinner. I've turned to Jesus and the path I'm taking is multi-faceted. If my Church is my roadmap, the Bible is my compass. It points to true north... to truth.
 
Have a great day, friends. God bless.  

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My New Blog, Blogging About My Journey of Faith - 1/14/2026

Good afternoon, friends. Same old me. New blog. I don't know where it's going, but I know what it's about. It's about me, and my faith.  What is my faith?   That there is a triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That the Son is Jesus, who is Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior. That this Jesus is the Christ, God become man, and that He walked and lived among us, and ultimately, died for our sins, thus creating a path to salvation for all people. That the Bible is the word of God. That the same Jesus is His Word made flesh, and in flesh the same as ours He dwelt among us. That even though He was killed, He conquered death on the third day. He ascended into Heaven. That He will come again to judge the living and the dead. That His Kingdom will have no end. That Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Things I may write about here: Prayer life and prayers. Bible reading and study. Just because I'm Catholic doesn't mean I don't read it and love it. T...
Read more

On Death and Dying - 3/22/2026

Image
Caroline and I flew to Phoenix last week to attend the funeral of a dear, dear friend, someone of tremendous importance to Caroline. They were friends for over 35 years. Her death was premature and beyond tragic. For my beautiful wife, it's been devastating. For her husband, I don't know that there are words. Monday, we'll drive up to Largo, about a hundred miles and two hours from here, to attend another funeral. This is the funeral of one of my dad's dear friends, someone of great importance to me. Just shy of 98 years old, he lived a long and good life, and was well loved. It hurts just the same. At 97, he has four beautiful daughters who love him tremendously, the way we all hope our kids love us. He goes away well loved, leaving with no question marks or doubts about that, and it is love that is the most important thing. He is and was loved. Death. It happens to us. All of us. And when it does, the dead person is gone and those of us they leave behind have to deal ...
Read more

Why I'm Still a Catholic - 1/26/2026

Image
This morning, I'd like to share, in the simplest way I can, why I'm still a Catholic. Why am I back to this church, and not some other? Aren't there hundreds of other choices? I'm not going to use this post to make an argument or tally all the Church's merits and demerits. Let someone else do that. This isn't a scripture vs. tradition post. It's not a faith vs. works argument. It's not to address prayer to Mary or the Saints. None of that. For me, there is one, unavoidable reason I'm here and can't be somewhere else. If you do not share this belief with me, I do believe you CAN, and if you're reading this, very likely that you WILL enjoy the fruits of Jesus' messianic, salvific work. Yes, you can and will get to Heaven without it, but I can't and won't live here on Earth without it. Without what? The Eucharist. So Jesus said to them: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ...
Read more