Catholics and the Bible - 10/10/2026

Good morning, friends. This morning, I was thinking about what to blog. Because of some disappointing interactions with Protestants I've either had or simply come across, I want to talk about Catholics and the Bible. For today, let's talk about me and the Bible, and then we'll talk about my Church and the Bible. The objections, paraphrasing: "Catholics don't read the Bible," "Catholics don't read the Bible right," "Nobody can read the Bible and be Catholic," and finally, "Even Catholics who do read the Bible, they're like the Pharisees. They knew scripture, too, and look what they did!" Those comments, candidly, they hurt my heart. Let's set them aside. I won't even come back to them.

My Great Adventure, Ignatius, and Word on Fire Bibles.

I love my Bibles. I really do. My collection keeps growing and growing. There's no end in sight. My three favorites are first: the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. The brainchild of Dr. Scott Hahn, a former Presbyterian minister, this Bible, the product of 25 years of work, gives verse-by-verse understanding of the theology and meaning of Sacred Scripture. I highly recommend this Bible to anyone who wants a deeper and Catholic understanding of Sacred Scripture.

Next has to be the Ascension Press Great Adventure Bible. I have the Note Taking Edition, but it comes in several editions, even in a beautiful tan leather premium edition that is definitely on my wish list. The Great Adventure Bible is the one that Father Mike uses in his Bible in a Year podcasts and YouTubes. The work of Jeff Cavins, a Catholic who became a Protestant non-denominational pastor before his studies of the early Church and the Eucharist brought him home to the Catholic Church, this Bible helps us to put the various books of the Bible into context: where each fits into the timeline of salvation history.

And lastly (not the last of my Bibles, just the last of my favorite three), is the Word on Fire Bible, the work of Bishop Robert Barron. This Bible is actually published in a seven-volume set, only the first five of which are available now. I wrote about this one recently. I love the devotional essays interspersed throughout: from Early Church Fathers, Popes, classic writers like Chesterton, etc., and of course, Bishop Barron himself.

I can't recommend these Bibles enough. I love them. I use them all the time. Every day. Get one, and draw closer to Jesus through Sacred Scripture.

As some of you will know, I'm working with a few good friends on a study of the Gospel According to St. John. The whole process of preparing each week for our discussion, and then having the discussion, it's a sheer joy. I feel myself drawing closer to Jesus in a richer and more beautiful way than ever before. But there is another, less expected but even more beautiful side effect of the study. My faith experience at Mass is blooming with a beautiful richness and depth of meaning, unlike ever before. I feel this incredible sense of connection to the Mass, not just to the Bible readings from the Lectionary, but to the entirety of it. So many of the prayers, from opening to closing, are drawn from or adapted from scripture, and the better one knows the Bible, the more they can't help but recognize the biblical foundation upon which the Mass rests.

That brings me to what we call the Lectionary. The Catholic Church has prescribed the readings to be used for Mass, in the first half, which we call "The Liturgy of the Word." Mass is celebrated daily, and to accommodate the magnitude of the Bible, the Lectionary lays things out in two cycles: for weekday Masses, Monday to Saturday, there are Old Testament, Psalms, Epistles, and of course Gospel readings specified for each day, in a two-year cycle. (Note that in the two-year cycle, the Lectionary prescribes the same Gospel reading for both cycles; only the other readings change year to year). Year One, Year Two, and for the third year, back to the Year One readings again, etc. Each daily Mass, generally speaking, has two readings, one of which is always the Gospel, and a Psalm. Sunday Masses follow a three-year cycle, Cycles A, B, and C. On the fourth year, you guessed it, the cycle starts all over again. Here's my Roman Missal, which lays out all the readings for both the weekday and Sunday readings.

I opened my Roman Missal to today's readings, which are from Galatians, Psalm 105, and Luke.

Drawing the readings from the Missal can be a bit challenging for some. "What week is this in the Liturgical Year? What Cycle are we on?" In the US, I've found two devotionals that I like. The first, and very popular, is Magnificat. I've switched to Give Us This Day, which I like just a little better, but I do like both. It makes it easy to know what the readings are each day. They both also have additional readings, prayers, reflections, and inspiring stories of saints and other important spiritual people. I recommend either:

Magnificat and Give Us This Day

Give Us This Day, opened to October 10, Saturday.

It may be that some of you are uncomfortable with this next little thing I'm about to say. Please take it for what it's worth. If I am asked, "Do you believe in the Bible?" I'm not sure how to answer. Believing "in the Bible" seems to connote the Bible itself as deity, semantically, at least. I believe in God, the Trinity: God the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit. That's who I believe in. The Bible? It is God's Holy Word. I believe it to be true and foundational bedrock to my faith in God. I believe the Bible because it is His Word, and in Him do I believe.

Have I mentioned, I love the Bible?

Have a great rest of your weekend, friends.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Bible Reading, Bible Study: My Happy Place - 10/3/2026

Close Encounters of the Spiritual Kind

Why study the Bible?

For starters, you don't need to have or be seeking a college or post-graduate degree in Bible studies to benefit from Sacred Scripture. I could say there's a full range of options open to you if you want to get into the Bible. But why?

Because it is an encounter with God, Jesus, our Savior. Simple as that.

The Bible is meant to be read. I guess there are four ways to read the Bible:

1. By yourself, just engaging Sacred Scripture privately and, hopefully, prayerfully. It's not even study, it's reading. By reading, a door can open for you to a deeper understanding of who Jesus is, and that can lead to deeper faith. He will grow in your heart; the more time you spend, the more profoundly you can feel it. If you read no further, I recommend everyone find a few minutes every day to encounter Jesus in the Gospels. If I were to recommend in what order to read them, there's no wrong order. But read Luke first. If you've never read the Gospels before, the Nativity narrative is at once compelling and, in a sense, romantic. What a beautiful story of God's birth, as Baby Jesus, into the humanity He created. Then I'd read Matthew, Mark, and John, in that order. The next ten people might tell you to read in some other order. They're not wrong.
2. Join a small group that reads the Bible together. A lot of churches have Bible groups. Engaging Sacred Scripture was meant to be a communal experience. Before the Bible was written, the Gospel, the Good News, was shared orally in groups. Sharing the Gospel with like-minded friends and family can be an extremely meaningful chance to deepen your faith and love of Jesus.
3. Attend worship at your church of choice. For me, that means the Catholic Mass, which on Sundays features an Old Testament reading, a Psalm recited or sung aloud, a reading from a New Testament Epistle, and a Gospel reading. Where you go, it may be something different. If where you go there is no Gospel or Bible reading, you're probably in the wrong place to act on my advice. The Bible is God's Word, and coming together as a congregation to hear it read aloud and commented on is a meaningful and special part of Christian worship.
4. Study the Bible. Learn deeper meanings. Become thirsty, as I have become. My thirst feels at times unquenchable. Give me more: deeper meaning, better understanding of how Jesus fulfills the prophecies of the Old Testament, and how lessons of the Bible apply to life in 2026, differently, but exactly the same as in the first and second centuries.

I remember at one time I compiled a list of the five record albums I'd take with me if I were to spend the rest of my life in some faraway, solitary place. That is a different story. But if the question was "What four books of the Bible would you take if they were the only books you'd have the rest of your life?" I'd bring the Gospel According to St. John, the Gospel According to St. Matthew, the Old Testament Book of (the Prophet) Isaiah, and St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. If you're thinking you only want to read a few books to get started, I think I just gave you my recommendations. Those next ten people will give you ten different lists. This is just mine.

Oh, if you don't have a Bible, get one. If you're Catholic, you might like to look for a Catholic edition. No matter who you are, get a Bible... and read it. Reading and studying Sacred Scripture has become my happy place, not to mention how it is bringing me closer to Jesus than I've ever been. The Mass comes alive for me in a way it never did before, too, as all the biblical references and passages used as part of the Mass scream out to me, "Here I am, remember learning and reading about me?" My response? "I hear you, Lord, I hear you, I remember!" What a joyful, happy place to be.

Have a great day, friends. May God bless you and keep you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.