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.