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.