Do Catholic Priests ever say read your Bible?

I agree that it's more likely because of poor catechisis than any other reason. The Church doesn't deny that there was a large generation of those who were not properly educated in the faith.

I know a few people who have left and then they usually return. Those who return it is because they have studied the faith and they come to realize what they had lacked all along.

 

Many Catholics carry missals to church, which contains the Sacred Scripture readings for the day. And yes, there are priests that do encourage reading the Scriptures. Both of mine push it tirelessly. Sadly, many Christians (Catholics and non-Catholics) are illiterate of Sacred Scripture. However, I must say, there is more Scripture read during Mass than any Protestant service I had been to my first 26 years. So to say Catholics do not care about Scipture is an outright falsehood.

In Christ,
Neal

 

Then they must have not paid attention during Mass. There are three distinct Scripture readings plus a responsorial psalm from the Psalms.

In Christ,
Neal

 

In just checking the websites of the Catholic parishes in my area, I notice that they all have bible studies...

 

I was raised Catholic and I dont recall ever...in 8 years of Catholic grade school...ever hearing any priest, nun, or lay worker ever suggest we own a copy of the scriptures and feed on them regularly. I never once saw one in our church anywhere...the gigantic one that the priest read from each mass.

Probably one reason would be that the official teaching of the Catholic Church is that the Teaching Majesterium...those Catholic Hierarchial leaders who formulate Catholic doctrine...are the only people on earth who are qualified to interpret scriptures, and all Catholic people are commanded that they must accept "Holy Mother Churchs" interpretations of the scriptures fully.

As a result, they can keep their people firmly in their clutches with the least amount of resistance.

It must be that way, because if people freely feed on Gods scriptures they will come to see that multitudes of foundational Catholic teachings...the priesthood, the teaching majestierum, the "literal presence" in the eucharist, Mary worship, the rosary, the vain repetitions of prayer, worship of deceased saints, the mass, the so called neccesity of confession of sins to a so called "priest", etc etc etc...are all unbiblical and they will flee and seek true new testament fellowship.

Sadly,

Mike

 

The missals are on a three year cycle...meaning every three years the Bible is read completely through. How often does your preacher read every verse in the Bible? </font>[/QUOTE]Since I am the preacher, I am not sure--at least three times a year in my personal time, with a lot more Bible study. Just the other day I read through the Book of Acts and half way through Romans, and that was just to answer a question on justification by faith by a poster on this board. I spend lots of time reading my Bible.

Most of our church members make it a point to read their Bibles through at least once a year without being spoonfed from the preacher.

I started preaching from the First Epistle of Peter some time around January. Tonight I expounded on IPet.3:9-12. During these past months I have thoroughly taught and preached every verse up to this point (1Pet.3:12), and have 411 pages of notes to show for it. One sermon lasts about 40 minutes. Our congregation is taught the meat of the Word. As opposed to the dozen or so verses that Kathryn posts that are simply read in church, we have a good 40 minutes of expository preaching all on the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Our people have a wonderful understanding of the Bible, and for a good reason. Systematically, one book after another (both Old Testament and New) we preach.
DHK

 

When I was being raised Catholic, we were taught at school to read Scripture for ourselves, albeit with the aid of commentaries from Church Tradition. And there were always four Scripture readings at every Mass plus a sermon which usually commented on them.

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

I homeschooled my 10 yr. old son. He just completed the 4th grade and I used Seton Catholic Homeschool.

In Religion class, scripture was always referenced and on several assignments, my son had to look up the passages in the Bible.

In English class, he had to read a set passage in the Bible and write a paragraph summarizing what he read. He read and wrote about Samson, Moses in the River Nile, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, and when Elisabeth and Zacharias received the news that she would give birth to John.

 

If one approaches/reads/studies the Scriptures with the wrong theological presuppositions, no matter how many times he may read the Bible or how many hours he may spend "exegeting" it or how many pages of notes he may take during his efforts, there's a strong possibility he'll still arrive at the wrong conlusions about what Scripture means. (I'll leave it at that.)

 

DHK
You will be done covering I Peter in what? Early November?

And to answer the original question.
Do Catholic Priests ever say read your Bible? I've heard a number of priests say that.
However I've never done any research about the phenomenon of priests imploring others to read Scripture so I can't say how common it is.
I do know it has steadily become more and more common since the beginning of the last century.

 

The missals are on a three year cycle...meaning every three years the Bible is read completely through. How often does your preacher read every verse in the Bible? </font>[/QUOTE]More often then once every three years.

 

I think L4H meant in church... not personally.

 

Maybe. But I don't know for sure. It could be longer. I'll get finished when I'll get finished. In other words I have no set schedule. Some passages lend themselves to much more study and exposition than others.

If Catholic priests encourage their people to read their Bible instead of their Catechism there has been a great change since I have been in the Catholic Church, which I am very skeptical to believe. Since, just by talking to Catholic epologists on this board, I know that they are dead set against both soul liberty and especially sola scriptura, even the encouragement of reading of Scripture becomes fruitless. If one is not allowed to "interpret" the Scripture in the light of what he believes to be true, or in the light of what God shows him to be true, what value is the Scripture, or the study thereof? It is all very contradictory.
DHK

 

DHK,

It most certainly is. Its a false freedom. In other words, if the CC ever encourages that their people feed on the scriptures, it is with a condition.

"Ok, if you want to do it feel free to read from the scriptures, but dont you dare ever think it says anything but what WE TELL YOU it says".

Because of course nobody on earth is capable of correctly interpreting the scriptures but the Teaching Majesterium of Rome.

Which, by the way is the identical thing that people like Jim Jones and David Koresh and groups like the Jehovahs Witnesses and Mormons tell their people.

Not a good group to run with.

Mike

 

But how about all these people that profess it was "revealed to them by the Holy Spirit" and it is different for the baptist, methodist, SA, ect?

How can that be when the Holy Spirit is God and God cannot deceive nor be deceived?

 

As a Catholic I read Holy Scripture on my own at home and attend Bible Study in my parish, but I love to hear the Word of God at daily Mass.

In Holy Scripture Jesus says:

Luke 8
21. But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."

Luke 11
28. But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."


For so much of Christian history most people could not even read, but the select well educated. I wonder why Protestants seem to put more of an importance on "reading", than "hearing" the Word of God, which is more scriptural.

 

The historical era known as the "Dark Ages" when the greater part of the populace was illiterate, were illiterate for the simple reason that the Catholic hierarchy kept the Word of God out of the hands of the common people. They kept them illiterate so that it would be impossible to be educated in the Word of God.
What does God's Word say?
"The entrance of thy Word gives light."
The Catholics made sure they were kept in the dark.

"Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."

Is It? Then how do you account for these Scriptures and commands?

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Psalms 1:1-2 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

The commands of the Bible are first and foremost to: Search the Scriptures, study them, read them, and meditate upon them. Why?
Because faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. Check the context of the verse before you quote it. A preacher must be a student of the Word, dig deep into its depths, allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate his mind to its truths, in order that he may be prepared to preach the word to others, that others might hear the word of God; for faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Check again the context of Romans 10

Romans 10:13-17 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
DHK

 

And this is why Jesus established His Church and gave it the Great Commission and sent it to go out to teach all he commanded to all nations. He sent them out to teach the Gospel, the Word of God, which He Himself made sure they understood, and followed up with sending the Holy Spirit.

In Scripture Jesus explained the Old Testament so His Church would have the correct understanding. He also spent 3 years teaching His Church the gospel and what His Word is. This correct understanding was what was taught and passed down through the Church.

Scripture doesn't tell people to just read the Bible on your own and the Holy Spirit will give you the correct interpretation. This is how we get hundreds of denominations, and anyone can decide to open a church.


As far as the Church keeping people illiterate, it was the Catholic monks that preserved by hand Holy Scripture and most literature, after the fall of the Roman Empire and through the plague and the resultant "Dark Ages". The schools and universities were a product of the Catholic Church. The printing press was not invented for 15 hundred years after the time of Christ. When it was invented, by a Catholic, the Church mass produced Bibles in both latin and english and other languages.

The Catholic Douay Rheims Version, I believe, is the first English translation, predating the King James Version. It's the version I personally use myself.


“Douay-Rheims: a Story of Faith

A quirk in history means English-speaking Catholics must go to France to trace the origins of the Bible printed in their language.

Penal laws during Queen Elizabeth's reign in the 16th century deprived English Catholics of freedom to practice their religion. Masses had be to said in secret. Those who refused to attend services in the established Church of England were called "recusants" and were subject to prosecutions.

Many recusants fled the island to maintain their faith. A major refuge for these exiles was the town of Douai (Anglicized to "Doway" and, later, "Douay") where an English college had been established by Father (later Cardinal) William Allen to train priests.

Now part of France, Douay at the time was under the Spanish dominions of the Catholic King Philip II, former Prince Consort of Queen Mary Tudor and an ally of English Catholics. Since Catholic books were suppressed in England, Douay also became a major publishing center. Well-armed in the battle of words with their religious adversaries across the channel, English Catholic recusants produced a major body of literature emanating continuously from Douay and other cities on the continent, such as St. Omer and Antwerp.

It was during this period that Douay scholars produced the one work that would do the most to memorialize the name of their college throughout the English-speaking world: the Douay version of the Bible.

Actually, work on the Bible began in the city of Rheims, where the college had relocated temporarily in 1578. The principal translator was Father Gregory Martin, who had joined the exiles at Douay in 1570 so he could freely practice his religion. He began work on the translation in 1578, assisted by Father Allen and others. Father Martin used the Vulgate (the Latin translation of the Bible) as his basis. An accomplished scholar in Hebrew and Greek, he consulted early texts in those languages, as well as earlier English sectarian translations before arriving at his own final text.

The result was the translation that would become the basis for Catholic Bibles in the English language for nearly the next four centuries.

Due to limited resources, only the New Testament was published first, in 1582. It included an extensive body of apologetic annotations written in the controversial tone typical of the time and refuting common biblical interpretations that had been used against the Catholic Church.

It was called the Rheims (Anglicized to Rhemes) New Testament for the city of publication. The Old Testament was later published in two volumes in 1609-1610, after the college had returned to Douay. That's why the complete Bible is known as the Douay-Rheims, or simply the Douay, Bible.

Copies of the Rheims New Testament were smuggled into England despite official proscription, and it immediately caused concern among leaders of the established church. Their dedication to widespread circulation of the Bible did not extend to Catholic translations. Rheims became the subject of several critical works. One recurring criticism was for its use of obscure words, such as "exinanited" in Philippians 2:7. (A modern translation reads: "Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.")

As explained in the preface, some words of the sacred text do not have precise English equivalents. Rather than risk changing the original sense, it was decided to simply Anglicize some Vulgate words. To assist the reader, a glossary of such terms was appended to the text. Despite the wave of criticism, the overwhelming merit of Father Martin's scholarship prevailed.

Translators of the King James Version of 1611 even borrowed renderings from Rheims. Many of the obscure words mentioned in the glossary—"neophyte" and "resuscitate," for example—are now in everyday use.

An urgent prayer at the end of the Rheims New Testament dramatically expresses the hopes and concerns of English Catholics at the time:
" . . . Come Lord Jesus quickly, and judge betwixt us and our Adversaries, and in the meantime give patience, comfort, and constancy to all that suffer for Thy name, and trust in Thee. Lord God our only helper and protector, tarry not long. Amen."


http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=1061

 

And what value is the Scripture if, as a result of that above individualistic method of interpretation, Christians arrive at radically different conclusions to each other? Now that is very contradictory

Yours in Christ

Matt