Catholic Readers discussion

I am looking to tackle my first cover-to-cover reading of the bible and need some suggestions on a good study bible. I've been a bit intimidated, I admit, because of the size and the fact that it's not just any book. I want to be prayerful and involved when I'm reading and feel I need some reflections to help me keep on task. Are there any Study Bibles that have reflections after chapters? Or is there a good online resource that can assist in getting through the bible?

I appreciate any suggestions.

Personally, I think all the side notes in a typical study bible are going to be so distracting that they may lead to not finishing. I'd recommend just reading an entire book then going back and reading notes. Or, better yet, reading the entire bible without the notes at all. Too many distractions can lead to giving up.
I like the RSV best - I'd suggest the Ignatius Bible from Ignatius press. Its available for kindle as well.

I just bought my husband the Catholic Answers Bible. He is really enjoying it. Here's the explanation on it:

No book in the history of the world has wielded as much influence on humankind as the Holy Bible.

What makes The New Catholic Answer Bible so unique is the answers to questions about Catholic beliefs and practices and their foundation in Scripture. From Where Did the Bible Come From? and Are the Seven Sacraments in the Bible? to Are Catholics Born Again ? and Why Do Catholic Bibles Have Seventy-three Books?, these eighty-eight diverse topics answer tough questions Catholics are asked.

The New Catholic Answer Bible is perfect for those who want to:

---Learn more about the Catholic Faith
---Increase their knowledge of Scripture and deepen their appreciation for it
---Better respond when others ask them about the Catholic Church and its teachings

The New Catholic Answer Bible is a wonderful gift for a family member or friend who is in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) or has recently joined the Church.

I would suggest starting with the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The familiarity you will gain from those will create a real thrust for more and more and more. I feel the RSV-CE is a good literal translation and is relatively inexpensive ($32) in paperback from Ignatius press.

Now comes the hard part – do you go it alone or take study aids with you?

To me this is a personal preference that I can compare to eating Thanksgiving dinner; there are those who wish to finish their plate and others who will slowly savor each bite without concern for finishing. Pick whatever approach feels right for you. I personally end up beyond savoring; I rarely see much football on Thanksgiving.

If you wish to finish your plate and get ready for your second pass you only need a single book, the Bible. If you want to savor, let someone take you by the hand and share their study with you. Here are some suggestions for study aids that I have found helpful:

- Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament 2nd Edition from Ignatius press ($25). I thought this study guide was very well done. So much can be gained from at least a brief understanding the historical setting and the audience that each book is addressing that even doing nothing more than reading the introductions will increase a person’s appreciation.

- The Navarre Bible New Testament ($83). This is a very good summary version of the Navarre thinking on the New Testament. Navarre has a series of biblical study guides which would fill a book shelf; this summary is as far as I have gone but I like it very much.

- The Catholic Commentaries on Sacred Scripture ($15-20 per book). I have used only two of these; “The Gospel of Matthew” by Curtis Mitch & Edward Sri and also “The Gospel of Mark” by Mary Healy. Both were wonderfully enriching.

- Introduction to the New Testament by Raymond E Brown ($38). This is best used for a second pass or if you can invest some serious time. I encountered it as required reading in biblical studies classes, it is now my friend. Fr. Brown has passed away but he left us a legacy.

- For the Old Testament I think the Douay-Rheims with Fr. Haydock’s notes ($100) presents a person with the thoughts of a number of church fathers and saints . Please treat yourself to the Psalms first.

Any one of the above study aids will pay dividends, depending on time and money, I have listed them in order of preference. Sorry for such a long post.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I definitely have some food for thought!

My husband recently started reading through the Bible again using the Jeff Cavins' outline from the Great Adventure Bible Study. He's reading through the Bible chronologically, then going back and reading the books that fill in the story.

He's really enjoyed watching salvation history unfold as he's gone. There are a lot of resources for this study, I think I got ours from St. Joseph's Communication for about $15.

http://biblestudyforcatholics.com/cat...

I highly recommend the online bible studies by Dr. Hahn @ http://salvationhistory.com !

I highly recommend the Navarre Bible series (my wife is reading The Navarre Bible: Pentateuch) for any serious study of Sacred Scripture.
The format is as follows: the top-third of each page contains the English and Vulgate Latin texts of the Bible; the bottom two-thirds contain notes about each verse or group of verses, including historical notes, interpretation of symbolism used, and quotes from the writings of various Saints and Church documents: everything from Ignatius of Antioch and John Chrysostom, through Augustine and Aquinas, all the way to Humanae Vitae and John Paul II.

It'll take you a long time to read just one book of the Bible, but I'm assuming you're not wanting a quick, glancing "study".

Jamie wrote: "I'm assuming you're not wanting a quick, glancing "study"."

Correct - I am not looking to check yet another book off of my list of 'to be read'. This is God's words to me and I want to take my time and savor them.

Thank you everyone for all the recommendations.

each day there's a daily mass reading...like a mini bible study...could be reflected on personally too

You also have the http://dailygospel.org. You get an Email each day with the readings for the day's mass and notes about the reading and about the saint of the day. I prefer to go to mass daily, but this is a good alternative...

Vincent wrote: "You also have the http://dailygospel.org. ..."

Thank you so much for the link. I am unable to attend daily mass - I leave too early for work and get back too late. I will definitely start using this service.

No problem Meg! The thing I like about it is that for those who check Email regularly, it is a daily reminder. I try to read this mail first before any other... to put me in the Spirit before starting work.

Blessings!

I use this bible (The New Catholic Answer Bible) -
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...

And I'm following this plan (Daily Scripture & Catechism Devotional) -
http://www.chnetwork.org/readguide04.pdf

BTW, I forgot about this GoodReads list I'd made. (I was just made aware of my own list again when I got a "like" on it.) I think it would provide excellent guidance for reading the Bible. (As we all know, we need the Bible explaned by competent authority, i.e., the Catholic Church, so as not to be led astray.)

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/71...

Scott Hahn has some quite good Bible study courses online at the St Paul Center for Biblical Theology, which are free to avail of: http://www.salvationhistory.com/studi...

I've recently started reading Peter: Fisherman and Shepherd of the Church (Ancient-Future Bible Study: Experience Scripture through Lectio Divina) by Stephen Binz, and have been finding it to be very good as a practical introduction to the practice of Lectio Divina:
http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Fisherman...

I've also enjoyed Fr Raymond E Brown's commentary on the Gospel and Letters of Saint John. I've been reading it in conjunction with Scott Hahn's & Curtis Mitch's study Bible for St John's Gospel in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible series. I've found reading both together has been very fruitful as they give a range of different insights and both guides include the full text of the Gospel under discussion, but each uses a different translation, which in itself is good:
http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Epistles...
http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-John-Ign...

I personally like the Jerusalem Bible translation for reading the scriptures:
http://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Bible...

Martin wrote: "Scott Hahn has some quite good Bible study courses online at the St Paul Center for Biblical Theology, which are free to avail of: http://www.salvationhistory.com/studi...

I've recen..."

Please add these to my list above, especially if they are good books for explaining/understanding the Catholic faith.

Noel wrote: "My husband recently started reading through the Bible again using the Jeff Cavins' outline from the Great Adventure Bible Study. He's reading through the Bible chronologically, then going back and ..."

I have also done the Jeff Cavins Salvation History Bible study through my church. It's a long study but well worth it. The connections between the old and new testaments are amazing. Studying the Bible in chronological order really helps it come alive. Good luck with your Bible studies/reading. It can be a daunting endeavor but very satisfying.

And for those days when you would rather watch than read, check out Father Francis Martin's series of videos. He is a terrific Bible scholar, and has been posting a series of commentaries on John's Gospel here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/mogchapel

He has also published a fine book of scriptural Lenten meditations titled The Fire in the Cloud. Although you may want to save it for Lent of next year and start it on Ash Wednesday.

Jamie wrote: "BTW, I forgot about this GoodReads list I'd made. (I was just made aware of my own list again when I got a "like" on it.) I think it would provide excellent guidance for reading the Bible. (As w..."

I like this list.

As part of a class I am taking we are using a book titled "Bible Parallels a Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels" ISBN:978-0-8407-7484-2 by Burton Throckmorton. It presents topics in a three column format showing what was written in Matthew, Mark and Luke.

This is a very thought provoking way to study the synoptics; generally the comparisons fit on one page per topic. It is nice to have all three texts in full view.

Mike wrote: "It presents topics in a three column format showing what was written in Matthew, Mark and Luke..."

That sounds like a valuable study aid. I will definitely have to look into it.

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of Johnby Scott Hahn. There is one for each gospel and others you can search. Scott Hahn recommends starting with the gospels when studying the bible.

I've recently started reading The Gospel of Matthew which is part of the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone interested in studying St Matthew's Gospel, and on the basis of this book, I'm looking forward to exploring the other titles in the series.

I also recently finished reading Exploring the Spirituality of the Gospels which gave very interesting insights into the spirituality behind each individual Gospel. It's definitely a worthwhile read and opens up the spiritual depth of the Gospels and the spiritual call of the Gospels to each of us.

Thanks Martin for the info. I love Matthew's Gospel so much. The Sermon on the Mount is the clincher for me.

Martin wrote: "I've recently started reading The Gospel of Matthew which is part of the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone interested in studying St Matthew's Gosp..."

Thanks for the recommendation Martin. This looks very interesting!

Stephen BinzHas a series of books on Scripture, his books are great if you are reading a Gospel from start to finish or if you are looking for a thematic studyAdvent Light is a good example, he uses multiple books of the Bible to explore Advent.

Joyce wrote: "I also recommend Douay-Rheims with Fr. Haydock’s notes ($100)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Haydock-Bib..."

One of the best investments I have ever made for Bible study.

Meg,
NIV and many others are excellent but I really like the Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible. Dr. Stanley not only helps me better understand biblical principles but also how to apply them in my life.
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