This is a question to Catholics?

Question

I am not a Catholic but i respect them. My question is does the priest, or pastor encourage that the congregation read the Bible old and new testament. Daily reading? or are other books recommended like things written by the Vatican. Do people in the church carry their Bibles to church? How about u.

Answer 1

Yes, my parish priest encourages us to spend time in prayer with the Scriptures outside of Mass. Of course, during Mass on Sunday, we always read from the Old Testament, Psalms, New Testament (usually the epistles), and Gospels. If you attend Mass every day and do not read the Bible any other time, you will read the entire Bible once every three years.

In addition to Scripture, it is also a good idea to read the Catechism, which is kind of like an instruction manual. It sets out much of Catholic theology as applied to practical living and gives justification for each point from Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the writings of the early church fathers. It's been around since the mid 1500s and has been revised as Catholic theology has evolved. My copy indicates it is the Second Edition with the latest substantive revisions during the mid 1990s. There may have been further work done on it; my copy is from ~2000.

Catholics generally do not need to carry our Bibles to Mass. There are usually complete Bibles provided in the pews by the Church. Whether or not Bibles are available, there are always copies of the Missal available. The Missal contains the text of all the prayers said during Mass as well as the text of all the Scripture readings used during Mass. This format makes it much easier to follow along and is less disruptive, as it means there will be less rummaging through a Bible to find specific Scripture passages. I always have at least an electronic Bible with me, but I prefer to use the Missals while I am at Mass.

Answer 2

Yes, the Church encourages Bible reading. I will admit that this wasn't always true - when I was a small kid, it was not encouraged or mentioned much, but fortunately that has changed.

They especially encourage daily reading, reading of all kinds, but in particular, the Daily Mass Lectionary readings for the day that are orally proclaimed during the Daily Mass. I try to read them every day even though I may not attend Mass every day. Some people actually carry their Bibles to church with them. I don't - what I do is I subscribe to a wonderful digest-size magazine called Magnificat, which has all the Daily lectionary readings for the month, in addition to devotional prayers, Eucharistic benediction, etc. Some other Catholics out there probably know about this too.... I get the Magnificat every month and take it to church with me. Occasionally I will bring my Bible if I have a Bible study class before or after services.

Answer 3

Yes, in most Catholic parishes that I know of, there are weekly bible studies, just like at Protestant churches. Our pastor quizzes us during his homily/sermon on the bible at least once a month.

In terms of daily readings, the Catholic church probably provides the most formalized structure for readings of any church; this system is called "the lectionary", and it is so well structured that the Lutherans and Anglicans also use the Catholic lectionary. The lectionary is a set of passages chosen by season and year for being read on any given day in church, but also work as a home bible study system. The lectionary, during the week, serves up a reading from the Old Testament, a psalm, and a reading from the New Testament. On Sundays, in addition to these, there will also be an extract from one of the letters/book of Acts/Revelation.

Catholics do not usually need to bring their bibles to church. There are, in all the pews, copies of the lectionary called "the missal", which allows people in the congregation to read the daily readings in advance. It is easier to use than a bible, since all the readings are contained on the pages for the Sunday in question, and you don't have to flip back and forth.

Answer 4

My goodness, yes, we are encouraged to read and study the Bible on a daily basis. There are many very good Bible study guides available to us with a Catholic perspective, from in-depth studies of individual books to application of Scripture to daily life.

Many parishes (mine included) have weekly Bible study groups -- and we do carry our Bibles to those, of course. As others here have told you, there's no need for us to do so when we go to Mass as the Scripture readings are in the missalettes. It's a common misconception that because we aren't seen carrying Bibles into church, we don't read the Bible or aren't encouraged to do so -- but really it's just a matter of differences in practice. It's natural for Protestants, evangelicals, etc., to bring their Bibles along on Sundays because most have Bible studies before or after worship services.

As a former evangelical and now Catholic, I find that I'm actually hearing more Scripture during Mass than I did in worship services before.

Answer 5

Every priest I have ever known actively encourages independent reading of the Bible. My parish has both a weekly Bible study and another weekly gathering of people who are interested in learning more about Vatican II documents.

I have never noticed anyone carrying their personal Bibles to Church. It is not necessary because the Church provides books called missals with the relevant Bible readings for the day already in them. One can buy their own personal missal, that they can bring back and forth to Mass

Answer 6

Yes! The priest and the Catholic Church encourages the adherents to read the bible(both the old and new) but they don't emphasised it every week during Mass as the Mass itself is the Word of God! Yes! Daily reading as there is also daily Mass! Yes! Other books recommended and written by the Vatican! Yes! The adherents can bring along their bible to church but not necessary as the Missal(reading during Mass) can be found in the church!!! I don't!!!

Answer 7

No, we don't carry our Bibles to Mass. The readings are already printed out for everyone to see. You can read right along as the Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel lessons are read. There are also daily lessons for every day of the year that can be read outside of church. There are often Bible studies or other lessons held during the weekdays, and there's a really good Catholic program for reading the entire Bible (including the Apocrypha) in a year's time. A friend of mine just finished that.

Answer 8

Yes.

All Catholics are encouraged to read the Bible.

The Catholic Church teaches: The Church forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful to learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ,' by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. ‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.'

Although some Catholics do not read the Bible on a regular basis, we all listen to the Word being proclaimed and explained in every Mass.

In every Sunday Mass there are at least four Bible readings
+ First Reading - usually from the Old Testament
+ A Psalm is prayed by all
+ Second Reading - usually from a New Testament Epistle
+ Gospel Reading
+ Then the priest bring them all together and helps us apply them to our lives in the homily

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 131-133: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect1chpt2.htm#131

With love in Christ.

Answer 9

Yes, catholics are encouraged to read the Bible and meditate on the scripture readings for the day on a daily basis. it is called Lecto Divina.

You can find online resources at
http://www.wau.org/meditations/meditations.asp
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/

Catholics do not carry their Bibles into Mass. The word of God is proclaimed and people listen as it was done in the early church.

Answer 10

Yes, all Catholic Christians are called to daily prayer and study of the bible. It’s part of our living of the Faith. Other educational materials are also used, like the catechism, catholic encyclopedia, internet, etc.

We can bring our bibles to Church but usually it isn’t necessary because our literature usually already contains scripture.