Bible Reading & Study
Blog posts in the “Bible Reading and Study” category tend to be practical: most concern HOW and WHY to read and study the Bible, but they also offer Bible readings plans and consider things like how to read a particular book or genre of Scripture. (For more specifics, see the Resources tab of this site.) These posts take to heart the words of St. Gregory the Great: “Study [Scripture], I beg you, and meditate daily on the words of your Creator. Learn the heart of God in the words of God.” Take a look through the posts pictured below, or start with one of these:
- God’s Word is Forever! 12 Reasons that Matters
- The 3 “P’s” of Fruitful Bible Reading
- 3 Steps to a Bible Reading Habit
- Choose from 3 Bible Reading Plans for Lent
- The ABCs of Reading St. Paul
- Which Catholic Bible Should I Use?
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your troubles? Wave after wave of distress washes over you. You pull yourself up to shout for help and another wave knocks you flat. You start to wonder: where is God now, in this situation?” “Why doesn’t he help? Is he really there?” You fight the suggestion that he doesn’t exist – then you ...
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On my first visit to Israel, I couldn’t get the wilderness of Judah out of my mind. It’s a high mountain desert, bleak and dry, rocky and full of crags, not a bush or a green leaf in sight. The mountain shown here is at the edge of it. The feeling I got there was one of overwhelming need and ...
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It’s always bittersweet to take down the Christmas decorations and pack them up. The living room looks cold and bare without the twinkling tree and I miss the crèche above the mantel. “God is with us”! it seemed to say whenever I passed by. Today I hear a different voice: “Come.” Come to me, Return to me. Now that I’m ...
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When the kids were small we put up a “Jesse Tree” December 1. Each day, we hung a symbol on the tree: a sun for creation; a tree and Adam and Eve; a serpent; Noah’s ark … and so on. And with them, 23 days of readings from the Bible that took us to up to birth of Jesus, the ...
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Hidden in a courtyard in the winding, cobbled streets of Jaffa*, near Tel Aviv, is a hanging orange tree. Seen through a nearby arch it looks surreal, as though it's trying to break out of the giant suspended pottery egg that holds it. Some miracle of engineering must keep it fed and watered, or someone tends it carefully. Can it ...
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Lent is right around the corner, and this year I want to do more than simply give up wine or sweets or facebook. Something Pope Francis said in his recent message for Lent struck me in a new way: "... wherever we go, we are called as Christians to proclaim the liberating news that forgiveness for sins committed is possible, ...
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Have you ever started reading the Bible on your own, only to give up? It's got to rank up there with daily exercise and dieting as the most-started, most-abandoned New Year's resolution. It's also as important. Because what those things are to your body, God's word is to your spirit: food and strength! Let me help you build a habit ...
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How's your diet going? Your spiritual diet, that is. You've heard "garbage in, garbage out" before; the maxims are true. "You are what you eat" whether it's what you put in your mouth or the things you put in your head. This morning I was coping with the garbage clogging my mind after a dip into the daily news. Some ...
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I’ve just about given up on making resolutions for New Years, I so seldom keep them. But here’s one I’m determined to keep and maybe you’ll think about joining me: I plan to read the Bible every day. I’m sure you’ve read the reasons, both the negative - “Ignorance of the Bible means ignorance of Christ” (that’s St. Jerome) and ...
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