However, I was not the only one who had such experiences. When I began teaching catechism to adults, many of the Catholic believers I met shared similar experiences with me. What caught my attention was a statement made by most of them: “We couldn’t respond to them because we don’t know the Bible as well as they do.”
Indeed, the level of knowledge of the Holy Scriptures is incredibly low among Catholics today. When we read books like the remarkable volume Letters to a Protestant Friend by the great-grandfather of Michael J. Matt, Hugo Klapproth, we see how well he knew the sacred texts of the Holy Scriptures. Additionally, many Catholics who are faithful to Tradition are avid readers of the Clementine Vulgate. They are simply following the famous advice given to Laeta by Saint Jerome:
“Let reading follow prayer with her, and prayer again succeed to reading.”[i]
Unfortunately, however, most Catholics do not have a good knowledge of the inspired words of the sacred texts. Often, they have no knowledge at all. Moreover, some are even hesitant about such knowledge, fearing the risks of misunderstanding the difficult passages in the Bible. How can one not be afraid when seeing that many heretics––led by Martin Luther––based their errors on misinterpretations of the Holy Scriptures?
Despite such real situations, Saint Jerome’s advice remains valid. However, such a daring attitude must always be accompanied by a good dose of prudence. Personally, I believe that in our times, when we are all capable of reading, reading the Bible is a vital necessity. But to do it well, we must follow some very concrete practical rules. This article has been written precisely to present such practical ‘recipes.’ Let’s examine them one by one.
Many years ago, an old monk taught me to read two chapters from the Bible daily, consistently and constantly. So here is a recipe as simple as it is effective: two chapters daily. No more, no less.
Knowing the Content of the Holy Scripture
The first level of our encounter with the Bible’s texts is direct and elementary, which simply involves knowing the content. Here, another difficulty arises: the gigantic size of the Biblical canon. Comprising seventy-three books of varying lengths, the Holy Book of the Judeo-Christian Tradition, as we all know, has thousands of pages. Reading such a volume is not easy. Yet, there is a very simple solution: daily reading.
Many years ago, an old monk taught me to read two chapters from the Bible daily, consistently and constantly. So here is a recipe as simple as it is effective: two chapters daily. No more, no less. In this way, I managed, for the first time, to read the entire Old and New Testament over approximately two years. Another detail was reading together as a family: we did this over the years at least five-six times. And we never stopped: every evening, after the family’s Holy Rosary Prayer, we read the Holy Scripture. This way, all of us, both young and old, came to know the content of the Holy Scripture.
Now, a few important notes. This reading aimed at knowing the content of the Bible does not imply a complete and deep understanding of what we read. In other words, even if certain passages from the Old and New Testament (and there are many!) leave us pondering, we should never shift the focus from knowing the content to understanding it. In a way, this is similar to the simplest method by which, both in classical Greece and ancient Rome, children were educated: first, they memorized passages from Homer or Virgil, and as they grew older, they gradually began to receive explanations regarding the meanings of what they already knew.
Obviously, I am not suggesting that we suspend our thinking during reading. However, I repeat, the emphasis should be on knowing the content, accepting humbly, at first, that we do not yet understand much of what we read.
The recipe proposed by the old monk can be modified. For example, I myself have sometimes read the Bible in an ‘accelerated’ manner: five chapters daily. Or, at other times, when I had more free time, I read only the books of the New Testament: one whole book—a total of twenty-seven—each day. So, in twenty-seven days, I read the entire New Testament. Or, with my family, we read the books of the Bible over two years in order of their length: starting with the very, very short texts, such as the epistles of Jude and John, then progressively moving on to the longer ones. We have the freedom to try any recipe. However, of all, the most suitable, without becoming tiresome, seems to me to be the old monk’s: two chapters daily is an optimal and fully achievable measure.
Contrary to the Protestant opinion based on the famous principle of sola scriptura, we assert the eminent value of Tradition—which, in the case of the Bible, is nothing other than the transmission of the principles of interpretation and the understanding resulting from their application under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Understanding the Holy Scripture
The most challenging part is unraveling the meanings of the sacred texts. Here, we must always keep in mind the supreme axiom: the only infallible interpreter of the sacred texts is God Himself. Any other authority in the matter of biblical exegesis, whether it be the Pope, the Ecumenical Councils, or our bishops and priests, has a derived authority that is strictly dependent on God Himself. For no man on the face of the earth, whoever he may be, can substitute the Author of the canonical texts of the Bible, who is the one who inspired the prophets and apostles. If we believe that the Pope, when issuing a dogma ex cathedra, is infallible, this evidently implies a special grace whose source is God. Therefore, everything—including papal infallibility—depends on God. And if He––God––is the author of the Bible, He is also the interpreter of the Bible.
But how do we learn how to interpret the Holy Scripture? Contrary to the Protestant opinion based on the famous principle of sola scriptura, we assert the eminent value of Tradition—which, in the case of the Bible, is nothing other than the transmission of the principles of interpretation and the understanding resulting from their application under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
If we read, for example, the Patristic authors whose interpretations of the four Gospels were carefully compiled by Saint Thomas Aquinas in his monumental work Catena Aurea,[ii] this is primarily due to the holiness of those authors. For the holiness of those included by Saint Thomas in his work implies the work of the Holy Spirit, who guided them––at least, sometimes––in their interpretations. Of course, we never assume that they are infallible in everything they wrote. Therefore, we do not confuse the Fathers and Doctors of the Church with the Apostles themselves. However, as the Council of Trent says, when their proposed interpretations are harmonious, we can assume the probable correctness of their exegesis. Let us not forget, however, that the primacy of authority regarding the interpretation of the sacred texts of the Bible belongs to the Church itself.
This is why, when reading the interpretations of the Saints, we must always hold the virtue of prudence in high regard. We should not rush to embrace an interpretation, no matter how certain it may seem to us, as a ‘dogma.’ Only the Church itself and the Holy Father, the Pope, can establish which dogmas must be adhered to without hesitation (something that cannot imply the contradiction or the denial of a previously established dogma). I mention this because I have seen bishops, priests, or even laypeople pronouncing themselves as if they were the source of the interpretation. Such an attitude must be avoided, with humility, by each of us.
Often, we will find ourselves in situations where we do not understand certain things in the Bible. In such cases, we must turn to a golden rule that stems from recognizing the axiom that only God is absolutely infallible in interpreting Scripture: prayer. At the beginning of any act of reading the sacred texts, we must invoke the Holy Spirit with filial trust. Also, when we do not understand what we are reading, we should pray to God for enlightenment. And we should not rush. Sometimes years have passed before I began to unravel the meanings of certain difficult biblical texts. Others, I still do not understand. But I am sure that God Himself, who is “our inner teacher” (Saint Augustine) guiding us, will grant us understanding when He deems it beneficial to us. Other times, when understanding does not come, I believe God considers that humility and patience are more beneficial to us than the knowledge we might gain. However, this should not involve, on our part, in any way, laziness or neglect in reading the Bible.
Thus, we can gain a good understanding of the Bible without risking straying into the dark paths of dubious or even erroneous interpretations.
Alongside Catena Aurea, we can always consult the biblical index of the famous Enchiridion symbolorum et definitionum (translated into English as The Sources of Catholic Dogma) by Father Heinrich Joseph Dominicus Denzinger. Here we will find all the councils and documents of the Church’s Magisterium where passages from the Holy Scripture have been interpreted. Without a doubt, it is an authoritative source that should occupy an important place in our libraries.
Finally, for those who seek the deepest, mystagogical, and mystical understanding of the Bible, there are Saints who have excelled in this field. For example, Saints Maximus the Confessor and Bonaventure are true pinnacles of biblical exegesis. And many other saints, starting with Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Clement of Alexandria, Augustine, Jerome, and many others, are among the most important. Then, great mystics like Saint Hildegard of Bingen, John of the Cross, and Teresa of Avila can open the most secret doors to the word of God. All these can be read—with a good dose of prudence—very profitably.
Thus, we can gain a good understanding of the Bible without risking straying into the dark paths of dubious or even erroneous interpretations. Our ‘exam’ might be, as it was in the case of Hugo Klapproth, a discussion with those Protestants and neo-Protestants who, seeing the seriousness with which we love the word of God, would have the opportunity to learn what we Catholics believe. What we must never forget during such encounters is the requirement we must all follow: knowing the Truth of God. For we do not want to prove to anyone that we are superior. We do not want to boast by shouting in someone’s face, “You do not understand the Bible! I do!” But, with humility, we desire for all people—starting with ourselves—what our Lord Jesus Christ desires when He tells us, “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
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[i] Saint Jerome, Letter 107.9: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001107.htm [Accessed: 30 August 2024].
[ii] For many details about Catena Aurea and other good books my article entitled “The Essential Christian Library” can be useful: https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/fetzen-fliegen/item/6952-the-essential-christian-library [Accessed: 30 August 2024].
