Catholics believe that the Bible

is God’s self-revelation,

inspired and inerrantly written.

The Bible is not like any other book. Because the Scriptures were written under the positive influence of the Holy Spirit, they are considered to be sacred literature. We believe that God is revealed through the patriarchs and prophets in the Old Testament and through Jesus Christ in the New Testament. God’s revelation is also entrusted to the Apostles and their successors so that the Word of God is revealed in both Scripture and Tradition. Catholics believe that the Bible is a living document—it continually speaks to believers in every age.

Our celebration of the Mass is steeped in Scripture.

We use a 3-year cycle of reading selections so as to cover almost all of sacred scripture and salvation history. Masses include a reading from the Old Testament, a psalm (sung), a reading from the New Testament (non-Gospel), and a reading from a Gospel. (There is some slight variation to this format for particular feasts or seasons or for weekday masses.) In addition, the prayers of the Mass - whether spoken as a group or by the presider - are woven from Scriptural texts.

The assigned readings for a day are the same for every Catholic church in the world. And while celebrations of the Mass around the world have different elements reflecting the culture and tradition of the faithful, the structure of the Mass is consistent worldwide. 

Catholics are encouraged to read the Bible.

Scripture can seem overwhelming. Where do you start? How do you understand the context and author's meaning? Do you read straight through or jump around?

Fortunately, there are a number of Useful Resources to help folks get started with or dive more deeply into Scripture. Or try some of these to get started:

• The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 101 is a good place to start, but you'll find so much Scripture in the Catechism that every page will add to your understanding
• How to Read and Understand the Bible
• Short clips introducing the The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation
• Understanding the Scriptures: Some "Tools of the Trade" That Help Make Bible Study Come Alive
• The Road to Emmaus (principles for a Catholics' study of Scripture)
• Ever Ancient, Ever New: The Art and Practice of Lectio Divina
• The Complete Bible: Why Catholics Have 7 More Books, or
• How Did We Get the Catholic Canon of Scripture?
• Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historical Church
• The Bible and The Church: Both or Neither
• Sola Scriptura? Not According to the Bible
• Want to infuse your day with prayer and scripture? Try praying the Liturgy of the Hours; here is a review of a free app that gives you the day's reading for Liturgy of the Hours. See more apps at Useful Resources.
• Resource Page from Dr. Scott Hahn's website

Church

Beliefs

Bible

Prayer

Mary

Pope

Saints

Sacraments

Seasons

Resources

Ignorance

of the Scriptures 

is ignorance 

of Christ.

St. Jerome, d. 420 AD

Be sure to check out the options under the GROW menu for information on groups and programs designed to help us all delve more deeply into God's Word.