Take and Study

It’s a longstanding Protestant trope that “Catholics don’t read the Bible.” To be fair, there is some truth in this. Throughout much of Church history, most Catholics did not read the Bible, simply because most people couldn’t read. Widespread illiteracy and the massive costs of producing a Bible before the advent of the printing press made it nearly impossible for the average lay Catholic to read, much less own, a Bible. (This, by the way, is the origin of the infamous locked Bibles in Catholic medieval churches; parishes were simply protecting an expensive item from theft) Protestantism can’t even exist in a world without a printing press and a literate populace.

Even after literacy increased and publication costs dropped, Protestants continued to repeat this stereotype, and there was still some truth to it. The fact was that Catholics often did not read the Bible as Protestants did—at home on their own. This doesn’t mean that Catholics weren’t exposed to the Bible. In the Mass of the day (now known as the traditional Latin Mass), Scripture was infused into the entirety of the Mass. Of course there were the two Scriptural readings (the Epistle and the Gospel), and also most of the prayers of the Mass were either direct quotes from Scripture or allusions to Scripture passages. True, there were few home Bible studies and the average layman didn’t spend a lot of time reading the Bible on his own, but Catholics were quite familiar with the stories and psalms of the Bible because they heard them over and over.

True story: years ago I was visiting my sister’s family which is Protestant. My brother-in-law loved to read the Bible and studied it regularly. I myself grew up Protestant and so had spent many years studying the Bible in Protestant Bible studies and on my own. We decided to play a Bible trivia game to see who knew the Bible better. My wife, who is a cradle Catholic, came over and started answering the questions quicker and more accurately than both of us. So much for Catholics not knowing their Bibles!

In recent decades, there has been a greater emphasis among Catholics to engage in some of the practices of Protestants when it comes to the Bible, particularly lay-run Bible studies and individual study. The trouble is that such studies can become unmoored from the tradition of the Church, leading people astray as has happened with Protestantism. History has shown that Bible study disconnected from the teachings of the Church quickly leads to heresy and chaos. History has shown that Bible study disconnected from the teachings of the Church quickly leads to heresy and chaos.Tweet This

In response to this concern, various publishers have produced Bibles with footnotes and commentary to help guide Catholics, with mixed results. One of the most popular Catholic Bibles is the New American Bible (NAB), which sadly is an uninspiring translation and has some footnotes that can lead people away from Catholic teaching. It’s actually scandalous that this Bible is still in use.

But there are other solid options. The Navarre Bible, produced by Opus Dei, contains detailed commentary, mostly of a spiritual rather than theological nature. The commentary is solid, but it’s dominated by the writings of St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. I’m a fan of St. Josemaria (I literally wrote a book about him), but for those outside of Opus Dei, the Navarre Bible may feel limited.

The Didache Bible, which also has Opus Dei origins, is another popular Catholic Bible. In fact, this was my favorite study Bible until recently. It contains solid introductions to each Biblical book, and has a verse-by-verse commentary that draws substantially from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is available in both the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation and the New American Bible translation, which should be avoided.

Other popular Catholic Bibles include The Great Adventure Catholic Bible and the Catholic Scripture Study Bible. Each has its strengths and weaknesses when it comes to commentary, translation, and footnotes. And of course many Catholics still prefer the old Douay-Rheims Bible, which contains little commentary but provides a rich and beautiful translation.

There are also poor Catholic study Bibles, most notably the simply-named Catholic Study Bible (which, not surprisingly, uses the NAB translation). It cannot be recommended as its notes, like the standard NAB, can direct people away from the Church.

Perhaps the most popular Catholic study Bible of the past few decades, however, has been the Ignatius Study Bible, which has been released over time as a series of 13 volumes covering the books of the New Testament, and then as a complete New Testament. Then various volumes covering the books of the Old Testament were released. The General Editors of this Bible are Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, and Hahn’s name attached to this Bible rightly increased its popularity. The commentary and footnotes offer excellent Catholic insights into the Sacred Scriptures, ranging from explanations of obscure words and phrases to more detailed commentary on the Biblical foundations of Catholic doctrine.

There was just one problem with this Bible: there is no single volume containing both the entire Old and New Testaments. You could purchase the one-volume New Testament, but you had to buy each individual Old Testament volume separately. With the level of in-depth analysis and commentary offered in the Ignatius Study Bible, its publishers knew it would take decades before the entire Bible was completed and so offered the various volumes as they were completed. However, now the wait is over: after more than 20 years since it was first begun, the full Ignatius Study Bible is now available. All the individual volumes from the past are included, plus many other additions.

The wait was worth it. I recently received mine and this is a truly remarkable and historic Bible. The in-depth level of commentary throughout the Bible is incredible. Included is a detailed introduction of each Biblical book; maps of the Holy Land; a detailed index, including indices of the parables, metaphors, and miracles of Jesus; a timeline of the Bible; and much more. That’s in addition to the footnotes, word studies, and in-depth commentary found throughout the text. It’s hard not to be impressed by this Bible.

Now, this is not a Bible that you’ll want to take with you to adoration. With more than 2,300 pages, it’s massive, weighing almost five and a half pounds. Its large size would also make it awkward for personal devotional reading. This is a study Bible—specifically designed to help you dig deeper into the richness of the Bible: you’ll want to use it at a desk or table where you can take notes as you read and study.

If individual study of the Bible still feels like something squarely in the Protestant domain, thanks to efforts like the Ignatius Study Bible that stereotype is going away. The dangers of going off on your own theological interpretations divorced from Catholic teaching are laid to rest. Catholics should study the Bible; after all it is our book, written by Catholics and compiled by Catholics. It is our story of salvation, from the creation and fall of man to the establishment of the Church by Christ to the Second Coming when Christ will lead His Church to her final reward. 

The pivotal moment of St. Augustine’s conversion was when he heard a voice tell him, “take and read.” He then picked up the Sacred Scriptures, recognized his sinfulness, and fell deeply in love with Christ. Catholics today need to not just “take and read” but to take and study. Study the Sacred Scriptures so that we might faithfully follow Christ and defend His Church. Happily, the new Ignatius Study Bible is a wonderful resource to make that happen. As we approach the new year, make a resolution to study the Bible more deeply, using the wonderful tools that are now available.