Bible Study

The Catholic Church and The Mass are deeply Biblical, and yet too often Catholics feel ignorant of the Bible, even though they’ve been “listening” to the Bible readings every Sunday at Mass throughout their lives. 

Although no one method can be said to be the Catholic method, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Nos. 112-14) outlines three essential characteristics of Catholic exegesis.

1) Catholics must pay attention “to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture.” This means especially how we view the unity of the Old and New Testaments. The New is hidden in the Old, and the Old is fulfilled and made fully understood in the New, all as part of God’s mysterious plan of salvation.

2) Catholics should interpret the Bible within “the living Tradition of the whole Church.” This is an acknowledgement of the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding the process of interpretation throughout church history, and the ultimate authority the magisterium retains to interpret Scripture definitively in cases of doubt.

3) Catholics must pay attention to the “analogy of faith,” that is, “the coherence of truths” contained in God’s revelation. This means that though we may not comprehend every detail of God’s plan of salvation, there is an internal coherence to it embedded in the Scriptures.

Bible Study is growing in relationship with Jesus Christ through study and formation with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Group participants study the Word of God according to Catholic principles and connect the Word with life through prayer, conversation and written reflection.

Contact your local parish for additional information.