Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray:
I praise you, my God, with all people.
May they thank and adore you!
You have written your greatness in creation,
your Law in consciences,
your eternal promises in the Bible.
You are eternally faithful and always lovable!
As I read Sacred Scripture today, open my mind to hear your voice and understand your loving message.
Amen.
Today's three chapters are Genesis 4-6.
When looking at passages like these, it can be a relief to realize that for Catholics the "literal" meaning of Scripture is not "what the words on the page plainly mean to me here and now." Rather, the literal sense is what the author (and that includes the human writer!) intended to communicate. This flips the typical American approach to Scripture 180º, from the reader to the writer; from the interpretation to the original intention.
In addition, Catholics do not read any passage or chapter of Scripture in isolation, or in a way that is unconnected from the whole message of God's love as revealed in the full arc of salvation history, including, of course, its pinnacle in the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus. And we are not on our own: the Holy Spirit guides (and has guided!) the Church in understanding and living according to God's will as presented in the Bible. We read the Bible under the guidance of the saints and scholars of every age.
If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by Brant Pitre and John Bergsma. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts.
