Guest Column / Richard Etienne

Do you have a routine for reading holy Scripture? If not, start one

Is Scripture intimidating to you? I have learned that many fellow Catholics don’t always read the Scriptures routinely outside the celebration of the eucharistic liturgy. And even if you wished to be more familiar with every book in sacred Scripture, then there is the eternal question: Where would you start?

The key, it seems to me, is to begin somewhere and also to make it part of a daily routine.

I once heard a speaker whose motto was, “No Bible, no breakfast.” This was definitely true for me because I had already found that the best time for Scripture reading was with that first or second cup of coffee each morning before a multitude of other activities begin to crowd into my daily schedule.

If you start a specific book of the Bible only to find that the reading is confusing and that nothing makes sense at first, don’t give up. There are supplemental commentaries available that a person can use that are quite helpful in understanding the various books of the Bible.

A person can always also give themselves permission to start somewhere else. I would suggest starting with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Many passages are very familiar because we read such a large portion of these four volumes during the course of three years in the Church’s liturgical cycle of readings.

Other possible places to start are the Psalms, Genesis, Ruth, Esther, Tobit, the Acts of the Apostles or any of the shorter letters in the New Testament. Starting with these shorter books can give a person a sense of accomplishment as well as some motivation to keep going in what might have initially seemed like a daunting task of reading the entire work!

I have found that there is great value in reading each book from start to finish and not just reading shorter passages with no reference to the original context.

For example, a section might begin, “The next morning …” and it is important to know—the next morning after what?

For those looking for a companion on this journey, there is “The Bible in a Year” podcast. Featuring Father Mike Schmitz, you can complete the entire Bible in 365 days by listening to his podcast for approximately 20-25 minutes each day while simultaneously reading your Bible.

One can also supplement reading Scripture with a daily devotional: The Word Among Us or Magnificat are examples.

Do you have a daily routine for including Scripture reading in your life? If not, is now a good time to start one?
 

(Richard Etienne has a degree in theology from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad and resides in Newburgh, Ind.) †