7 steps to discern Scripture with Father Mike Schmitz

Trouble understanding Scripture? St. Augustine says...

Pope Francis has called the faithful to read the Word of God more.  For some people that seems scary but it shouldn't be.  The Bible is not a big book like many people think.  It's actually a tiny library with only 73 books.  Many of these "books" are actually letters called epistles.  Some of them are not even a page long.  It isn't meant to be read straight through from beginning to end.  In fact, if you attended mass every Sunday for three years, you have had 90% of it read to you already. These are the most commonly used translations approved by the Church:

• NAB or New American Bible - originally published in 1970, this translation is used for Mass and has footnotes explaining a lot of the text.  It's a very readable translation.

• NABRE or New American Bible Revised Edition - originally published in 1990, this translation is just an updated version of the NAB.

• RSV or Revised Standard Version - originally published in 1952, this translation is used by many scholars and is very easy to read but does not have footnotes.

• NRSV or New revised Standard Version - origionally published in 1989, this translation is an updated version of the RSV .

• ESV or English Standard Version - origionally published in 2001, this translation is an updated version of the NRSV.

• GNT or Good News Translation - origionally published in 1976, this translation is simplified enough for kids to read.  In fact, most kid's bibles use this translation.

The main thing to remember when reading the bible is that it must be taken as a whole.  

Bible Reading Plans
There a few different options here. Just pick whichever one feels right for you.

This is a free podcast where you download or print a reading plan.  You read the day's readings and then watch the podcast for a reflection on what you read.

This Pierced Hands Reading Plan PDF is created by a catholic blogger, Meg Hunter-Kilmer.  As Meg explains, “This one still gets you through the whole Bible in a year (and the Gospels twice), but it goes chronologically through the Old Testament (more or less) with New Testament books and fun books like Ruth and Jonah interspersed throughout to mix things up. It also gives you a chapter of some poetic stuff every day instead of dragging you through Proverbs for 200+ days. This schedule is more user-friendly, more reasonable for those who haven’t read the Bible before, and can start any day of the year.”  The down side to this one is that there is no reflection with it to help you with interpretation.

This bible was put together by the Augustine Institute which is also the creators of FORMED.  This is the ESV translation but instead of organizing it in the traditional order that the bible normally uses, it is organized by the reading plan for each day with a reflection at the end.  This costs $29.95, but might be easier for someone who is a little intimidated by looking for specific books.  This is also available in Spanish.

If you're brave and wanna read the Catechism in a year too, you can try this Read the Bible and Catechism in a Year plan.  You just enter your email address and and they will email you a download that you can print.  It is best printed on a sheet of legal paper otherwise the words are very small. I also like that this is not dated so you can take 2 years if that works better for you.

Remember that reading God's Word is a way for us to listen to Him.  It's not always easy.  Don't get discouraged if you miss a day or don't understand something.  Get back on that horse the next day or ask if you need help.  Conversations with God take time to master. Just don't give up.