On literal interpretation of Scripture

I think there is almost no word that is so misused with reference to Scripture than "literal". Most people seem to think it exists in a dichotomy with "metaphor", "analogy" or "allegory". Allow me to be as clear as I can: this is most certainly NOT the case! I think it sets up a tension between the human and divine authors, really.

What people think "literal" means

This is the understanding of "literal" that I encounter most of the time. People will say, "In Exodus 31:18, it says that the Ten Commandments were written on the stone tablets by the finger of God. Do you interpret this literally or metaphorically?" If one says literally, because it's God's Word and that's what it says, and so we are talking about God actually having a finger, then one could be accused of turning God into a human being with a body. But if one says metaphorically, since God obviously is non-material, then one may be accused of ignoring inconvenient parts of Scripture, and not taking God at His Word, or saying that He is deceiving us.

I am going to suggest that, in fact, no such dilemma exists.

Behold, the Catholic notion of the four senses of Scripture!

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church 115-117:

The senses of Scripture

115 According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church. 

116 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal."⁸³ 

117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs. 

1. The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian Baptism.

2. The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written "for our instruction".

3. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Ok, what does all that mean?

The original use of the word "literal" (as invented by the medieval exegetes), refers to the meaning of the text as the author intended. It asks: why do we have the text that we do? What was the author's purpose in writing this way? What was he intending to say? This sense is primary and fundamental, since it is through the human author that God chose to work. The text was born out of a particular context and a particular time, and so if we are to understand what the author intended to say, we must take the context into consideration also.

Understanding literal in this way, we can affirm that we do indeed take all of scripture literally, in that all of it was written by inspired human authors trying to say particular things. But these authors can  and do use the literary tools of metaphor, allegory or analogy (or hyperbole, onoematopoeia, juxtaposition, alliteration, parallelism, etc) to convey their intended meaning.

For example, Ex. 15:6 reads

Thy right hand, O LORD, glorious in power,
thy right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

Does God actually have a right hand? Obviously not. So what is the author saying? God's right hand is a metaphor for His power and strength. So the author is literally intending to convey God's might, using the literary instrument of a metaphor. (I'm not entirely sure whether metaphor is precisely the right word to use here, but I'll use it anyway for lack of a better one.)

Now, the spiritual senses flow from the literal sense. Or, to put it another way, they are grounded in the literal sense. This means that whatever we understand the literal sense to be, will affect what we think the spiritual senses are.

Each of the spiritual senses is tied to one of the three theological virtues:

Understanding the text through the eyes of faith yields the allegorical sense, in which we ask "how is Christ presenting Himself to us here?"
Understanding it through the lens of charity yields the moral sense, in which we ask "how should I live differently, having heard this particular text of God's Word?"
Understanding it in the light of hope reveals the anagogical sense, which includes both how we get to Heaven, and what Heaven will actually be like.

But why haven't I ever heard this before?!

Good question.

I first heard this when I had finished my first degree, at YLFC. Our lectures that day were both on Scripture, and we had a lecturer from Notre Dame come and talk to us. This was one of the first things we covered in that class, before leaping into an epic overview of the Bible. And it blew me away. It just seemed to make so much sense. (ha, excuse the pun!) Here was the answer to how on earth those Old Testament books could be relevant to us Christians. Some things were obviously relevant, like prophecies relating to the Messiah, but what of those historical books about kings and stuff? So Solomon has a dream. Great. How does one glean meaning from that?! Here was the answer! No longer did the Bible seem so incomprehensible. Well, obviously understanding it still requires work, but at least I had an inkling now of how it was actually possible.

I felt so cheated that no one had ever told me this before!! And perhaps that's how you're feeling now. But excited also, no?

To conclude, an example

I'm going to look briefly at the story of Abraham's test of faith, to sacrifice his son Isaac. Go read it here.

Abraham and Isaac: The angel says, "Nooooo!"

Literal sense: God is testing Abraham's faith. So us readers can guess that He won't make Abraham go through with it, but Abraham doesn't know that. He is asked to sacrifice his son on a mountain three days journey away. Abraham doesn't question it, but heads off immediately the next day, although he obviously cares deeply for his son (eg. Gen. 22:7- his response "here am I" is that of a servant, essentially saying "at your service", or, "I am completely at your disposal". Note that this is how he responds to God in v.1. Also recall that Isaac is the long-awaited for son, through whom all the promises that God has made to Abraham will be fulfilled). Abraham sets things up (and notice Isaac's astonishing lack of protestation, a sign of immense trust in his father), and is about to do the deed, when God stops him, and provides a ram instead. Recall that in v.8 he tells his son that "God Himself will provide the lamb". This suggests that he trusts in God so absolutely that he believes He will do something to make the situation right. Which He does, but He provides a ram, not a lamb. God then blesses Abraham for not withholding even his only son from Him.

Allegorical sense: Isaac, the only son, carries the wood for the sacrifice, while Christ, the only Son of God, carries the cross upon which He will be sacrificed. And although Abraham does not have to give up his son in the end, God the Father does indeed provide the Lamb, Christ.

Moral sense: do I live my faith out with such radical trust?

Anagogical sense: It is through faith in the Lamb that we are able to enter Heaven.

Isaiah 1:10-20 Prophets Exgesis

Prophets: Minor Exegesis

Pericope: Isaiah 1:10-20 (RSV)

[10] Hear the word of the LORD,
you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomor'rah!
[11] "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the LORD;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of he-goats.
[12] "When you come to appear before me,
who requires of you
this trampling of my courts?
[13] Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and sabbath and the calling of assemblies --
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
[14] Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me,
I am weary of bearing them.
[15] When you spread forth your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
[16] Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
[17] learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
defend the fatherless,
plead for the widow.
[18] "Come now, let us reason together,
says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
[19] If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
[20] But if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the sword;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

The book of Isaiah is a collection of the prophetic oracles delivered by Isaiah from God to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--> It may be broken up into a first section containing pre-exilic oracles (which are therefore mainly concerned with warning the people about the dire future that awaits them if they do not repent), and a second, exilic section, which provides words of hope to the distraught nation wandering in exile.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--> The pericope in question comes at the book’s opening, immediately revealing the moral and liturgical problems that Isaiah is most concerned about. This condemnation of hypocrisy by the author and the call to repentance will be explored in this essay.

Isaiah, as a prophet, is sent to speak God’s word, which, by virtue of it being God’s, demands to be heard and obeyed. The whole of Judah, both the leaders and the people,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[3]<!--[endif]--> are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, an often-utilised example of the most depraved wickedness.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[4]<!--[endif]--> This accusatory speech is interlaced with calls to listen to God’s word.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[5]<!--[endif]--> The implication is that if they do not listen, as Sodom and Gomorrah did not, then they will suffer the same fate.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[6]<!--[endif]--> The phrase “says the Lord” is used to signal a change in focus,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[7]<!--[endif]--> such that it is clear that God still speaks, and also to clearly separate the different points that He is making.

The author goes on to denounce the people’s insincere worship. The verses prior to the pericope make it clear that they have forsaken God.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[8]<!--[endif]--> As a result, their sacrifices are worth nothing to God;<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[9]<!--[endif]--> he has had enough of them, and does not delight in them.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[10]<!--[endif]--> They are therefore in vain.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[11]<!--[endif]--> Appearing before the Lord likely refers to formal worship of God in the temple, because it is associated with the “courts” mentioned in the next line.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[12]<!--[endif]-->^{,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[13]<!--[endif]-->} The idea of “trampling” suggests a dismissive assertion of authority;<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[14]<!--[endif]--> hence, the people are simultaneously rejecting God’s authority in their lives whilst insincerely going through the motions of “worshipping” Him. The feasts and Sabbaths associated with the offering of these sacrifices have become equally burdensome to the Lord.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[15]<!--[endif]--> Such falsehood when engaged in what ought to be one’s first and most seriously carried out duty is clearly shown to be displeasing to God.

Judah’s worship is spurious because there is a discrepancy between the worship and their lives. To worship God in the temple and subsequently ignore the plight of the most vulnerable is a blatant contradiction. God delights in “steadfast love, justice and righteousness,”<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[16]<!--[endif]--> more than in burnt offerings,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[17]<!--[endif]--> and so when the heart is not rightly oriented, one’s sacrifices will be unacceptable, as they are here. This is seen in the fact that God has to spell it out for them: “cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[18]<!--[endif]--> Additionally, in earlier verses, Judah is harshly denounced as “a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who deal corruptly!”<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[19]<!--[endif]--> The connection between liturgy and life is seen in verses 13 and 15: although they spread forth their hands (in worship)<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[20]<!--[endif]--> and make many prayers, since those hands are full of blood,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[21]<!--[endif]--> God will not listen, because He cannot endure “iniquity and solemn assembly”,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[22]<!--[endif]--> that is, worship in the state of wilful sin. It is said that their sins are like scarlet and red like crimson,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[23]<!--[endif]--> which were the colours worn by royalty.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[24]<!--[endif]--> This is possibly trying to convey the notion that their sins are of a “royal” magnitude; that is, their sins are extremely grave.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[25]<!--[endif]--> The gravity of Judah’s position is thus made clear: the way they are living is completely contrary to God’s wishes, and remaining so will have significantly dire consequences.

Isaiah does not, however, leave Judah without hope. God is always ready to forgive His people,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[26]<!--[endif]--> but He cannot unless they do their part: truly repent and change their life. And so He calls them to wash and become clean,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[27]<!--[endif]--> both of their blood-stained hands and their scarlet sins. These sins will then become white like wool and snow.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[28]<!--[endif]--> The scarcity of snow in their land means that this cleanliness will be of a particularly rare, pure whiteness.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[29]<!--[endif]--> He tells them that if they willingly obey, they will prosper,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[30]<!--[endif]--> but if they rebelliously refuse, they shall be “devoured by the sword”, meaning they shall be attacked.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[31]<!--[endif]--> But all the while, God doesn’t ever lose sight of their covenantal relationship. He doesn’t order His people around with no respect for their freedom and dignity; He says, “Come now, let us reason together.”<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[32]<!--[endif]--> The Hebrew word here translated as reason can also mean to argue, reprove, rebuke or dispute,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[33]<!--[endif]--> which gives rise to the New Jerusalem translation’s rendering: “let us talk this over.” God wants to lovingly discuss the problems with His people, and to help them see that this way of living is not what will give them the fullness of a human life as He intended it.

Through the allegorical sense we see the inability of humanity to live out either perfect justice or perfect worship, in contrast to the sinless Christ’s perfect sacrifice,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[34]<!--[endif]--> which has the infinite value able to wash all people’s scarlet sins away, making them white as snow in baptism.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[35]<!--[endif]--> The moral sense adjures us to work for justice in our own time, particularly through the works of mercy as given to us by Jesus,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[36]<!--[endif]--> lest our own worship of God be just as futile, by being like the hypocrites so condemned by Jesus.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[37]<!--[endif]-->  Since such injustice coexisting with worship is not God’s will, in the anagogical sense we can see that heaven will be the precise contrary- the Church will live in communion with God in complete charity,<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[38]<!--[endif]--> worshipping God perfectly. In conclusion, this text draws attention to God’s distaste for hypocrisy in His people, whom He expects to listen to His word, repent, and be transformed by His love, such that their whole beings, both hearts and actions, are engaged in true worship of Him.

REFERENCE LIST:

Casciaro, Jose Maria (Ed.), The Navarre Bible- The Major Prophets (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2005)

Hahn, Scott (ed.), Catholic Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday Religion, 2009)

The Holy Bible Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004)

Wigram, George V., The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament (Hendrickson Publishers: Massachusetts, 1874)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Boadt, Lawrence, Reading the Old Testament- an Introduction (Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1984)

Casciaro, Jose Maria (Ed.), The Navarre Bible- The Major Prophets (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2005)

Hahn, Scott (ed.), Catholic Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday Religion, 2009)

The Catholic Bible Concordance Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition C.W. Lyons and Thomas Deliduka (compilers) (Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2009)

The Holy Bible Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004)

The New Jerusalem Bible Study Edition (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1994)

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<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:1 (Unless otherwise noted, all references from the Bible will be from the Revised Standard Version); Scott Hahn, Catholic Bible Dictionary, p.399; Although Israel could also refer to the northern kingdom, when it is used in Isaiah (as in Is. 1:3, for example) it is generally referring to Judah, since Isaiah was prophesying in the southern kingdom while others prophesied in the north. Phrases like “the Holy One of Israel”, however, likely refer to the people as a whole.

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--> Jose Maria Casciaro (Ed.), The Navarre Bible- The Major Prophets, pp. 29- 30

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[3]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:10

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[4]<!--[endif]--> Hahn, Catholic Bible Dictionary, p.861

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[5]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:10: "Hear the word of the LORD… give ear to the teaching of our God.”

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[6]<!--[endif]--> From verse 9 it seems they have either come close to this already, or that some future catastrophe will bring them to it

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[7]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:11,18

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[8]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:2,4

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[9]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:11- The rhetorical question implies they are nothing to Him

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[10]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:11

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[11]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:13

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[12]<!--[endif]--> E.g. 1 Chr. 28:6; Zech. 3:7; Jer. 19:14, 26:2, 36:10

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[13]<!--[endif]--> “Appearing before the Lord” or letting one’s cry come before the Lord seem to refer to formal worship or prayer both in the temple and elsewhere, such as in Lev.15:14; 1 Chr. 16:29; Ps. 88:2, 119:169-170; Ez. 46:9; Micah. 6:6

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[14]<!--[endif]--> E.g. Ps. 56:1-2, 91:13; Is. 5:5, 14:25, 16:4, 41:2,25; Amos 8:4, etc.

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[15]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:13-14

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[16]<!--[endif]--> Jer. 9:24

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[17]<!--[endif]--> 1 Sam. 15:22

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[18]<!--[endif]--> Is. 16-17; furthermore, later Isaiah says explicitly “Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not defend the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them.” Is. 1:23

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[19]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:4

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[20]<!--[endif]--> As in 1 Kgs. 8:22,38,54; 2 Chr. 6:12-13; Ps. 44:20   

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[21]<!--[endif]--> Presumably of the people suffering as a result of the injustice

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[22]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:13, emphasis added

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[23]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:18

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[24]<!--[endif]--> Hahn, Catholic Bible Dictionary, p.225

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[25]<!--[endif]--> Red also evokes images of blood, mentioned earlier. It could also be referring specifically to the sins of the royal leaders, but it is unlikely to be this particular, since the rebukes are directed at Judah as a whole

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[26]<!--[endif]--> Ps. 51:17

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[27]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:16

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[28]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:18              

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[29]<!--[endif]--> Hahn, Catholic Bible Dictionary, p.860

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[30]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:19

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[31]<!--[endif]--> As in 2 Sam. 2:26

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[32]<!--[endif]--> Is. 1:18

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[33]<!--[endif]--> George V. Wigram, The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament, p. 525

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[34]<!--[endif]--> Heb. 10:1-14

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[35]<!--[endif]--> Acts 22:16; 1 Cor. 6:11; Eph. 5:26; Heb. 10:22; Rev. 7:14

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[36]<!--[endif]--> reference

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[37]<!--[endif]--> Mt. 23; Christ in fact quotes Is. 29:13 in Mt. 15:17- “this people… honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.”

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[38]<!--[endif]--> 1 Cor. 13:8,10

The Bible is Catholic- Dr Robert Tilley at Theology on Tap (TOT)

I went to Theology on Tap last night, to hear a talk on the notion that the Bible is a Catholic book. The speaker was the fabulous Dr Robert Tilley, a lecturer at the Catholic Institute of Sydney and at Notre Dame. What follows is a summary of my notes from the evening.

Theology on Tap is pretty awesome.

The notion of "covenant" is key

• the word we translate as "testament" in the Old and New Testaments is actually the same word used throughout scripture to mean "covenant".
• if we look at the covenants God makes with humanity in scripture, there is something particular common to them all: we see the establishment of a visible, hierarchical authority, with one head, who is the covenant representative of visible communion.
• Covenantal heads- Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus
• in what context were the sacred texts written?
• Old Testament- within the community of the people of Israel
• New Testament- within the community of the Church
• They were never intended to be read by a lone ranger, but rather within that visible communion
• the bible was written by the Church, within the Church, for the Church. Outside of this context it becomes insubstantial

Why have we come to have this mistaken notion that we can read such a book on our own?

• since sacred texts in general have arrived in the marketplace, to be bought at our whim, we think we have the right to own them. We treat them as consumer items, and since we have the right to own them, we have the right to read them (as we please)
• we are influenced by this modern impulse to coneitedly think we can read the Church's book apart from the Church
• this stems from
• the individualistic culture we find ourselves in
• the fact that consumeristic advertising panders to us and says "you can do whatever you like"
• in fact, none of us ever stand alone. "No man is an island." We exist in community- local, broader society, history of learning that we rely upon, traditions, etc.
• Most of Paul's letters were the earliest texts written of the NT. In these we can see earlier Christian hymns and liturgical forms that were already in use for the Eucharist and baptism, etc. eg. 1 Cor. 11:23-9
• The Church is truly something substantial: Eph 1:22-23- he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." 
• Thus Christianity is not a "religion of the book", but rather of the Body of Jesus, or, the Word of God in the most perfect sense of the phrase- meaning, the Son of God.

Abstraction leads to fragmentation

• as soon as you abstract, or separate, something from the whole to which it belongs, it becomes insubstantial
• eg.
• pluck a flower from a tree, it soon withers and dies
• biblical criticism- new methods and tools have borne much fruit but when taken to extremes (as they have been), the Word of God becomes greatly divided, texts are pitted against each other, modern attitudes and assumptions read into texts, passages categorised and analysed beyond reason, etc. pertinent example- the Jesus Seminar- concluded that of everything Jesus apparently said in the Gospels, very few we can be sure were authentic utterances.
• Right from the start of the Reformation, Luther removed the Deuterocanonical books from the OT, and wanted to remove the books of James ("an epistle of straw") and Revelation from the NT
• the constant splitting of the Protestant churches into ever-increasing numbers of isolated communities
• this logic of abstraction found in modernity has divorced both the Bible from the Church, and in many cases, and led to the ultimate tragedy- divorcing Christ from His Bride.

Where does the Bible locate the unity of faith?

• Rom. 3:24- they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus
• Rom. 8:2-  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death
• Rom. 12:5- so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another
• 2 Cor. 1:21-  But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us
• Gal. 3:28- There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus
• etc.
• Jesus prayed that we, His followers, would all be one, in a real way, just as He and the Father are one. Through the Church He established with His apostles, we are to share in, and truly participate in, the very life of the Holy Trinity. (Deification, grace, Eastern Catholic Churches)

I may say a thing or two about the Q&A session another time.

How Catholics can become more familiar with Scripture

So, apparently there's a bit of a problem with Catholics and the Bible. It seems that most of us don't read it much, the most we might hear are the readings each Sunday, but really, they often go in one ear and out the other.

On the other hand, our separated Protestant brothers and sisters in Christ, seem to enthusiastically absorb as much of the Word of God as they can! They often have weekly bible studies, Sunday church reading and sermon, listening to  recorded sermons, and private DAILY reading of Sacred Scripture, such that they regularly make their way through the whole thing (minus the missing 7 books of course!).

Now, to be honest, this is really bizarre, for several reasons.

    1. The Bible is the Catholic Church's book. The New Testament authors were all Catholic, and the       Church, with her authentic divinely-given authority, discerned the canon.

    2. Catholics are in full communion with the Church Christ founded. It's, quite frankly, embarrassing that  people outside the Church seem to be better at treasuring and appreciating the precious gift that is God's  written Word.

    3. Catholics (should) love Christ with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. Love grows with knowledge. Our primary source of knowledge about the Person of Jesus Christ is Sacred Scripture. As St Jerome puts it, "ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ". OUCH. Many Catholics, in my experience, are fairly ignorant of Scripture.

(Obviously we Catholics do also have the amazing privilege of being able to intimately encounter Christ in the Eucharist, but that's another story.)

So, what is to be done? If you feel you would like to become more familiar with the Bible, get ready. I'm going to list the ways that I have integrated Scripture into my life, which have borne tremendous fruit. Don't attempt all of them at once- pick one or two, and see how you go. It takes a bit of time to see the benefits, but when you start to absorb parts of Scripture, and make them part of yourself and your prayer, the Holy Spirit works to let you see connections you never even dreamed of! These are possible because the Bible is an organic whole, even though it is composed of many different books from various contexts.

1. Read the Mass readings from the Bible itself, rather than a Missal.Get some little sticky tab things. Look up the references for the readings, and mark the places with tabs, so you can flick to them quickly during Mass. Obviously you will need a fairly small bible, you don't want to be lugging around some massive thing.
   
   This has been the best thing I started doing, I think. It allows you to see the reading in their original context, and helps you remember where you read it-which book, and whereabouts in the book. Otherwise, you simply forget, as in Mass you only get a quick "A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the so-and-sos", or whatever the case may be. It's there in the Missal but seeing things in their proper context really really does help. This happens a lot with the Gospels too. I'll be having a discussion with a Protestant, and I can think vaguely of something I've heard that might shed some light on whatever the topic is, but all I'll know is, "I'm pretty sure Jesus said it, it's somewhere in the Gospels... no idea where, but it's there! I swear!"
2. Pray the Rosary with Scripture.
   When you pray the Rosary, instead of just reflecting on the mysteries using your memory and imagination, open up the relevant passages! It's really helpful for concentrating on the meditation too. Most of the time these will be Gospel passages, as these are the most obvious. However, with a bit of research, you can find plenty of other passages from both the Old and the New Testaments that are either foreshadowing or explaining events in Our Lord's life. Food for thought here is rich.
3. Pray the Liturgy of the Hours.
   If you don't know what this is, it's basically praying three psalms, three times a day, plus a few other small prayers and readings. It is the public prayer of the Church, and when you pray it, you pray it with the whole Body of the Christ, for the Body of Christ, and the whole world. It's a ridiculously beautiful practice.
   
   You might be thinking, "but that's just for priests and religious, right?" WRONG.
   Sure, their lives might be structured best for it, and they have the time to say all of it, and they actually HAVE to say it. However, a fact that I think is little known is the following:
   
   In Canon Law, it actually states that the laity are earnestly encouraged to pray the Liturgy of the Hours (aka the Divine Office). This phrase is also used to describe the degree to which priests are encouraged to say daily Mass!!! (I can look up the references for you if you want.
4. Join/ start a Catholic bible study.
   These are seriously great. I have attended an Anglican one for the past year (more on this another time), and can only imagine how much better it would be if it were Catholic!
   I won't go into the ins and outs of how you should go about starting one up, that has been treated elsewhere, but I will say this:
   you should definitely work with the idea that we don't read Scripture in isolation. We read it with the mind of the Church, in the Church. Have a solid commentary with you (eg, the Navarre series), the Catechism (the Biblical references index at the back is awesome), some commentaries from the Church Fathers, or St Thomas Aquinas. There are plenty of resources out there to help you see what God is saying without falling into heresy. ;)

I'm sure I had more, but I can't think of them right now. If I do, I'll be sure to update!