“Ignorance of Scripture is
ignorance of Christ.” – St. Jerome
Perhaps
one of the most common charges levied against the Catholic Church is that
Catholics do not care about the Bible. Protestants are especially fond of
claiming that individual Catholics are unconcerned with the Word
of God.
This
charge is false, of course. Catholics compiled, translated, transcribed, and
preserved the Bible for hundreds of years before Protestantism even existed. It would be
lunacy for a Church which cared nothing about the Bible to care for it so long and so well.
But this lie is based on an unfortunate grain of truth. For it is distressingly true that many
Catholics – even Catholics who love their Faith – know very little about the Bible
and understand little of the fruit and beauty contained within its pages.
But we Catholics believe that the Bible is truly the word of God. If God grants the opportunity to read it, then how dare we spurn His wondrous gift?
Rejection
of the Bible is both wrong and incredibly foolish. The Bible is one of two
principal sources of divine revelation (the other is Tradition). Scripture and
Tradition work hand in hand with one another to reveal those truths of the faith
God deems necessary for our salvation.
But the
Bible is even more than a source of divine revelation (wondrous as that is). It is the story of our
salvation from our own sin and foolishness. It is the chronicle of our ancestors in faith, a window into viewing
their successes, failures, and foibles. It is full of wisdom that speaks to the
heart of the human condition. It contains within beautiful and haunting poetry.
The
words of Scripture still strike like lightning across two millenia, even after
multiple translations.
Excerpts from the Bible are read during every Catholic Mass for these very reasons. But far too many Catholics tune out during the reading of these passages from the Good Book.
When the
Liturgy of the Word becomes little better than a chance to catch up on sleep, Catholics effectively reject the story of their salvation, ignore a key resource for defending the faith, and spurn a work of incredible beauty and power.
Dear Catholics:
Your Bible is a treasure. Tolle lege!
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