HOW CATHOLICS SHOULD READ THE NEW TESTAMENT
Catholics should read the New Testament as the inspired Word of God, centered on Jesus Christ, within the faith and living Tradition of the Church - not as an isolated collection of private texts.
Practical principles:
1. Begin with prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit for understanding and the grace to live what you read. Scripture is meant not merely to increase knowledge but to transform life.
2. Keep Christ at the center. The New Testament's central subject is Jesus Christ, and the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - are its heart because they witness directly to his life and teaching.
3. Read the whole passage in context. Consider the book's purpose, its surrounding paragraphs, its historical setting, and its literary form. Do not build doctrine or moral conclusions on isolated verses.
4. Read the New Testament with the Old Testament. The New Testament fulfills and illuminates the Old, while the Old Testament helps reveal the meaning of the New. Both belong to one unified history of salvation.
5. Read within the Church. Use the three Catholic criteria:
6. Pay attention to the liturgy and the Fathers. The Church's worship and the writings of the early Church Fathers provide an important setting for understanding Scripture. From the earliest centuries, Christians especially read the Bible in the liturgy.
7. Read for conversion. Ask: What does this reveal about Christ? What does it call me to believe, reject, or do? The proper reading of Scripture should lead to faith, prayer, charity, and a changed life.
A good beginning is to read one Gospel slowly - perhaps Mark - then continue with Luke and Acts, followed by John and the letters. Read a short section daily, preferably using the readings of the Catholic liturgy, and consult Catholic notes or commentary when a passage is difficult.
FOR FURTHER READING AND REFERENCES:
Catholics should read the New Testament as the inspired Word of God, centered on Jesus Christ, within the faith and living Tradition of the Church - not as an isolated collection of private texts.
Practical principles:
1. Begin with prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit for understanding and the grace to live what you read. Scripture is meant not merely to increase knowledge but to transform life.
2. Keep Christ at the center. The New Testament's central subject is Jesus Christ, and the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - are its heart because they witness directly to his life and teaching.
3. Read the whole passage in context. Consider the book's purpose, its surrounding paragraphs, its historical setting, and its literary form. Do not build doctrine or moral conclusions on isolated verses.
4. Read the New Testament with the Old Testament. The New Testament fulfills and illuminates the Old, while the Old Testament helps reveal the meaning of the New. Both belong to one unified history of salvation.
5. Read within the Church. Use the three Catholic criteria:
- the content and unity of all Scripture;
- the Church's living Tradition;
- the "analogy of faith," meaning the harmony among Catholic truths.
6. Pay attention to the liturgy and the Fathers. The Church's worship and the writings of the early Church Fathers provide an important setting for understanding Scripture. From the earliest centuries, Christians especially read the Bible in the liturgy.
7. Read for conversion. Ask: What does this reveal about Christ? What does it call me to believe, reject, or do? The proper reading of Scripture should lead to faith, prayer, charity, and a changed life.
A good beginning is to read one Gospel slowly - perhaps Mark - then continue with Luke and Acts, followed by John and the letters. Read a short section daily, preferably using the readings of the Catholic liturgy, and consult Catholic notes or commentary when a passage is difficult.
FOR FURTHER READING AND REFERENCES:
- Magisterium AI
- The Interpretation of Dogma, International Theological Commission. B.1.2.
- Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 19, 22.
- Verbum Domini, Pope Benedict XVI. 41.
- CCC, 129.
- The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church. Pontifical Biblical Commission.