Bible Month: 5 keys to read the Word of God well

The Archbishop of Arequipa (Peru), Bishop Javier Del Río Alba, encouraged reading the Bible daily, and offered 5 keys to reading it correctly.

In an article titled The Bible, Word of Godand sent to ACI Prensa this September 21, the feast of Saint Matthew who is one of the four evangelists, the Peruvian prelate remembers that Christians now celebrate the Month of the Bible, and offers some keys to read it well.

1. God wanted to speak to us in human words

Bishop Del Río specifies that “just as to fully reveal himself to us, God became man in Jesus of Nazareth, he also wanted to speak to us in human words that are contained in the Holy Scriptures.”

Through them, he continues, “God gives us his Son, the eternal Word of the Father, that is, the divine Word who is the second person of the Trinity (Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn.101-102). For this reason, ‘the Church has always venerated the Holy Scripture as it has done with the Body of Christ’”, as number 21 of the dogmatic constitution points out. God’s Wordof the Second Vatican Council.

2. The Bible is not a book of history or natural sciences

“God has not written anything directly, but he has inspired the human authors of the various documents that make up the Bible, so that they put in writing everything that God wanted and only that,” recalls the Peruvian archbishop.

“When reading the Bible we must keep in mind that it is not a history book that tells us facts with chronological precision, nor a book of natural sciences,” he emphasizes.

3. The Bible contains the truth for salvation

The archbishop of Arequipa then asks to “also take into account that, although it has been written by men who used the language of their time and various elements of their culture, the Bible contains, without error, the truth that God wanted to reveal to us for our salvation (Catechism, nos. 105-110)”.

“To correctly understand the Bible it must be read in the light of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the same Spirit with which it was written, that is, with the Holy Spirit. Without Him, ‘Scripture would be a dead letter’ (Catechism, n. 111).”

4. Read the Bible following the official interpretation of the Church

To read the Bible properly, it is also necessary to pay “special attention to the content and unity of the Holy Scriptures, as well as to the official interpretation that the Church has made of them throughout the centuries (Catechism nn.112-114).”

“It is not correct, for example, to take just one phrase or sentence and try to explain it out of its context and without relating it to other parts of the Bible or to the teachings of Catholic doctrine,” he warns.

“The Word of God contained in the Holy Scriptures has such great power and strength that, says Saint Paul, it remains operative in those who accept it with faith, to the point of transforming them from within and making them a new creation (1Thes 2 ,13; 2Cor 5,17)”, emphasizes Bishop Del Río.

5. Read the Bible frequently and listen to it carefully at Mass

From all this, the prelate continues, “it is understandable why Pope Francis says that Christians must read at least a little bit of the Bible every day and pray with it. As Saint Jerome said, to ignore the Scriptures is to ignore Christ.”

In addition to personal reading of the Bible, the Archbishop of Arequipa concludes, “the privileged place to hear and welcome the Word of God is when it is proclaimed in the Mass.”

“For this reason, it is also very important that we listen carefully to the readings of the Mass and that the priests prepare well the homily through which they explain the Word of God.”