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November 9, 2008

Make your family Bible friendly Author offers practical tips for today’s parents

By Joe Paprocki

CONTRIBUTOR

Igrew up biblically deprived. Unfortunately, many of us Catholics did. Our parents are not to be blamed, however. For many years, Catholics were simply not encouraged to read the Bible.

Since the Second Vatican Council, however, things have changed. In fact, a document from Vatican II reminds us of the powerful words of St. Jerome: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (Dei Verbum, No. 25). As a result, Catholics today are re-discovering the Bible. As parents, we can help to ensure that our kids do not grow up biblically deprived. Here are a few simple tips:

■ Begin by deepening your own knowledge of the Bible. You don’t have to enroll in a college course to gain a solid foundation for understanding the Bible. Many Catholic publishers provide good introductory resources for learning about the Bible.

In addition to my book “God’s Library: A Catholic Introduction to the World’s Greatest Book” (Loyola Press), I recommend the following:

A Catholic Guide to the Bible,” by Oscar Lukefahr (Liguori Publications)

Getting to Know the Bible: An Introduction to Sacred Scripture for Catholics,” by Joseph McHugh, Father Melvin L. Farrell (Acta Publications)

How Do Catholics Read the Bible?” by Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. (Sheed & Ward)

The How-To Book of the Bible,” by Karl Schultz (Our Sunday Visitor)

The Stories of the Old Testament: A Catholic’s Guide,” by Jim Campbell (Loyola Press)

Unlocking the Treasures of the Bible,” by Jim Philipps (Twenty-Third Publications)

Your Invitation to Scripture: An Introduction to the Bible for Catholics,” by Kevin Perrotta (St. Anthony Messenger Press)

■ Get yourself a good study Bible. In addition to having a Bible that you “display” in your home (more on that later), it’s good to have a Bible that you use for your own study and prayer.

A good one for Catholics is “The Catholic Study Bible – The New American Bible” (Oxford University Press). Not only does this Bible contain the complete text of the New American Bible (which is the officially approved text for Catholic worship), but it also includes essays on the Bible in general and guides to the Bible’s individual books. The guides provide historical background and section-by-section commentaries from Catholic Scripture scholars.

■ Display (“enthrone”) a Bible in your home. We Catholics are familiar with sacramentals: symbols that serve as reminders of the sacred.

It’s not unusual to find small statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary prominently displayed in Catholic homes. In the same way, it is good to place a Bible in a prominent location in your home as a sign of the presence of the Word of God in your family’s midst.

To enthrone the Bible simply means to display it in such a way (such as on a wooden Bible stand with a candle next to it) as to show reverence and respect for the power of God’s Word.

A beautiful Bible for display is the New American White Bonded Leather Bible that is available for under $40.

Family editions (which include space for recording family history) tend to run around $70.

(Visit the Catholic Family Catalog at www.catholicfamilycatalog.com or The Catholic Company at www.catholiccompany.com.)

■ As a family, gather to read the upcoming Sunday Gospel. One of the ways that we can help our children grow closer to Jesus is to help them to hear his voice in the Gospels. A good way to prepare for Sunday Mass is to listen to and talk about the Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday.

Again, good resources are available to assist you. (Visit The Sunday Connection at www.FindingGod.com or Break ing Open the Word at www.Catholic-Mom.com.)

■ Read Bible stories to your young children. Children love to be read to. Consider occasionally reading Bible stories to your children so that they can go to sleep with images of God’s saving actions dancing in their heads. Encourage your children to close their eyes and to imagine themselves present in the stories. Consider books such as “Bible Stories for Little Children” (Sophia Institute Press) or “A Child’s Treasury of Bible Stories” (C.D. Stampley Enterprises).

■ When saying grace before a meal, include a psalm of thanksgiving. Many of the Psalms provide words of thanksgiving that are suitable for giving thanks before a meal. Consider Psalms 30, 33, 34, 65-67, 75, 92, 100, 106, 107, 116, 118, 136 and 138.

Children learn by example. As parents, we can set a good example of what it means to respect, revere, and appreciate the Word of God that comes to us in the Bible. Let’s not allow our children to grow up biblically deprived.

Paprocki is author of “God’s Library: A Catholic Introduction to the Bible” (Loyola Press).