My 2009 Bible and CCC Reading Challenge

Reposted from Friday, January 9th, 2009

It took me a while to truly get into this. Partly because of stubbornness, laziness, and mostly because of sinfulness. But I’m in it now, I’m sticking to it, and maybe by blogging about it here and telling you what I’m up to, I can help others get into it as well.

Into what exactly? I’m reading the Holy Bible (NAB version) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a systematic manner, daily, in order to get through both books by the end of 2009. And despite my original hesitation, I’m thoroughly enjoying this study and this challenge, finding joy in the things I read.

• I found this print-ready reading guide [PDF download] on www.chnetwork.org which has a daily checklist of chapters to read from both books.
  
• And I finally bought myself a cheap, second-hand copy of the CCC and opened it with a mechanical pencil in hand, ready for margin notes.
  
• To top it all off, randomly reading some Catholic blogposts, I stumbled across a free Catholic Holy Bible software with concordance and a module for the CCC. It’s called Jerome, named after St.Jerome, and is a freeware project born out of the eSword Bible project. Lovely!

“120 year old Bible title page (as of 2005) American.” Flickr photo by Wonderlane. Follow the link and read about how she donated the old bible to a church in Mexico.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been reading my Bible regularly this past year, more than any other year in my life, primarily going over the scripture readings for the daily Mass. But never have I finished reading it from cover to cover. What’s more, I’ve never read the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), relying mainly on websites and compendia of the CCC rather than going through the original text. Which in a word, is shameful. More and more, I am discovering I do not know enough about my faith to give a reasonable defense of it. So, how else to know God’s Word than to study it daily?

Psalm 1:2-3 says it so wonderfully: (1:2) Rather, the law of the LORD is their joy; God’s law they study day and night. (1:3) They are like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; Its leaves never wither; whatever they do prospers.

Why not try a new year’s resolution that’s more meaningful? Why not read the Bible this year?

May we all grow towards the Lord this 2009 in mind and heart, that by doing so, we may hide His law in our hearts and make His words come to life in our daily actions.