Saints LightHow to Start Reading: A Realistic Plan
Begin with a Gospel, read a little every day in an approved Catholic translation, use footnotes as helpers, and turn your reading into prayer.
What this lesson teaches
- Start with a Gospel and Acts, then Genesis and Exodus, with a psalm a day.
- Ten to fifteen minutes daily is better than occasional long sessions.
- Use an approved Catholic translation with all 73 books, such as the NABRE, NRSV Catholic Edition, RSV-CE, New Jerusalem Bible, ESV Catholic Edition or Douay-Rheims.
- Footnotes help, but they are not Scripture; lectio divina turns reading into prayer.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 131-133
- CCC 2653-2654
- CCC 2708
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: Psalm 118:105 (119:105 in most modern Bibles); Acts 8:30-31.
A sample question from this lesson
Which reading plan does the lesson recommend for a beginner?
- Genesis to Revelation in order, without skipping
- A Gospel and Acts first, then Genesis and Exodus, with a psalm a day
- Revelation first, to understand the end
- Only the Psalms for the first year
Show the answer
A Gospel and Acts first, then Genesis and Exodus, with a psalm a day. The lesson suggests starting with Mark or Luke, then Acts, then Genesis and Exodus, keeping the Psalms alongside.
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Imprimatur
- A bishop's official permission to publish, stating a book is free from doctrinal error.
- Lectio divina
- 'Divine reading': a slow, prayerful way of reading Scripture: read, reflect, pray, rest in God.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"How to Start Reading: A Realistic Plan" is lesson 9 of The Bible, the Catholic Way. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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Related lessons
- Lectio Divina: How Do You Pray with Scripture? (Learning to Pray)
- Vocal, Meditative and Contemplative Prayer (Learning to Pray)
- How Do You Pray the Rosary? (Learning to Pray)