January 1, 2018, I set out to read the entire Bible. I chose the "Pierced Hands Reading Plan" by Meg Hunter-Kilmer. You are supposed to read the entire Bible in a year (and the Gospels Twice!). The plan was arranged to make the reading less tedious. Who wants to plow through Proverbs for months? So I started on New Year's Day, four and a half years ago. I knew I couldn't read everyday, well I could, but I wanted to enjoy and understand what I read, so I read when I had the time to focus. Hence, it took me four and a half years to complete the reading. Also, I used six Bibles I wanted to read and reference.
1. My "Go To" read was the top middle one in the picture. Why? The print is the biggest. This is the Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible, 1986.
2. Next, I would pick up blue Bible on the top, The Catholic Study Bible,1991. I was using it because of its name--The Catholic STUDY Bible. Eventually, I learned that it was the exact same book as # 1. The footnotes are identical. But I referred to it for the few times they might possibly weren't.
3. The next one is my oldest Bible. It's the red one on top. Using this Bible proves to you what a sentimental old fool, I am. It was given to me by Auntie. Aunt May Sweetra was from Lithuania. All her life she spoke "broken English." She couldn't read and write very much, but she wrote in this red Bible (at the time it's red leather with gold pages were very impressive) Ant Mary SweEtra and I wrote June 7, 1964. This date is the day I graduated from high school, Presentation of Mary Academy. Auntie was really my great aunt--Grandma's sister. Since this Benziger Brothers, Inc., Holy Bible's imprimatur was in 1958, it is hard on the eyes. The pages are yellow and the print tiny. The footnotes are even smaller and basically useless. But I still used it at every reading and wrote comments in it. I actually kiss it to thank Auntie for bringing the Word to me.
3. The next one is my oldest Bible. It's the red one on top. Using this Bible proves to you what a sentimental old fool, I am. It was given to me by Auntie. Aunt May Sweetra was from Lithuania. All her life she spoke "broken English." She couldn't read and write very much, but she wrote in this red Bible (at the time it's red leather with gold pages were very impressive) Ant Mary SweEtra and I wrote June 7, 1964. This date is the day I graduated from high school, Presentation of Mary Academy. Auntie was really my great aunt--Grandma's sister. Since this Benziger Brothers, Inc., Holy Bible's imprimatur was in 1958, it is hard on the eyes. The pages are yellow and the print tiny. The footnotes are even smaller and basically useless. But I still used it at every reading and wrote comments in it. I actually kiss it to thank Auntie for bringing the Word to me.
4. I had a commentary. Harper's Bible Commentary, General Editor James L. May, Harper & Row, 1988. I used this to explain what I was reading.
5. Better than the commentary, was the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, New Testament, Second Catholic Edition RSV, Ignatius Press 2010. This was the best, by far! But I only have the New Testament--more than half of the Bible was missing. I didn't have any of the Old Testament books and I couldn't see buying the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible books of the Old Testament when I have so many Bibles. But if I had the money, I would. The footnotes were extensive. I used them the most.
6. The last Bible I used was Life Application Study Bible, New International Version, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois and Zondervan Publishing House, 2005. This was excellent but being published by Protestants, the Bible was missing the Apocrypha (Those are the best stories.) I liked how Jesus' Words are in red, their charts, maps, and diagrams.
My Sentimental Favorite
Now you see why it has taken me four and a half years to read the Bible. I learned, I enjoyed, and I have deepened my prayer life.
Grace be with you all. Hebrews 13: 25
No comments:
Post a Comment