Have you ever been shocked to hear one of your adult children say something that was omitted from their upbringing that was clearly wrong? For example, "My parents never taught us table manners." Of course you did. You never formally announced, "Now is our time to teach table manners." But everyone was involved in the family meal, practiced table manners, whether the children knew they were being taught, or not.
This scenario came to mind when I was watching Noel Culbertson talk on the Journheey Home. She very casually connected the Liturgy of the Word to her Southern Baptist Bible Study.
Eureka! Of course, Catholics have always, since Apostolic times, had Bible study in the Liturgy of the Word.We just never realized it, much like my table manners explained in the first paragraph.
The Liturgy of the Word has a reading from the Old Testament, a Psalm and a Gospel. If you attend daily Mass, you will have completed reading the entire Bible in three years. Catholics don't carry their Bible to Mass, they could, (because the Book, Chapter, and verse is announced at each reading) because there are Missalettes in each pew. Missalettes have the readings in them. I myself subscribe to Magnificat to get the readings and other spiritual commentary.
At the end of these readings, the homilest will give scripture commentary. Most of the time, the homily will explain the readings and tie them together. Sometimes, the homily is about something else of importance, e.i., war, disaster, etc.
So Catholics who think Catholics don't do Bible Study are like people who say they were never taught table manners.
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