Do you have to be an expert to read the Bible?

Vincent: The Bible, a matter for experts? No, obviously. Anyone can read it, not just theology students! But be careful not to make the text say what you want. As a Catholic, I read it informed by the teaching of the Church. I would not want to stray into too personal an interpretation, in the manner of the Protestants.

Laurent: I’m Catholic, too! And less categorical. My mother is Protestant, my father, deceased, was a non-practicing Catholic. My Protestant education allowed me a strong immersion in the biblical text. I read it cover to cover, studied it, meditated on it.

V.: I can’t say the same!

L. : But I agree with you. If we are not trained enough, we can make clumsy interpretations. However, in my personal reading, I listen to what the Lord says to me, in a very intimate and comforting relationship, as Saint Paul himself reminds us: “Thanks to the comfort of the Scriptures we have hope. » My vocation is not to instruct people in an assembly. Those who do it, the priests and deacons, are under the responsibility of the bishop. It is up to him to hold the deposit of faith. It’s like a good chocolatier, artisan from father to son! Just as I trust Him to provide me with good chocolates, I trust the Church, established by Christ, to receive the Word (laughs).

V.: You join me. We receive the Bible from the Church. Which does not prevent us from sometimes having to hear very “horizontal” homilies… and not very inspired.

L. : It tests our ability to endure hardship!

V.: Speaking of trials, I sometimes have difficulty with the magisterium of the Church itself. I have difficulty with the recent doctrinal note from the Vatican, signed by the Pope, which refuses the title of “coredemptrix” to Mary. However, Saint Paul says in the first chapter of his Letter to the Colossians that we are all co-redemptors: “What remains to suffer from the trials of Christ in my own flesh, I accomplish for his body which is the Church. » Someone needs to explain it to me.

L. : For me, it’s the opposite. I find this title of co-redemptrix very unwelcome. And for my part, I am disturbed when I see that bishops in Germany and Belgium would like to bless homosexual unions. The priest of my parish asked me: “What would you say about this to the catechumens?” » His advice: “Put some Gospel…” I searched. The parable of the adulterous woman, where Jesus frees her from her accusers and sends her away saying “go and sin no more” helped me.

V.: I think you can’t read the Bible without more doctrinal knowledge. I can’t imagine doing without training books, like the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and spirituality books, for example The imitation of Jesus Christ. Because the Apostles announced and transmitted the faith first orally. The gospel message was only disseminated through the writings of the New Testament at a later stage. This is why the Scriptures can only be read with the light of Tradition. This is what the Second Vatican Council teaches.

L. : Let us not forget that the Apostles already relied on the Old Testament. A veritable library of books which bears witness to the evolution of Israel’s faith over time. Moreover, the interpretation of the Christian faith, fixed in the Creed, is also evolving. It is a living tradition.

V.: Rather than an evolving interpretation, I prefer the formula of Cardinal Charles Journet (1891-1965, editor’s note) who said that over the centuries, the Church “unwrapped the message of Christ”. Everything is present from the beginning, and each generation removes a veil that obscures our understanding of the mystery. The reform of the liturgy, after Vatican II, thus enriched the biblical readings of the mass. Me who often attends a Tridentine rite mass (in force until Vatican II, editor’s note), I know many priests celebrating in this rite who would like to use the new lectionary.

L. : I appreciate this pedagogy of the Church which has been able to bring into close correspondence the Old and New Testaments that we listen to during Sunday Mass. This opens us to the understanding of the Scriptures and to the unity between the two Testaments. But the main thing for me is the trace left by the living word of God in my life. Since childhood, Psalm 22 has stayed with me: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. » I know it by heart!

V.: For a long time, the Bible, especially the Old Testament, had little place in my prayer. This is no longer the case. Now my morning prayer is centered on the epistle and gospel of the day, and I also pray with the Psalms.

L. : I have less regularity than you who pray every morning, but I have a Bible in every room of the house. I open it, read two verses, put it down for a moment. Then I leave “food” for breathing. Often with the prayer of the heart: “Lord Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner. » Repeating this prayer can bring a very sweet moment. A desire for presence, for adoration. This can catch me while peeling potatoes…

V.: I have the same experience as you with these brief prayers: “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in you”, or “Mary conceived without sin, pray for us…” I also like to pray the meditated rosary. It’s difficult when peeling potatoes, our hands are busy (laugh) but meditating on the mysteries of Jesus’ life with Mary is a way of exploring the Gospels. Sometimes, I pray “the golden chain” of the rosary, inserting a word of the gospel into each Hail Mary, following the example of Mary who “remembered all these events and meditated on them in her heart”, Saint Luke tells us (2, 19).

L. : Well, we drifted quite a bit… It was a good experience to be able to talk like that. THANKS !