Reddit mentions of Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament

As a Catholic, I can assure you Catholics ARE Christians. Mel Gibson is a Catholic... sort of. He's a Sedevacantist.

Man, call yourself a Christian! I would also recommend looking into the Roman Catholic faith or the Eastern Orthdox faith (we're the OG Christians, lol).

Yes, get a Bible, but DON'T read it cover-to-cover. Once you get to Leviticus, you'll be like, "What the actual f--- is going ON here?" Start with the New Testament, specifically one of the Gospels. I personally love the Gospel of Luke because of how it portrays Mary, but the Gospel of John is quite good, too. It's very symbolic and is perhaps the one you could study the deepest.

if you're finding it hard to understand some of the New Testament of the Bible (the part with Jesus, the letters of Paul, and the Book of Revelation,) I would recommend buying the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. It's an actual, readable Bible that contains commentary throughout. The version I linked is only for the New Testament. The Old Testament analysis is still being compiled, but it's almost done.

Also, listen to Scott Hahn's podcast where he breaks down various sections of the Bible.

As for reading materials outside the Bible, I can highly recommend Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis, Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton, and Chesterton's other work The Everlasting Man.

Oh yeah, PRAY! Just have a conversation with God! Talk to him about anything you want! Pray to God, ask the Blessed Mother for intercession, or any of the saints

If you're confused about the various denominations of Christianity, Here's a basic flow chart.

Here's the Nicene Creed, which is a mash-up of what (most) Christians believe

Also, I highly recommend the Podcast Pints with Aquians! It's an analysis of the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, who's life mission was to combine faith with human reason and prove that it was not unreasonable to believe in God, but perhaps it is unreasonable to not believe in God.

I, along with everyone on this sub, will be praying for you! Good luck on your faith journey!

The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament was recommended to me, and although I've only started reading it I'd have to agree that it is an excellent resource.

I know you were asking for a web resource and I gave you a book. Sorry, but this really is a great resource for what you're seeking.

Start with your interests. You may find that certain topics pique your curiosity more than others. A lot of what I've learned about Catholicism resulted from having a question, and wanting that question answered. Sometimes these questions are the results of selfish desire (ie, "Why can't I just have sex whenever I want?" or "Why do I have to give money to the poor?"), sometimes they're the result of professional interest ("What my employer is asking me to do seems immoral. Am I cooperating in evil?"), and sometimes they've just sounded interesting as I browse an FAQ box on various Catholic websites. Typically these questions will have a simple answer, with as deep an understanding that can be pursued as far as we want to take it (such as the relationship between man and woman being reflective of the Trinity, or the universal destination of goods being such that it isn't wrong for us to want nice things as long as recognize the source and ultimate orientation of those goods). Catholics Come Home may be just the thing for you, whether or not you consider yourself a 'returning Catholic' or a non-Catholic looking for the Truth. They've got some great spots airing on television and radio, one or two of which you may recognize (my personal favorite is Epic - I wish they offered it in high definition).

If you're looking for a video (or series of videos) to watch, Catholicism by Fr Robert Barron is amazing. He also offers a series of short videos on youtube via his Word on Fire ministry.

If you're looking for a Bible or companion thereto, Dr. Scott Hahn has a lot of great resources with links for ordering on his website. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is one that I own and recommend. It's got a lot of great footnotes and embedded resources for really giving you a better understanding of the literal interpretation of Scripture.

If you're looking for simple audio commentary suitable for listen on the way to work, on a plane, or in a train, check out Lighthouse Catholic Media. Lots of very affordable CDs that offer talks in chunks of about an hour from popular Catholic speakers.

Last but not least, you can't go wrong with some primary sources. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a great place for answers, though they may be a bit deeper than someone starting out may feel comfortable with. The latter is especially true of the Code of Canon Law.

And, of course, you're always free to use the search function on /r/Catholicism or post general queries on the sub itself.

Welcome home.

I have two recommendations. Neither are going to be perfect:

• Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament
  
  The commentary is pretty easy to read. It was edited by Scott Hahn and his writing is pretty accessible. The only problem is it is NT only. They have individual books you can purchase for some of the OT, but not the entire Bible as of yet.
  
  
• Catholic Bible, Personal Study Edition
  
  This is the less academic version of the Oxford Catholic Study Bible. Even though it is less academic, it will be harder to comprehend than the Ignatius.
  
  However, if he wants to step up his game, he really should get the Didache Bible. The commentary is based on the CCC, so it can be dense at times, but he will learn a lot more.
  
  Edit: Another one to check out is the Fireside Bible. They make a teen version of that Bible as well.

It depends on what they don't have - if they don't have a Bible, there are some good ones; and even if they do something like the Ignatius Study Bible or the Didache Bible which have wonderful study notes.

And if worse comes to worse, there are always icons.

Consider buying this one instead:

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament https://www.amazon.com/dp/1586172506/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1UvzCbGYY27GY

> Should I recite prayers or make up my own or do a combination?

Combination. I'm currently reading Spe Salvi, and Pope Benedict explains it like this (paragraph 34):

> For prayer to develop this power of purification [to open us up to God], it must on the one hand be something very personal, an encounter between my intimate self and God, the living God. On the other hand it must be constantly guided and enlightened by the great prayers of the Church and of the saints, by liturgical prayer, in which the Lord teaches us again and again how to pray properly. [...] Praying must always involve this intermingling of public and personal prayer. This is how we can speak to God and how God speaks to us.

The "formulaic" prayers that we memorize are important, in part because they teach us how to pray. Most likely, you'll go through times in your life where you'll feel "dry", and you'll struggle to know what to say to God, struggle to feel his presence. Especially during these times - but during other times as well - these prayers are a real treasure. We can also pray together with the whole Church when we pray these prayers, because many of them are prayers that the whole Church has in common.

But you need to make up your own personal prayers, too. Ultimately, prayer is talking with God, and prayer is about building up a relationship with God. And just like in any relationship, you need to communicate your own personal (unique to you) hopes, fears, sorrows, longings. So you really do need both types of prayer.

> What are the most common or popular prayers for you guys (other than the prayers involved in the rosary, of course)?

There are so many out there. A morning offering is a good idea (that can be recited or in your own words). There's the Angelus, which is often prayed at noon each day (and sometimes at 6 am and 6 pm as well). It's also good to get in the habit of doing a brief examination of conscience before bed, followed by an Act of Contrition (again, either recited or in your own words).

> How do I achieve meditative prayer?

The rosary is a meditative prayer, so there's that. Personally, I really struggle with the rosary (I tend to get overwhelmed by trying to do so many things all at once: counting with the beads, praying aloud, meditating on the mysteries), but you can also do meditative prayer in other ways: the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Lectio Divina are both meditative prayers, and prayer before icons or before the crucifix can also be meditative.

The Catechism has a good section on expressions of prayer which discusses meditative and contemplative prayer.

> How can I study the bible correctly and be able to recall passages as some of you do in the comments?

I can't speak to recollection (I think some of that just comes with time), but a couple of suggestions for Bible study: Probably the easiest way to start is to find a Bible Study at a local parish. It's also a good practice to read from the Bible regularly, ideally with the help of a good study Bible. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is good, but it's New Testament only. Other resources might be a Navarre Bible or the Didache Bible (also from Ignatius press).

> And finally, how does one properly do the process of Lectio Divina by oneself?

For Lectio Divina, check out this explanation.

The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels says this:

> Across the Synoptic tradition there is evidence of an interest in angels in Gethsemane. In some manuscripts of Luke 22:43–44 Jesus is strengthened by an angel as he sweats like drops of blood; in Matthew 26:53 Jesus claims that he can call on the help of twelve legions of angels; and in Mark 14:51–52 the “young man” (neaniskos) fleeing naked may be an angel. The first two, and perhaps the third, of these texts reflect the tradition of angelic help offered to righteous heroes in battle.

The Ignatius Catholic Study NT has this to say:

> 14:51 a young man: An unnamed witness that many scholars identify as Mark. If this is the case, the evangelist chose to remain anonymous in light of the episode’s embarrassing details. Ultimately, how we identify this individual has little bearing on the tradition that Mark wrote the second Gospel as a summary of Peter’s preaching, since he could have witnessed the arrest of Jesus without being an eyewitness to his three-year ministry.


As a side note, the Lexham Bible Dictionary uses these verses as evidence of Markan Priority:

> Marcan Priority is generally held to be the stronger theory because it is easier to make sense of the differences between the Synoptics on the assumption that Mark wrote first. The small amount of material unique to Mark—like the blind man of Bethesda in Mark 8:22–26 or the youth fleeing naked in Mark 14:51–2—makes more sense as material mutually omitted by Matthew and Luke than as material specially added by Mark, especially as Mark lacks a lot of apparently congenial material found in Matthew and Luke (like the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer).


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Edit: I just realized that your username totally checks out.

For study Bibles (if that's what you're referring to) I would recommend the Didache Bible (+ Catechism of the Catholic Church), the Great Adventure Bible (Ascension Press's supplemental material is worth it, too) and the Ignatius New Testament Study Bible. There's also the Douay-Rheims Version with Fr. George Leo Haydock's excellent commentary, or the Navarre Bible series, but good luck finding them without taking out a second mortgage. :)

If you're talking strictly about Biblical background and history from a Catholic perspective, Scott Hahn's Catholic Bible Dictionary should fit the bill.

Skryym,

To continue with your second point (I was at work, so could only answer the first point):

2) I can't take the Bible literally.

We have to understand what the Bible is. It is first and foremost a collection of books, not a single literary work. Every word is the inspired word of God, however its human authors are spread out over centuries, and contain multiple genres including history, allegory, psalms, gospels, epistles (letters), prophecy, etc. Before we look at a particular book, we have to ask a few questions: Who is the (human) author? What genre is it? What is its intention? Without knowing that, we can't come to a realization of what we are reading. For example, Genesis is not intended as literal history, but as historical allegory. For example, to God, time is meaningless. Time, properly understood, is the breaking up of existence into pieces. A person's existence is never fully grasped, but is known in a succession of moments. God is infinite and eternal, thus he contains the totality of his existence in one single action. Thus to say that creation of this or that thing took place in a "day" is meaningless to God because God is the very action of being and cannot be delineated into measurement of time. But it is sufficient for human readers to grasp the theological points of the text, which is the point. Similarly, Leviticus is written largely as a manual outlining ritual, legal and moral practices to help the Jews grow closer to God, and specifically in the setting of Jewish temple worship. Many of the practices are no longer followed by Christians, such as animal sacrifices, because Christ is the one sufficient burnt offering offered once for all. The books of the bible also have to be looked at in context with the rest of the books. The early church fathers looked at the Old Testament as containing the New Testament in hidden form, for example. The bible is difficult, as you say, which is partly why the church has teaching authority, to help us to understand the bible in its proper contexts. I would recommend a study bible such as The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible.

Like other's have suggested, a study bible would be good. I recommend this one for the New Testament:

http://www.amazon.com/Ignatius-Catholic-Study-Bible-Testament/dp/1586172506

Also, I recommend the following free bible study programs:

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology: Online Bible Study Courses

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology: Audio Courses

Nice. I use this because I like the extensive footnotes. I hope they plan on doing the Old Testament.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0195298047

Its an NAB Bible, comes with a bookmark and is pretty small, so it's convenient to carry around. Text is small (I don't mind small text, so depends on how you feel) but all the standard footnotes are pushed to the end of the chapters, making reading easier because they aren't distracting. Also has prayers, the rosary mysteries (with relevant readings), stations of the cross, and the daily readings calendar. No maps or essays though.

I also have a bunch of the Ignatius Study Bible books (the single book versions like this https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/383025651069) and those I really like as well. If anyone else has the Ignatius New Testament Bible (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1586172506) and could confirm its all those wrapped up, I'd definitely get that too. New Testament only though

• The YouVersion Bible App. (www.bible.com)
  I used to use Glo but it kinda sucks and they didn't update or keep up with new features. I can bookmark/highlight passages, create quotes and media, read and participate with my wife and friends in Bible plans not just readings but media built in. It's great and 100% free.
  
  
• I own a St. Joseph's New American Edition of the Bible which I really like
  
• I also own a St. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible which is amazing
  
  

My favorites Scripture Scholars are:

1. Brant Pitre
   
2. Scott Hahn
   
3. John Bergsma
   
   ​
   
   They all have Bible Studies in specific topics (Eucharist, Priesthood, Covenants, specific Books) or more general. For Old Testament, I'd check out Brant Pitre and John Bergsma's somewhat recently released A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament. They have a New Testament one coming, but not sure on the date. But you do have Scott Hahn's Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament to cover your bases there! You can also look into Navarre Study Bibles, it's best to get them used on sites like Ebay or Amazon as they're pricey but worth it in commentary. Brant Pitre and John Bergsma has a lot of their work available at Catholic Productions. Scott Hahn has the St. Paul Center, which even has some online study course available free like The Lamb's Supper: The Bible and the Mass.

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament

There are many. The Haydock Bible and the Didache Bible are good, and the Ignatius Study Bible is amazing.

And if you've not heard of Aquinas's commentaries and the Catena Aurea you're in for a treat. You can find copies online on the right hand side.

Mark Shea's Making Sense of Scripture was a good start for me. Also a good study Bible with commentary is helpful.

Here is the mobile version of your link

OR there is another possibility...

This apparent discrepancy causes some modern scholars to accuse Jesus of misquoting Scripture, although the conclusion is unnecessary. Jesus probably mentioned Abiathar instead of Ahimelech to post a warning for Pharisees; Abiathar is infamous in OT history as the last high priest in his line who was banished from Jerusalem and the priesthood for opposing Solomon, the son of David and the heir of his kingdom (1 Kings 2:26-27). he thus represents the end of an old order that passes away with the coming of David's royal successor. As Jesus compares himself and the disciples with David and his men, he likewise draws the Phrarisees into the story by casting them as figures like Abiathar. The Pharisees, then, represent an old order of covenant leadership that is about to expire, and if they persist in their opposition to Jesus, the new heir of the Davidic kingdom, they will meet the same disastrous fate that befell Abiathar. Jesus' allusion to this OT tradition was a subtle yet strategic way to caution the Pharisees against their antagonism to his ministry.

Taken from the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible

I read both these side by side. The translations are similar and the commentaries complement each other. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Orthodox Study Bible with Ancient Christian Commentary: http://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Study-Bible-Ancient-Christianity/dp/0718003594/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425621764&sr=8-1&keywords=orthodox+study+bible

Catholic Study Bible by Catholic Author and Apologist Scott Hahn:
http://www.amazon.com/Ignatius-Catholic-Study-Bible-Testament/dp/1586172506/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425621787&sr=8-1&keywords=scott+hahn+bible

Sorry for spamming you with questions but how is the Didache Bible different from this one?

Most bible studies are for those with a basic understanding if the bible, it's hard to find a more advanced study that's not lead by a priest. I recently picked up this and it's the best resource I've found for bible study

https://www.amazon.com/Ignatius-Catholic-Study-Bible-Testament/dp/1586172506

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1586172506/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1HGCZ08SU90XN&colid=31VUEMH13MLZA

New Testament only right now. I think later this year or sometime next year, the whole Bible will be complete and published.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939231140/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1J853ZQII6SUJ&colid=31VUEMH13MLZA

I've heard good things about this, but haven't gotten it, yet.

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible - massive footnotes help the context a lot.

http://www.ignatius.com/promotions/catholic-study-bible/

4.8 stars! http://www.amazon.com/Ignatius-Catholic-Study-Bible-Testament/dp/1586172506

http://www.catholicbible.online/

New Testament with commentary

Here at seminary we commonly use: https://www.amazon.com/Ignatius-Catholic-Study-Bible-Testament/dp/1586172506

Great for study.

For more intense exegetical purposes I tend to use the Haydock commentary as a supplement to this bible. You can find Haydock's commentary free online.

Travel bible, I tend to use my phone; so I don't particularly have any recommendations.

First off, their names- they're all Gospel of X, or, in the earliest versions, "Gospel according to X" (or at least Luke is).

Secondly, the early Christians unanimously ascribe these Gospels to the authors that they're traditionally known for. So, in other words, the people closest to the time of the writing of each Gospel say that the author is who tradition says it is.

Source.

I too have been asking these questions. You will find most if not all of them answered at Catholic Answers. For example, here is one of the answers regarding infant baptism. There is also an article regarding infant baptism in the early church.

Here is an article on why Catholics ask for intercession from the Saints.

They also have a great You Tube channel that will answer just about any question you have.

You may be interested in the Ignatius Study Bible New Testament. It contains an Index of Doctrines in the appendix. For any given doctrine, they provide Biblical references and commentary regarding that doctrine. That alone should make this a must read for Protestants. It uses the Revised Standard Version.

There are many great resources that can answer your questions. I started with a video series called What Catholics Really Believe. There's an unrelated book by the same name as well.

Any book by Scott Hahn may be of interest. He was an ordained Presbyterian minister before he became Catholic.

Send me a message if you want any more info.

Another good book is Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic. It explains Catholic theology from the perspective of a fundamentalist Protestant convert.

Any book by Peter Kreeft would be good, but you may especially like his Handbook of Catholic Apologetics since it specifically answers the questions you are asking. Kreeft is a Catholic convert from Calvinism.

Bp. Barron provides a load of resources on his site Word on Fire. He has a You Tube channel as well.

There are many, many more resources, but this should get you started. I have been a Protestant all my life, but I've been studying Catholicism heavily for a few years. So far, all of my questions have been answered from resources available online.