ICE

BREAKER
HOLY BIBLE:
God’s Love Letter to Us
“In The Beginning Was The Word” – John 1:1

Y O U T H O R I E N TAT I O N M O D U L E 4
 QUESTION

UNSA ANG BIBLE PARA

SA IMO?
 QUESTION

UNSAY NAUNA,
SIMBAHAN O BIBLIA?
 “Ignorance of the
Scriptures
is ignorance of Christ”
–St. Jerome
The Bible is a sacred
collection of books
patiently gathered
throughout the
centuries within the
heart of Israel, the
people of God.
Bible is a Greek word signifying
books. It comes from a town
called Biblos, where papyrus to
make books was made. Today,
Bible means the Holy Book written
by men under the inspiration
and direction of God.
 THE
CATHOLICS
and the

BIBLE
Where is our difficulty?
• Many Catholics are
not used to read and
study the Bible on
their own and are
even afraid opening
it.
Where is our difficulty?
• They consider this as
the duty of the
priest, catechists
and the religious.
Where is our difficulty?
• When, therefore, they come
into contact with Christians of
other denominations who
use the Bible frequently,
many Catholics feel
uneasy and even avoid
referring to the Bible in
their discussions.
Understanding the Page of your
Bible
Bible reading then, is the work, neither of a
day nor a year, but a lifetime. God’s Word is
meant to guide us through life to which it
gives direction and meaning. “Your word is
a lamp to my feet, a light to my path”
(Ps.119:105).
Cardinal Stephen Langton, Archbishop
of Canterbury, introduced the division of
the Bible into chapters in 1226.
Sanctes Pagnini, a Dominican priest
introduced the division into verses, in
1528 for the Old Testament and 1555
for the New Testament by Robert
Stephanus, a printer living in Paris. These
divisions are respected and used by all
today.
THE BIBLE – A LIBRARY OF BOOKS
Very often we hear people say: “It is written in the Bible
…” and they do not go on say which part of the Bible they
are speaking about. This general reference is very inexact
and leads people astray because it gives the impression
that the Bible is one book but this is not a case. As the
exercise at the beginning showed, there are many books in
the Bible, 73 in the Catholic editions and 66 in the
Protestant editions.
A good definition of the Bible
will be to say that the Bible:
● Is a collection of 73 books that were written over a
very long period of time (1000 years in all)
● Is the Word of God
● Is written in human language
● Is written in order to lead us to life in the full.
 The Catholic Bible
is composed of the
46 books of the
Old Testament and
the 27 books of the
New Testament.
O L D T E S TA M E N T
 BOOKS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
BOOK CONTENT
The Pentateuch Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

The Historical Books Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1st Samuel, 2nd Samuel, 1st
Kings, 2nd Kings, 1st Chronicles, 2nd Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1st Maccabees, 2nd
Maccabees

The Wisdom Books Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Sirach,
Ecclesiastes

The Books of Prophecy Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel,

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
N E W T E S TA M E N T
 BOOKS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
BOOK CONTENT
The Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

Acts of the Apostles

The Letters of Paul Romans, 1st Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians,

Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st Thessalonians, 2nd
Thessalonians, 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon,
Hebrews

The Catholic Letters James, 1st Peter, 2nd Peter, 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John,
Jude

Revelation
BIBLE NUMBER OF BOOKS
A (CATHOLIC EDITIONS) B (PROTESTANT EDITIONS)
OLD TESTAMENT 46 46-7=39
NEW TESTAMENT 27 27
TOTAL 73 66
 “We are compelled to concede that
without the Catholic Church,
we knew nothing about the Word of God.”

-Martin Luther
(Founder of the Protestantism)
 HOW TO READ THE HOLY BIBLE
1. Regularity. To make the reading more beneficent,
there must be some regularity and fix times for it, so it
is convenient to have a certain fix method and
reserving some time for it. However, the most important
is to devote some time every day to this task.

2. Be satisfied to gradually understand it. We shall not

be able to understand the Holy Bible neither in a month
nor in a year; but if we study it constantly and ask God
to enlighten us, it will be for us like an inexhaustible
mine from which we shall draw treasures of teaching
ever greater.
 HOW TO READ THE HOLY BIBLE

3. Meditate: because the marvels and treasures are not

on the surface and we have to get them with attention.
To meditate is: “To re-think” and apply to oneself what
was one has read.
To meditate is necessary to ponder for a time on the
Word of God. One should nor proceed with haste.

4. To meditate is to stimulate: it is ponder. Only what

has been digested feeds our body. If necessary use
paper and ballpen and write those versicles that
impressed you most, to re-read them later.
HOW TO READ THE HOLY BIBLE

5. Read the Holy Bible with tranquility.

Do not read the it with anxiety. Read it
slowly, meditating on what you are
reading.
 HOW TO READ THE HOLY BIBLE

6. Prayer is the window which opens itself so

that the divine wisdom may enter the soul. To
the young people who reads praying will be given
understanding by the One who is the source of all
wisdom. If you pray to the Holy Spirit, who is the
One who inspired the Words of the Holy Bible, the
same Holy Spirit will enlighten you to understand,
love and practice them.
To fall in love with God is the
greatest romance; to seek him, the
greatest adventure; to find him, the
greatest human achievement.
- St. Augustine of Hippo -
HOLY BIBLE:
God’s Love Letter to Us
“In The Beginning Was The Word” – John 1:1

Y O U T H O R I E N TAT I O N M O D U L E 4