Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies. Again and again he said, “So that the Scriptures may be fulfilled…” In today’s first reading from Acts 3, St. Peter quotes the Old Testament Scriptures twice. He goes on to say, “Moreover, all the prophets who spoke, from Samuel and those afterwards, also announced these days.” In yesterday’s Gospel reading, Jesus opened the minds of the disciples on the road to Emmaus to understand the Scriptures. And in today’s Gospel, also from Luke 24, he appears to the other disciples and “he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”
St. Jerome said ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ. We have to remember that when Jesus opened the minds of the disciples to understand the Scriptures, they were all in the Old Testament. At the time, there wasn’t a word of the New Testament written. As Christians, we very much tend to be people of the New Testament. And that is a good thing. But in order to fully understand the New Testament, we must be well versed in the Old.
This is one of the things I love about being Catholic. Over the course of three years, if you follow the liturgy of the Church in the daily readings, you will read the whole Bible. New Testament and Old. It really helps to understand where Jesus was coming from in many of the things that he taught. Let me encourage you today to spend time each day in the Scriptures. The best way that I have found is to follow along with the liturgy of the Church. So find some good resources…there are plenty out there! I’m sure you’ll find that the more you know about the Scriptures, the more you’ll want to know!
Father, we thank you for your word in the Sacred Scriptures. Give us a greater hunger to know your word, that we may know better the Word made flesh, your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
I believe it is more accurate to say that Catholics will read the whole story of Salvation rather than the whole Bible every 3 years.