The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Three Doors and Three Keys to enter into the Bible, Part 1

Authored by Dr. Waltraud Linnig in Issue #33.4 of The Sower
French catechist and theologian, Waltraud Linnig, offers us three doors into reading and teaching the Bible and three keys for opening these doors. Part 1 follows. three keys in doorIn this article I would like to propose ways of opening the Bible and entering into it. Perhaps you will ask me why I want to do this, because it is so easy to open this book! It’s like all the other books and if you know the language of a book you can read it. This Bible is written in English, so there’s no problem. However… For many Catholics, the sacred book is a closed book, a sealed book. How can we help them? For many people, catechists and many other Catholics, it is not easy to read and to understand the Bible. When I was a student, one of my professors in Belgium told us that when he was young they had a wonderful Bible in his house, ranged high on a shelf, but nobody had ever touched nor read it. As a Catholic, at the beginning of the 20th century, it was often the case that, while you had to have a Bible, you should not necessarily read it at home, because you should not imitate Protestants! That's why so many Catholics now are still not used to reading the Bible personally.

The rest of this online article is available for current subscribers.

Start your subscription today!


This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact [email protected]

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Editor's Reflections— The Gift of the Jubilee Year
By Dr. James Pauley
It was a predictably hot August day. We stood, tightly packed and shoulder-to-shoulder, in the blazing afternoon sun in the square outside the Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City. It was the Great Jubilee year 2000, and I had helped lead a group of young people to World Youth Day. It was the largest gathering ever in St. Peter’s Square, which... Read more
Jesus and the Jubilee: Reflections for the Jubilee Year 2025
By Dr. John Bergsma
On May 9, 2024, Pope Francis announced to the world that the following year, 2025, would be a Jubilee Year for the Catholic Church worldwide. The Jubilee Year would begin on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024, and last until Epiphany, January 6, 2026. This holy year would be marked by special liturgical celebrations, greater availability of the... Read more
Pilgrims of Hope
By Joan Watson
One of the hallmarks of a Jubilee Year is a pilgrimage to the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome. But what is a pilgrimage? It is harder to define than one might think. Throughout history, men, women, and children have traveled for a variety of reasons, often for motivations other than simple relocation or practical needs. We can see a type of... Read more

Pages