The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1908-02-22
HIGH TREASURES
OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
Plus x. Blesses Work of Society Aim
ing to Spread Bible Reading
Certain Books Recommended.

Certain Books Recommended.
Spiritual reading is the listening to
the voice of God. That voice we hear
in many ways. We have it in our own
hearts if we practice recollection and
prayer. We have it in good sermons
on doctrinal and moral subjects. We
have il infother instructions given by
the living voice of men. But books,
even if they are not so personal to our
selves as the interior speech of our
Heavenly Father, nor so stimulating as
certain discourses of God-fearing men,
yet they have many advantages of
their own. They are always at hand;
they are the fruits of the labor of
saints and learned men; they offer
great variety, and some of them can
not fail to suit most special needs.
Nay, when the book is Holy Scripture,
ii is God Himself who speaks. and who
has left, in those inspired pages. what
He knows our heart requires to hear.
Incline thine ear and hear the words
of the wise, and apply thy heart to
My doctrine. Proverbs xii, Il.
1t need not be said that of all spir-
itual reading Holy Scripture is the
best and the most profitable. The rea-
son of this is, not merely the eloquence
of wisdom of the writer's, or the power
of the ideas-although in this respect
there is no book in the world to COM
pare with the Bible-but the force and
Illuminating power of the Divine in
spiration. Remember that Holy Scrip
ture was intended by its Author, AL
mighty God. to draw us to Him.
Give me understanding and / will
search Thy law: and l will keep it
drawing near to Thee by keeping it
and doing Thy will with my whole
l1p9 ~ l,a,c
His words. revealed as they are for
this very purpose, effect what He in
tends? What does He say Himself?
He says that His word is "effectual;"
that it shall never return to Him
void" that it is truth that it is
fire" that it is "a hammer" that
it is the doctrine of the Spirit: that it
is lamp and light" that it CON
verts souls" that it "rejoices the
heart and ''enlightens the SOUL" that it
is an infinite treasure to men,
How happy are they who read Holy
Scripture, provided that they read it
with reverence, with a desire for spir-
itual profit, and with the fear and con-
seriousness of God! The great sub
jects treated of in Scripture are first.
God and His attributes: next Jesus
Christ Gn the Prophets, the Psalms
and the Gospels: then the great fun
damental truths of life and death. the
Nervousness of sin, and the various
virtues and vices. The historical
books are not to be read by all. or at
all times by any. TlIe Holy Gospels
come first in order of spiritual profit:
then the rest of the New Testament:
then the Psalms: then the propheticaI
books, especially the Book of Isaias:
then the "sapientaT books. Holy
Scripture should be read slowly: there
is more in every word of it than all
our meditations and searchings will
ever find. 1t should also be read in or
der: that is, we should not pick out
chapters at haphazard, but read a
book or a section right through.
When Professor eleventh and Father
Genochi, who have made excellent
translations of the gospels into Italian,
called Upon His Holiness Pope Plus X
and requested his blessing upon their
work he answered in the following
words:
Gladly do I give my blessing. and
that with both hands and with a full
heart, for I do not doubt that this work
Will produce the richest fruit and is
already blessed by God The more we
read the gospels, the stronger our faith
becomes. The gospels are writings
that are valuable for everybody anad
under I'll clrcuTQStanceS.
Il have lived among the common
people and know what they want and
what pleases them. Tell them the
simplest Bible stories and you will
have attentive listeners and effect
blessed results. Your purpose is to
spread the gospels. You are doing a
noble work. Some people think that
the peasants with their plain, every
day way of thinking, would not profit
by the reading of the Scriptures. This
is incorrect. The average peasant is
a shrewder thinker than we suspect
and knows how to draw correct les
sons from the Scriptures, often even
better than many of the preachers.
But it is not only the common peo-
pie and the lower classes who will
profit by the reading of the Scriptures.
No matter how many prayer books and
books of devotion there may be for the
priest, none is better than the gospels.
This is an unsurpassed book of devo-
ton, the true bread of life. / grant an
especial blessing upon all those who
preach the gospels. who hear it read,
whether on Sunday or week day.
/ bestow my blessing on all the mem
bers of the st. Jerome society and all
who cooperate in the sacred work of
spreading the Gospel"
-o-S-s