Document Library

We are often asked questions about what particular passages in the Bible mean, or what does the Church teach about it. If you have a question about the Bible, you will likely find your answer in one of the following resources:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church
(Available for purchase here. Or you can read it online here.)

A good Bible dictionary. We recommend the following:

  • Catholic Bible Dictionary, editor, Scott Hahn
  • Dictionary of the Bible, by John McKenzie, SJ

An Atlas (Hammond's Atlas of the Bible Lands is good. The Then and Now Bible Maps are also a great resource.)

A general book on Scripture for Catholics:  For information on such issues as biblical authorship, inspiration, principles of interpretation, differences between Protestant and Catholic versions of the Bible, or biblical terms and practices:  The Bible Compass: A Catholic’s Guide to Navigating the Scriptures, by Dr. Edward Sri

Commentaries that are faithful to the Church, like the Navarre Bible or the Ignatius Study Bible, or the new Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture.

A book with brief overviews of every book in the Bible:  there are several good Catholic ones, including Inside the Bible, by Kenneth Baker, A Guide to the Bible by Antonio Fuentes, and Peter Kreeft’s You Can Understand the Bible: A Practical and Illuminating Guide to Each Book in the Bible.

Church Documents on Scripture
Anyone studying the Bible as a Catholic should also be familiar with the various encyclicals dealing with Scripture (we especially recommend reading the paragraphs cited from the Catechism and also Verbum Domini and/or Dei Verbum as a starting point).  These all may be purchased from Catholic bookstores or accessed free of charge on the Vatican website and elsewhere on the web:
 

Web resources:
 

  • www.newadvent.org (This has a searchable Catholic Encyclopedia, the writings of Church Fathers, and St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica.)
  • www.ewtn.com (for answers to questions search under Faith/Catholic Q&A)
  • www.catholic.com (the Catholic Answers website)
  • www.cuf.org (Catholics United for the Faith)
  • www.salvationhistory.com
  • www.usccb.org (the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; for the readings of the day; a searchable New American Bible; information on the new Missal translation, etc.)
  • www.vatican.va (the official Vatican website, for church documents)
  • www.catholicreference.net (Entries from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary)

Other Resources from The Great Adventure