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By Laura Melius
Your family Bible may be splattered with spaghetti sauce, and that’s okay.
“Get over getting the Bible dirty,” Robyn Bruggeman, founder of the Living LIT apostolate, encourages. “Bibles can look like the favorite family cookbook. Be reverent, but they can be used.”
As our late Pope Francis designated 2025 as the Holy Year of Jubilee with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” there is no better time than the present for families to bring out their Bibles and discover Scripture together.
“At different times in history, Bibles were not available to everyone. We now have this amazing honor and privilege of having multiple Bibles in our homes,” Robyn said. Yet, “It’s surprising how many people don’t have a Bible in the house.”
If your family does not yet own a Bible, Bibles of all types can be found anywhere books or religious items are sold. Before purchasing, be sure to specify that it is a Catholic Bible, which includes 73 books. The New American Bible Revised Edition is the official Bible translation used by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the translation we hear at Mass each week.
Once your family has a Bible, or multiple Bibles, in the home, resist the urge to keep it safely on a shelf.
“Try to have Bibles out and about and accessible,” Robyn recommends. “This may be in a designated prayer center, or it can simply be in any place that the family knows the Bible is open and ready to be read.”
The Bruggeman family has infused Scripture into their Saturday evening routine since their seven children were young. They read the Sunday Mass readings that they will hear the following day.
“We started reading Scripture on Saturday evenings at the supper table,” she explained. “Sometimes, I start reading while they are still eating.”
Although the readings can be read from a missal or Mass booklet, the Bruggemans sought to establish the connection between the Mass readings and the Bible by bringing the Bible to the table with them.
“All families have distractions, but we try our best. The best discussions come from the Saturday night readings, especially with our older children, around the supper table,” she said. “The bonus to reading the Sunday readings on Saturday nights is when you have to leave Mass with babies or toddlers, you are able to stay connected to the Mass.”
Then, when hearing the Mass readings proclaimed at Mass, Robyn recommends using a Mass journal to write down Scripture that stands out.
“If there’s a Scripture that really speaks to me, I’ll take it into the following week. God can especially speak more to our teens in this way,” she said. “Through three years, we are hearing most of the Bible at Mass. A Mass journal can help bring the Scripture into the week, into life and the home.”
With her teens, Robyn has found that each has different preferences for what they look for in a Bible. For example, journaling Bibles have become more available, with space on the pages for drawing or doodling favorite verses. She encourages having a conversation with your teen to see what type of Bible will best help them connect to Scripture.
“Do they like more things built in? Do they want space for journaling? Or is that distracting? Some like pictures, some don’t,” she said. “Bibles, such as the Catholic Answers Bible, have pictures or apologetics included in them. Some like that, some don’t.”
Dry highlighters are an excellent tool when marking special verses, as they will not bleed through thin paper. “Each child can have their own Bible. Encourage them to mark it up and highlight it when God speaks to them. Write a note. The word of God is written for you,” Robyn encourages.
With younger children, display their children’s Bibles and Bible stories in an accessible place in your home, so those are the first books they can reach for when choosing a story to read.
“I love children’s Bibles that are age appropriate to reach for first. Illustrations help them visualize the story. Older, traditional illustrations can be helpful, sometimes even more so than the cartoony illustrations,” she said.
“Our Christian heritage, our Catholic faith … It all goes back to the beginning, to the Word. The Catholic Church was started by Jesus and can go all the way back in Scripture. The Bible is the life of Christ and salvation history,” she continued.
As your family reads and hears more Scripture together, perhaps that Bible, whether dusted off, or new, will become a part of your family’s heritage.
Robyn reflects, “Looking into the future, wouldn’t it be special for your grandchildren to read from the same Bible that you spent time with?”
Much like that sauce-splattered favorite family cookbook.
