1. What is Sacred Scripture
Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit. Sacred Scripture, the Bible, is the written record of God’s revelation of Himself.

2. Uses of the Scripture
St. Paul reminds us, it is useful for “teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16) and is capable of cutting directly to our deepest selves, discerning the “reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
In the Scriptures we find our guidebook for living the Christian life, for teaching others about the faith, and for defending the faith.

3. Theology Theology is the study of God and the things of God.
Coming to know God is more like coming to know a good friend. It involves far more than just memorizing facts about that friend.
It means to learn about him, to grow in love for and trust of him, and to build a relationship with him.
It is about more than learning things about Him. It is about growing in relationship with Him.
And that involves learning to trust and love Him. But you can’t do that without knowing Him.

4. How do we know about God
Through divine revelation, God’s revelation of Himself. Where do we find divine revelation? In Scripture, in Tradition, and the Magisterium. These three (Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium) make up the tripod of truth.
The Bible is the written record of divine revelation. It is the Word of God. Tradition is the non-written record of revelation handed on from one generation to another. Tradition is lived out in the church, past and present. The Magisterium is the teaching authority of the Church. It is exercised by the Pope in union with the College of Bishops.

5. The Need to Know the Scripture
If the Bible is one of the primary sources for the study of God, what do we need to know? We should know the Bible well, both the Old and New Testaments, and how to read and understand it properly.
If God reveals Himself through Scripture, then Scripture is not open to just any interpretation. Through it, we meet God Himself. St. Jerome says that ignorance of the scripture is ignorance of God.
Jerome translated the Bible into Latin- The Vulgate

6. Scripture at Mass
During Mass, we encounter Scripture primarily in the Liturgy of the Word, in which we hear three readings: from the Old Testament or the Acts of the Apostles, the New Testament letters, and the Gospels.
We also hear or sing a selection from the book of Psalms (which are in the Old Testament).
The Church uses a three-year cycle of readings for Sunday liturgies and a two-year cycle of readings for daily liturgies.
If a person attended Mass every day over a three-year period, he or she would hear almost 75 percent of the New Testament and 18 percent of the Old Testament (not including the Psalms) proclaimed.

7. Why it is important to read scripture at Mass
Scripture is the foundation of our faith/beliefs;
Scripture tells us the story of salvation;
Scripture contains the life story of Jesus;
we learn about our origins in Scripture;
we learn about famous people throughout salvation history;
God speaks to us through Scripture;
Scripture is a way to pray with the Word of God.