As I have written about scripture over the past couple of days, I am humbled again and again by the vastness of it and by how little I know about it. While not a scripture scholar, I have studied the Bible in classes and on my own, and the only purpose that seemed to serve is to play up how really ignorant I am.
But, as the adage goes, ignorance of the law is no excuse. While I am ignorant of all the possibilities of scripture, I know that avoiding it is no way to become more conversant. I think St. Jerome pointed out that "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." In this sense, even a passing acquaintance, a daily dipping into scripture is better than nothing at all--or so I've come to conclude. I learned to love reading scripture from my Grandfather and I can't imagine what life would be like without reading it on a regular basis. Even when I am doing it regularly, I'm struck by how inadequate the time I spend with it is.
I am thoroughly convinced that were I to spend more time reading scripture I would be a far better and a far happier Catholic Christian than I am. I am also thoroughly convinced that if many others did so, with open heart and open mind, we might not have quite the array of disarray that currently plagues the Church.