For faithful Catholics who were never taught to read Sacred Scripture

3 reasons every Catholic should readwith a guide beside their Bible.

By Polly S.

Behold the Lamb of God. Do whatever He tells you. It is finished. You have heard these words at Mass all your life, but no one ever showed you the thread that runs behind them through the rest of Scripture. That is not a failure of faith. No one handed you the roots. A good Catholic Bible guide does, with a short page of background before each book.

  • Who wrote each book, when, and why
  • What the Church has always understood each book to teach
  • All 73 books, including the seven deuterocanonical books
  • Short enough to read in a few minutes before each book
Find the right Bible guide →
Reading Sacred Scripture at home

1.Background is the one thingno one handed you with your Bible.

You started at Genesis. It reads like a story. Then Leviticus arrives, with offerings, purity laws and rules for mold on the walls of a house, and the story stops dead.

No one told you Leviticus is a handbook for Israel’s priests and their worship of God, bound into the same cover as the story with no signpost between them. Getting lost is not a failure of faith. It is what happens when you open a book that old without the background.

That is what a good guide gives you. Context first. Then the Word itself. Then prayer.

  • What each book is and who it was written for
  • Why the sacred writers move from story to law to poetry
  • Background before you read, not footnotes beneath the sacred text
See what a good guide gives you →
A Bible lying open at Leviticus, a pair of reading glasses folded on the page

2.Make sure your guide covers the sevenbooks most guides leave out.

Tobit. Judith. Wisdom. Sirach. Baruch. First and Second Maccabees.

They have belonged to the Church’s canon since the councils of 393 and 397, and the Council of Trent confirmed all 73 books in 1546. Most Protestant Bibles later dropped them, so nearly every Bible guide on sale, written for 66 books, leaves them out too.

You still hear them proclaimed at Mass, and often at Catholic funerals. Your Bible kept them. Most guides to it did not.

  • A Catholic guide should cover all 73
  • Most guides on sale stop at 66 books
  • Check its contents for Tobit and the Maccabees
See a guide that covers all 73 →
The Companion open at its page on the Book of Tobit

3.Knowing your Bible helps you hand onthe faith you received.

Sooner or later, someone you love asks. Why is the Catholic Bible longer? Why do you call the Mass a sacrifice?

Saint Peter asked every Christian to always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, with gentleness and reverence. Knowing your own Bible means you can open it and show them the page.

No book will bring anyone home on its own. That grace belongs to God. But knowing your Bible gives you something true to say when they ask.

  • Why the Catholic Bible has 73 books
  • Where the Sunday readings come from
  • What the Church teaches about a hard passage
Start reading with a guide →
Reading Sacred Scripture

Your Bible has 73 books

Most Bible guides were written for 66.Choose one written for yours.

What to look for

  • All 73 books, including the deuterocanonical seven
  • Context before you read, not footnotes during
  • Plain language you can read in minutes
  • What the Church has always understood each book to teach

Most Bible guides

  • Written for 66 books
  • Notes in small print under the text
  • Commentary written for scholars
  • Rarely written from a Catholic point of view
Find a guide written for all 73 →
First 10 Books (Instant PDF)

First 10 Books (Instant PDF)

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First 10 Books (Instant PDF)
The Catholic Bible Companion
An open page of the companion showing its overview of the Letter to the Romans
The Catholic Bible Companion
The Catholic Bible Companion
The Catholic Bible Companion
The Catholic Bible Companion

What it is A faithful companion to Sacred Scripture, never a replacement for your Bible
How it works Read a book’s overview, then read the book itself, slowly and prayerfully
Each overview Who wrote it, when, what was happening and what the Church has always taught about it
Order Genesis to Revelation, in the same order as your Catholic Bible
Time About four minutes before each book of Scripture
Every page reviewed by a practicing Catholic

First 10 Books (Instant PDF)

Loved by over 10,000 devout Catholics

A faithful companion for reading Sacred Scripture with the mind of the Church. Before each book, read a short overview of who wrote it, when, and what the Church teaches about it, and the Word you have heard at Mass all your life begins to open up.

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Listen to a 60-second preview A short excerpt from Book 10, 2 Samuel 1:00

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Any day

Keep it beside your BibleAny Catholic edition works, and there is nothing to set up.
Begin with a short prayerThe Church asks that prayer go with the reading of Sacred Scripture, so it becomes a conversation with God.
Turn to the book and read its one pageAbout four minutes: who wrote it, when, what it is about and who is in it.
Then read the book itselfWith the background fresh, Scripture reads like the story of salvation it is, not a wall of words.

At Sunday Mass

Listen for the book each reading comes fromThe lector names it before every reading in the Liturgy of the Word.
Read that book’s page after MassThe next Sunday, you hear the readings with new understanding.

There is nothing to fill in, no group to keep up with and no schedule to fall behind on. Miss a month and nothing is waiting for you. Open it to whatever book of Scripture you are reading next.

Arrives 7–12 business days
Free US shipping, tracked from the day it ships

Every book of the Catholic Bible receives its own page, in order from Genesis to Revelation. Each page answers the same four questions: who wrote it and when, what it is about, what the Church has always understood it to teach, and who is in it. It is a companion for reading Scripture, not a workbook, so there is nothing to fill in. Burgundy cover with gold foil and a ribbon marker, large high-contrast type, about 7 by 10 inches.

You pay once, with no subscription and nothing that renews. If it does not make Scripture clearer within 60 days, email us and we refund you in full. Nothing to send back.

Ordering for a parish Bible study or OCIA class? Email us →

Finally, a Bible reference book I actually use

I have wanted to read the Bible more consistently for years, but I would get lost whenever I came across a book I did not know much about. This makes it much easier to understand what I am reading. I can read the one-page overview first, then go straight into the book itself without stopping to look everything up. I have been keeping it next to my Bible and using it several times a week.

Maria T. Catholic Bible reader

Straight answers

Questions Catholics ask before they buy.

If your question is not here, email teamseventhreehelp@gmail.com and a person will answer it.

Yes. It covers all 73 books of the Catholic canon in the order your Bible has them, including the seven that Protestant Bibles leave out, and each page describes its book the way the Church has always read it. If you have ever opened a Bible guide and found seven of your books missing from it, that is the gap this was made to fill.
No. It sits beside it. Read its page on Jeremiah, then open Jeremiah, and you know what you are walking into before the first verse. You do not need a new Bible, and nothing about the one you have needs replacing.
If your Bible is a Catholic edition, yes. The NABRE, the RSV-CE, the Douay-Rheims, the NRSV-CE and the Jerusalem Bible all contain the same 73 books. The Douay-Rheims is the one to know about: it keeps older names for some books, Ecclesiasticus for Sirach and the Apocalypse for Revelation, and most of its Psalms are numbered one lower than in modern editions. A quick check for any Bible on your shelf is the contents page. If Tobit and the Maccabees are there, it has every book the Companion covers.
It was written for exactly that. Every page starts from zero, with no vocabulary to look up and nothing it expects you to know already. If you have owned a Bible for years and quietly stopped opening it, you are who it was made for.
Yes. It is set in large, high-contrast type with wide margins, not the small footnote print of a study Bible, so you can read it at the kitchen table without reaching for a magnifier.
No. You pay once, for the book, and that is the end of it. Nothing renews and nothing is added at checkout that bills you next month. We say it plainly because some shops selling books like this attach a monthly charge to a free extra, and buyers find out from their bank statement.
Then it should not cost you anything. Email us within 60 days and we refund the price of the book. There is nothing to send back.
It suits Confirmation, a godchild or a sponsor, someone entering the Church through OCIA (what most parishes used to call RCIA), or a parent or grandparent who has always meant to read the Bible properly. It is a bound book, not a workbook, so it holds up on a shelf for years.
Yes. Because everyone reads the same one page before the same book, it works well for a Bible study, a men’s or women’s group, or an OCIA class. If you are buying several copies for a group, email us before you order and ask about group pricing.
Shipping is free within the US and most orders arrive in 7 to 12 business days, with tracking from the day it leaves. It travels in a rigid mailer so the corners arrive square. If it turns up damaged, send us a photo and we will send another.