But They Deeply Revere It From Pulpit to Pew

A former Protestant pastor explains how Catholics deeply honour, obey, and revere Scripture without worshipping it. Discover how the Catholic Church treats the Bible through Mass, prayer, and tradition.

For years as a Protestant pastor, I genuinely believed Catholics had a strange relationship with Scripture.

I thought tradition had somehow replaced the Bible. I assumed Catholics placed more emphasis on rituals, saints, and church authority than on the Word of God itself.

And if I’m honest, I also believed many Catholics simply didn’t know the Bible very well.

Then I began attending Mass.

And suddenly, everything I thought I knew began to unravel.

Because what I discovered shocked me:

Catholics do not worship the Bible.
But they deeply venerate it.

And there’s a profound difference between those two things.

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Worship Belongs to God Alone

One of the biggest misunderstandings many Protestants have about Catholicism is confusion between worship and veneration.

In Catholic teaching, worship — known as latria — belongs to God alone.

Not Mary.
Not the saints.
Not statues.
And not even the Bible itself.

The Catholic Church teaches that Scripture is the inspired, “God-breathed” Word of God. Catholics believe the Bible is sacred, authoritative, and spiritually alive.

But they do not worship paper, ink, leather bindings, or a physical object.

Instead, Catholics approach Scripture with reverence, honour, obedience, and awe because it communicates the very truth of God.

That distinction changed how I viewed Catholicism completely.

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Then I Attended Mass…

The first time I really paid attention during Mass, I noticed something that deeply unsettled my assumptions.

The Gospel book was handled with care

Candles surrounded it.

Incense rose into the air.

The congregation stood in reverence as the Gospel was proclaimed.

Then, after reading the Gospel, the priest kissed the book.

As a former Protestant minister, I initially found this strange.

But then I asked myself a difficult question:

Was this actually superstition…
or was it reverence?

Because honestly, many modern churches treat the Bible casually.

We toss it on car seats.
Stack it beneath coffee cups.
Quote isolated verses online without context.
Argue with it more than we obey it.

Meanwhile, here was an ancient Church publicly honouring the Scriptures with visible reverence.

Not worshipping the Bible.
But treating it as holy.

That affected me more than I expected.

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Catholics Hear More Scripture Than Many Realise

One of the biggest surprises in my journey toward Catholicism was discovering how much Scripture is embedded into the Mass itself.

The Catholic liturgy is saturated with the Bible.

Old Testament readings.
Psalms.
Epistles.
Gospels.

Virtually every Mass contains multiple Scripture readings woven together in a structured cycle designed to expose believers to large portions of the Bible over time.

In fact, over a three-year cycle, Catholics hear an extraordinary amount of Scripture publicly proclaimed.

That reality shattered another misconception I carried for years: the idea that Catholics were somehow disconnected from the Bible.

In truth, many Catholics hear Scripture read aloud every single week with remarkable consistency.

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Scripture Is Meant to Be Prayed — Not Just Studied

This was another major shift for me.

As a pastor, much of my relationship with Scripture revolved around:

• Sermon preparation
• Theology
• Teaching
• Defending doctrine
• Studying original languages

And while all of that has value, I slowly realised something was missing:

Contemplation.

The Catholic tradition introduced me to practices like Lectio Divina — a slow, prayerful meditation on Scripture.

Not reading to win debates.
Not reading to build a sermon.
But reading to encounter Christ.

That changed my relationship with the Bible profoundly.

Instead of rushing through passages looking for information, I began sitting quietly with Scripture and allowing it to penetrate my heart.

The Bible became less like a textbook… and more like sacred conversation.

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My Journey From “Almost Catholic” to “From Pulpit to Pew”

For a long time, this space was called Almost Catholic: The Journey Home.

At the time, that name fit perfectly.

I was exploring. Questioning. Wrestling.

Standing at the threshold of something I didn’t fully understand yet.

“Almost” captured that strange tension — the in-between place of curiosity, fear, attraction, and uncertainty.

But journeys change us.

And this one certainly changed me.

What began as intellectual investigation slowly became spiritual surrender.

What began as observation became participation.

What began as distance became homecoming.

And eventually I realised something important:

I was no longer “almost.”

So the name no longer reflected where I truly was.

That is why this journey is now called:

From Pulpit to Pew

Because that is exactly what happened.

I stepped away from ministry certainty and into something far more humbling:

learning.

Listening.

Receiving.

Sitting in the pew instead of standing behind the pulpit.

And strangely enough, that has brought me closer to Christ than I expected.

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Catholics Love the Bible More Than Many People Realise

Do Catholics read the Bible differently than many Protestants?

Yes.

Do Catholics include tradition and Church authority alongside Scripture?

Yes.

But the idea that Catholics do not love, honour, obey, or revere the Bible simply is not true.

The more I encountered authentic Catholic life, the more I realised Scripture is everywhere:

• In the Mass
• In prayer
• In liturgy
• In theology
• In devotion
• In sacramental life

The Bible is not ignored in Catholicism.

It is woven into the entire life of the Church.

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Final Thoughts

If you had told me years ago that I would one day defend the Catholic Church’s reverence for Scripture, I probably would have laughed.

But God has a way of dismantling our assumptions.

Sometimes the things we criticise most deeply are the things we understand least.

My journey into Catholicism has not been about abandoning the Bible.

Ironically, it has been about discovering just how central Scripture truly is.

Not only to theology.

But to worship, prayer, beauty, reverence, and daily Christian life.

And perhaps that is one of the greatest surprises of all.

Welcome to From Pulpit to Pew — a woman’s journey from Protestant ministry into the Catholic Church.

Here I share:

• Christian faith
• Spiritual growth
• Theology
• Church history
• Wellness
• Writing
• And the beauty of coming home

If you are exploring Catholicism, questioning faith, or walking through spiritual transition yourself, you are not alone.

Subscribe, follow, and journey with me.

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