Four Can Openers

Identifying which are the best Bibles

10/06/2025

Luke 10:25-37 There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.' Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

One of the questions I get asked most frequently is: What is the best Bible to read? Have you ever struggled with which Bible to buy? I always answer: “A Bible in the hand is worth two on the shelf.” That is, whatever Bible you will actually pick up and read is better than the most expensive leather-bound Bible that just sits on the shelf collecting dust.

Bibles are not meant to be museum pieces that should be admired from a distance and never touched. Instead, they should actually look well-worn: underlined, dog-eared, with notes in the margins. A friend of mine once wisely told me: “A Bible that is falling apart is usually read by a person that is not.” So the best Bible is one that you actually read, and even wear out.

Now, I just gave you a subjective answer, so let me also provide you with an objective answer to the question about the best Bible. Bibles are differentiated by the commentary that they supply to explain the Word of God. That is, Bibles invariably contain both the inspired Word of God, but also the insightful words of men, Scripture scholars. The Sacred Scriptures is not a self-interpreting book.

If the Bible is a can, the commentaries, the footnotes, the explanations are the can openers. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches there are basically four can openers we can use to open the inspired can of the Bible. We read in no. 115: “One can distinguish between two senses of Scriptures: the literal sense and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral, and anagogical.”

It goes on: “The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of the Scriptures in the Church.” In other words, the best Bibles will provide the best commentaries – can openers – that explain the four dimensions of the Word of God. Let me explain.

First, the literal sense or dimension is the author’s reason for writing, how he aims human history at a theological target. Second, the allegorical sense or dimension is the symbolic reading of the Bible. For example, how Moses leading people out of Egyptian slavery symbolizes Jesus who frees us from slavery to sin.

Third, the moral sense or dimension gives us a compass to guide our steps on earth to avoid sin. And fourth, the anagogical or heavenly sense or dimension helps us to keep our eyes on the prize, our heavenly destiny. The best Bibles, therefore, always give you the four can openers in their commentary, so we can relish every sense of Sacred Scripture.

Every morning when I read the Scripture readings for Mass, I consult the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website. It gives you exactly the readings for the daily Mass and you can easily click on the commentary, the footnotes, for unfamiliar or confusing passages. While it is convenient, though, I find it rather limited. How so?

Well, it usually only gives you one of the four can openers to break open the Word of God. That is, it does a great job with the literal sense – the author’s reason for writing – but almost entirely ignores the other three senses. Put differently, the USCCB commentary tends to be one-dimensional, where it should be four-dimensional.

And that brings me to the Bible I like best, namely, the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. The general editors are Curtis Mitch and Scott Hahn, and they have taken great care to provide readers with all four can openers to break open the Word, so we can behold and benefit from all four dimensions of the Sacred Scriptures. Now, one small drawback is that their English translation is not the one we use at Mass. But their commentaries and footnotes are exceptional.

For example, they explain the allegorical (symbolic) sense of today’s gospel of the Good Samaritan. They write: “The parable signifies Christ’s restoration of mankind. Adam is the man attacked by Satan and his legions; he is stripped of his immortality and left dead in sin. The priest and the Levite represent the Old Covenant and its inability to restore man to new life.”

Now comes the good part: “Jesus Christ comes as the Good Samaritan to rescue man from death and brings him to the inn of the Church for refreshment and healing through the sacraments” (p. 1854). That refreshment and healing is symbolized by the “oil and wine” which we use in the sacraments of the Anointing of the Sick and Mass.

Can you see how the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible presents the Scriptures in all its richness? That is, using all four can openers we can behold the banquet of all four dimensions of the Word of God. And then we can sit down to this feast of faith called the Sacred Scriptures and not go home hungry.

Praised be Jesus Christ!