Thursday, 26 June 2025

Understanding the Story of the Bible - Clare Eileen Grant - CTS Deeper Christianity

Understanding the Story of the Bible: 
An Introduction to Salvation History
Clare Eileen Grant
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781860828454
eISBN 9781784693398
ASIN B072XRT82R
CTS Booklet SP37

Understanding the Story of the Bible - Clare Eileen Grant - CTS Deeper Christianity

I have been focusing on this series and CTS books by Pope Benedict XVI lately, I have been tracking down as many of each as I can find, and I believe I now have all from this series. This is a good read in a great series. Over the last several years, I have read many books from the Catholic Truth Society, in fact 450 of them as of the reading of this volume; many read more than once; this all since the spring of 2018. Most were good reads; some were great reads; and a few are exceptional. This was the twentieth in the Deeper Christianity Series that I have read; many of them have been read twice. This is the first I have read by Father Clare Eileen Grant, and I believe the only one of hers published by the CTS. This booklet was originally published 2013 and the eBook was released in 2017. The description of this volume is:

“This booklet helps us to understand Salvation History as the true history of the world, from creation and fall to salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ.

Catholics have been encouraged since the Second Vatican Council to become more familiar with the Holy Bible, yet many still find it a daunting book. The Lectionary gives generous extracts throughout the liturgical year, but at the cost of losing sight of the historical context of each extract. In order to recover our sense of the narrative as a whole, we need to understand Salvation History as the true history of the world, from creation and fall to salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ, leading to eternal happiness in God.”

The chapters in the book are:

Introduction
In the Beginning…
Abraham, our Father in Faith
Jacob and Joseph
Moses and the Exodus
The Heroes and the Judges: Deborah, Gideon and Samson
The Kings: David and Solomon
The Prophets: Elijah and Elisha
The Great Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel
In the Fullness of Time

I highlighted only few passages while reading this volume, they are:

“For the earliest revelation of his salvific plan, God chose one small people, the Jews, to be his own special family and through them he proceeded to put this plan into action, gradually instructing them through chosen individuals and ensuing events.”

“It is, therefore, the true history of the world, the recounting of which is a gift from God to enable us to understand our human condition and to strive with his help to rise up out of the darkness into which we have fallen.”

“This is one of the most mulled over passages in Scripture: the “men” are three-and they are one-and Abraham addresses them as “My Lord”; is it a first suggestion of the Holy Trinity? Christian painting and iconography have frequently interpreted the incident as such, most famously in the work of the Russian iconographer Andrei Rublev.”

“Abraham is called “our father in faith” because of his great trust in God and his promises.”

“To show to all people the sacred nature of his new capital city, David ordered the Ark of the Covenant to be brought into Jerusalem. Scripture gives us a beautiful description of how David danced for joy as the Ark of the Covenant was finally carried into the city.”

“Wishing to save his people from the consequences of their wilful disobedience, God called a series of prophets to warn the people to turn their hearts back to him.”

“Their task was always either to warn the people of the consequences of turning away from the Lord or to relay to them God’s promises of redemption. Prophets were often feared, hated and attacked, and tended to be solitary. It was not an easy job.”

“Lastly, the Books of the Maccabees recount the heroic struggles between the Jews and their Syrian enemies in the forty years until 134 BC. The Jewish people were led by Judas Maccabeus and his two brothers. These books have a strongly religious purpose and a climax was reached with a description of the rededication of the Temple.”

“He is also the Way, since through his example he showed us how to live in this world, in order to attain eternal life in the next: to accept God’s Commandments into our hearts and to live according to the Beatitudes. He is our Life, because he gave as gifts to his bride the Church, the Eucharist and the other sacraments, which continue to nourish us and to heal us in every part of our lives. He even gave us his own prayer, the Our Father.”

“Those of us now living in these last days have had many blessings poured out upon us: through the New Covenant we can acknowledge God as our Father, Jesus as our Saviour and brother and the Holy Spirit as our advocate and comforter. We have the immaculate Mother of God as our intercessor and model of faith in God’s promises; and we can look to the example of the saints who have gone ahead, “on whose constant intercession in [God’s] presence we rely for unfailing help” (Eucharistic Prayer III).”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for the volume. Having done the Bible in a Year a few times now with Father Mike Schmitz and having read through the bible most years since I was a teenager a lot of this was very familiar. That being said this was a good read. For those not as familiar with the bible I think it would be an excellent read. Also having a Religious Studies Degree with a specialization in Roman Catholic Thought, the book was a bit basic for me, but the material is excellent and it is very well written.

This book is a good read and one any Catholic would benefit from reading. The CTS Deeper Christianity Series of books is written in such a way that they can easily be read in any order. Pick and choose the ones that interest you, read them in order, or jump around. I have been blessed by the entire series that I have read and can highly recommend this book and the series.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews:  2025 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.


Books in the Deeper Christianity Series:
7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit 
8 Deadly Sins Learning to Defend the Life of Grace 
Art and Prayer  
Depths of Scripture 
Desire & Delight 
Faith, Hope and Love The Theological Virtues 
Fruits of the Holy Spirit Living a Happy Life 
Icons 
Lectio Divina Spiritual Reading of the Bible 
Kingdom of God 
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