What are you studying in 2024? (Christian/Catholic)

[Troubledwords]

I prefer to look at a particular theme or topic over the course of a year, but this year I've been listening to Catechism in a Year.

I'm in need of inspiration for next year, so what are you going to study or read?

You might be aware of this already, as it includes Catechism in a Year, but the Hallow app,?

This is subscription based for access to all content, but has a lot of different things.

No specific recommendations from me - having eventually finished Bible in (more than) a Year, I'm just about to start the Catechism!

I tried the Hallow App, but so much is behind the paid subscription and I didn't like it enough to pay for it.

It’s not as specific as the PP but sharing anyway.
I’m CofE and one of my closest friends is a vicar. I confided in her that I never prayed with anyone, always alone and in silence. She asked me if I wanted to respond the daily office with her. We now zoom Monday-Thursday, either early morning or after work and read morning or evening prayer, pray together and then have a quick chat on the day’s readings. It’s not ‘study’ per se but I get so much from it. She is running an Advent study group too (which always ends up very funny, we’re all very relaxed).

Have you tried the Pray As You Go app? I really like it, there's a daily prayer which opens with music and then a text (usually the scripture of the day), then a reflection on it. There's also other prayers. It's not as varied as Hallow but the content is completely free and the music selection on the daily prayer is absolutely gorgeous, I follow a lot of artists on Spotify now who I found it there.

pray-as-you-go.org/discover

I have used it before, but I have a daily podcast with today's scripture and prayers on that I listen to in the mornings.

I'm looking more for non prayer ones, maybe history or a social justice topic I can research into.

I've done Bible in a Year for three years in a row, and Catechism in a Year this year. I think once was enough for CIAY, but I'll more than likely go round again with BIAY. The Scriptures are so rich and perennial that there's always something new to gain, and a great comfort in the familiarity as well as the strangeness/newness. I think that would be the case even if I had listened perfectly every time, but as it is I am often inattentive so the more times I listen the greater the chance there is that it sinks in. I can see the attraction in moving on to other study (which I do more formally as well), but I'm never going to graduate onto something higher than the Bible!

Having said that, I'll be watching this thread to see if there are any more recommendations. I would like a nice daily religious podcast, not one that's on a separate app, but just a standard podcast I can have with all my others.

@Fink the one I listen to is on Spotify called Catholic Morning Offering, daily podcast with prayers and the daily reading plus usually a quote from a Saint or about a feast, Saint or something else relevant.

I struggled to focus with Bible in a Year, because of the length of some of the episodes. CIAY was a better length for me.

I'm not really looking for something to listen to as I struggle with concentration with podcasts and audiobooks.

I definitely intend to get a few more of Dr Scott Hahn's books though.

I have really struggled with CIAY because it's so repetitive: he tells you what he's going to read, reads it, then comments on it, so you get the same content three times in each episode. I think it's because the Cathechism in itself is written in such a clear, basic, way that it seems superfluous to try to explain it afterwards. I got on better with BIAY because he does draw out things from the Scriptures that I hadn't focused on/ remembered/ noticed, and because he doesn't précis the story before starting the reading, just tells you the references. I wasn't aware there was much difference in length, CIAY always seems to drag on for me. I did get into BIAY gradually, though - for a good chunk of the first year I only listened to the Scripture reading itself and skipped over the commentary.

I get emails with the saint of the day and gospel of the day, which have audio or text content, but I'd still prefer another podcast. I like something I can listen to while commuting rather than something I have to sit down and devote my full attention to, I have other resources for those times!

My goal is to read St Augustine's Confessions.

For some reason I don't connect with him, so I struggle to read more than a few pages at a time.

I guess it depends why you want to read him. For me, I'm not a fan of the Confessions. They're actually too modern in the sensibility - it's all about him and his journey with God. As a theologian, I'm not interested in the biographies of other theologians, I want to read their theology. He has many more interesting works than the Confessions. On the Trinity is very good (maybe excerpts rather than the whole thing). Some of his sermons, especially on the Gospel of John, are great.

The problem, in general, is that he's an author from a very different culture to us, so there's a lot of cultural baggage to get past if you're not used to writing from that world.

I think that's my issue, it's just about his journey. However its on every, must read type list, so I do want to read it.

I'm about quarter of the way through it at the moment, so I'll need to pick up the pace to get it finished this year!

Thankfully I have plenty of other books to read as well.

I finished it!

Already thinking about next year's read, I didn't get much read this year, although we do still have a few weeks left to go.

Daily Bible Exegess from Logical Bible Study on Spotify is excellent. It is a study of the Gospel for each day's Gospel.