Benedict XVI wants all the faithful to read the Bible every day.

In his November 14 weekly audience, the Pope spoke about the teachings of St. Jerome (347-420), one of the Church’s greatest biblical scholars.

It is essential that the faithful have a knowledge of the Bible, especially the New Testament, since, in the well-known words of St. Jerome, "ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ."

Benedict XVI said: "Truly ‘enchanted’ by the Word of God, Jerome asked himself, ‘How could we live without the science of Scriptures, through which we learn how to know Christ himself, who is the life of the believer?’ "

Thus the Bible, the "instrument with which God speaks to the faithful every day, becomes the catalyst and source of Christian life for everyone, for all situations."

"To read Scripture is to converse with God: ‘if you are praying,’ Jerome writes to a young noble woman from Rome, ‘you are speaking with the Bridegroom; if you are reading, it is He who is speaking to you.’"

The Pope recalled that for Jerome "an essential method for interpreting Scripture is union with the Church’s magisterium."

"Alone we are not able to read Scripture. We find too many closed doors and are easily mistaken. The Bible was written by the people of God and for the people of God, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit," said Benedict XVI.