The 7 Pillars of Catholic Spirituality by Matthew Kelley: The Scriptures

No.4: The Scriptures – There are 27 books of the New Testament & 46 books of the Old Testament.  This is the story of God revealing himself to his chosen people, to whom you belong through your baptism.  You need to know this story, because it is your story.  Mr. West is right that the readings from Mass are not enough – you have to do your homework away from Mass to get much out of the readings during Mass.  His first suggestion is good: start by reading the Gospels over & over (I recommend Mark or Matthew first, save John for last!), because you do need to “work out who Jesus was.” But I would say next read Genesis & Exodus, because you need to know the set up of the story to understand the ending.  From there you will be well enough equipped to go where you like. 

You will need to know about Abraham & the patriarchs, because this is God’s first calling together of a people in whom all the nations of earth will be blessed.  You need to know about Moses & the events of the Exodus.  You need to know the stories of King David because Jesus is his promised heir.  You need to know the prophecies & events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem & the Jews’ exile in Babylon, because from this destruction & restoration, God would promise to achieve a definite victory & restoration.  You need to know the stories of the apostles & the early Church, because the Church is the New Jerusalem, the promised kingdom of God on earth.  Pray the Psalms continuously throughout.  Memorize Psalm 1.  The Scriptures are powerful, even God’s word to man, so be very familiar with them, at least in their major parts & themes. 

But you don’t have to go it alone. I would say that going it alone is a sure way to end in error.  The Church gave the world the Scriptures (yes, it inherited the Jewish Scriptures), & through its living memory of Jesus Christ, it is authorized to interpret them correctly.  So you have a trustworthy guide.  The Church has given us a great number of tools to understand the Scriptures; these are found in the Vatican II Constitution Dei Verbum (The Word of God), as well as in the Catechism (esp. paragraphs 50-141).  Armed with these tools, humility, & prayer,  Christians can connect to their living history in a profound way & can grow in unity with Christ Jesus, the Word made flesh, who speaks to his people anew in every age through the proclamation of his word.