We may have thought that reading the Gospel is very complicated because it is so long, and that we will never have time to read all four accounts in their entirety. But appearances can be deceiving.
We can start reading the Gospel of Saint Mark, which is the shortest of them all. It has sixteen chapters, all of similar length. I’ve tried it myself: if you spend just five minutes reading one chapter a day, in barely sixteen days you’ll have read the entire life of Jesus. That way, we’ll learn about his miracles, his parables, his love for sinners, and who the apostles were. Finally, we’ll also discover how much He loves us in the Eucharist, and through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, until He bids us farewell at the Ascension. But at the same time, He remains with us in the Eucharist, gives us His Mother as our Mother, and sends us the Holy Spirit.
Likewise, the other three Gospels show us what is essential, each with its own characteristics. The Gospel of St. Matthew has the most chapters, with twenty-eight; St. Luke has twenty-four, and St. John has twenty-one. In other words, if we add up the chapters of the four Gospels, they total eighty-nine.
If we continue reading—after St. Mark's— Five minutes every day, and in less than three months we’ll have read everything Jesus wants us to know through the four Gospel writers. And the more we read them, the better we’ll come to know Jesus. Reading the Gospels is always the best choice because they are the most important books, being inspired by God. Once again: good things, if brief, are twice as good.
