The Catholic Church has always encouraged Christians to read the Bible. As the Second Vatican Council declared in 1965,

in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life.

[The Church encourages] all the Christian faithful . . . to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the ‘excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ’ (Phil. 3:8). ‘For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ’(St. Jerome). Therefore, they should gladly put themselves in touch with the sacred text itself, whether it be through the liturgy, rich in the divine word, or through devotional reading . . . .

And let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together; for ‘we speak to Him when we pray; we hear him when we read his divine words’ (St. Ambrose).

The Scriptures not only tell us about God. Through them, God himself speaks to us, and we come to know God. We don’t just know about him, but get to know God himself. We become familiar with who he is, how much he loves us and what he wants for us and from us, in order for us be happy. To read the Scriptures prayerfully is probably the best way to grow closer to God, and the most fruitful way of spending time with him.