January 1: Reflections on the Scripture Readings for the Solemnity of Mary, The Mother of God

An extra Scripture study for Friday, January 1, 2010 and the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God (a holy day of obligation for Catholics). You can find it on my webpage, located here.

Have a blessed holy day, and may you also have a prosperous, healthy, and blessed New Year!

In the Search for "The Historical Jesus," Beware "The Jesus Seminar"

Over at the Catholic Exchange website, there is an excellent article called In Search of the Historical Jesus, by author Louie Verrecchio. Here is an excerpt:

One of the most widely known and oft-quoted academic initiatives undertaken to divide fact from fiction among the Scriptural references to the life of Christ is a scholarly effort called the Jesus Seminar. The Seminar, which is comprised of some 150 individual bible scholars, biblical archaeologists and the like, was co-founded by a former Catholic priest, John Dominic Crossan.

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The group produces Bible translations, publishes position papers, and tours the world giving lectures, all of which outline their collective findings concerning the relative accuracy of those acts and sayings that are attributed to Jesus in Sacred Scripture. For instance, according to the Seminar, claims that Jesus walked on water and raised Lazurus from the dead are categorized as wholly unsustainable.

The secular media often behaves like a kid in a candy store when it comes to such "findings;" eagerly portraying those who believe that these miracles really took place as fanatical and naïve. I am sorry to say, however, that the media are not the only ones who eat this stuff up.

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"Scholarly" endeavors such as those undertaken by the Jesus Seminar are not limited to the confines of non-Catholic and secular institutions as even some professors teaching in our Catholic universities and seminaries have entered into the "historical Jesus" debate as well, sewing the seeds of doubt and division in their classrooms along the way.

This has long been one of my personal pet peeves -- about the tone and timbre of much of the Catholic Bible study materials used by the average Catholic, usually foisted upon them by mostly well meaning local parish or diocesan catechists (their having been taught with these resources themselves and considering them "up to date" and "modern"). This includes incorporating into Bible studies or Scripture classes ideas from the types of scholars discussed above and even referencing and recommending their books. While sometimes the errors found there can be subtle, deep down they are faith-killers for the person who instead was looking to the Scriptures to strenghten and deepen their faith. When that person runs into the type of skeptical, anti-supernaturalist and speculative drivel found in this type of literature, often the response is either "Why bother?" and give up Scripture reading completely, or--worse--conclude that Christianity is based on a series of lies or fables and entirely give up on the Faith as well.

The proper approach of course is to, yes, utilize historical (even critical scholarship) as just one Scripture study tool among many--and as an entirely subserviant tool to the literal meaning of the text and to the analogy of Faith --that is, in the light of what the Church has always taught about the Scriptures and within the rest of Church teaching.

December 27: Reflections on the Scripture Readings for This Sunday's Mass

To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings. Still in the midst of the Christmas season, this Sunday is the Feast of the Holy Family and the Gospel reading is the familiar story of the finding of the child Jesus in the Jerusalem temple.

Here are the Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

My own weekly study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) is not available on my website at this time due to technical difficulties. If you would like a copy, please e-mail me directly and I'll send it right to you. Sorry for any inconvenience! :)

Reflections on the Sunday Scriptures for the younger ones in your family by Emily and Jeff Cavins can be found at Family Night .

Here also is the link to the current weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn, and an audio reflection by Fr. Robert Barron.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

Jesus-era Home Uncovered in Nazareth

You've probably already seen this story from a number of secular newsites, but this version, supplied by EWTN, offers a few more details:

Excavation Uncovers Nazareth Home from Jesus' Time, Provides Unprecedented Window into Ancient Lifestyles

NAZARETH, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Excavations in Nazareth have uncovered an unprecedented discovery: the remains of a family home from Jesus' time.

A press release from the Israel Antiquities Authority announced today that this finding "is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus."

This discovery is giving archaeologists new information about the way of life in Nazareth during Jesus' time.

Yardenna Alexandre, the authority's excavation director, explained: "The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period.

"From the few written sources that there are, we know that in the first century Nazareth was a small Jewish village, located inside a valley. Until now a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth; however, no settlement remains have been discovered that are attributed to this period."

The discovery was made during excavations linked to the construction of the International Marian Center of Nazareth, which is being carried out by the Association Mary of Nazareth.
The center is being built next to the Church of the Annunciation, which tradition holds as the site where Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived.

The press release reported that the ancient building that was uncovered had two rooms and a courtyard with a rock-hewn cistern for collecting rainwater.

A few artifacts were found, including pottery fragments from the first and second centuries. As well, some pieces of chalk vessels were discovered, which were used by Jews because the "vessels were not susceptible to becoming ritually unclean," the authority explained.

Another pit with a hidden entrance was found, which was "probably hewn as part of the preparations by the Jews to protect themselves during the Great Revolt against the Romans in 67," Alexandre noted.

The Association Mary of Nazareth announced its plans to conserve the archeological remains inside its new center.

The center, which is scheduled to be completed next year, will be run by the Chemin Neuf Community, a Catholic organization with an ecumenical mission that is active in 25 countries. It aims to offer multimedia educational tools to teach about Nazareth and its role in the Christian faith.

The reason this story is significant is that there is a pile if literature out there (some as recently as 2008, I've found) that claims there is no evidence that the town of Nazareth ever existed, at least until the fourth century AD at least, and that biblical writers simply invented the town as part of a "Jesus Myth."

Once again, however, archaeology substantiates the biblical record. I say "once again" because many liberal scholars have been of the opinion that there are innumerable instances that such-and-such a person or such-and-such a place mentioned in the Scriptures has no hard evidence for existing outside the Scriptures. The inference is that the Bible, as a historical source, is largely unreliable (there are some parts of the Bible, of course--primarily found in the Old Testament-- that are read like history when they shouldn't be, but that does not apply to or detract from the truly historical accounts found there, especially in the New Testament).

Time and again, however, archaeologists as well as historians studying newly discovered or translated early manuscripts have proven the authenticity and accuracy of the Biblical historical record. This has been the case in finding contemporary evidence of Pontius Pilate, the "House of David," and the ossuary (burial box) of the High Priest Caiphas. More discoveries like this are being made all the time.

Next time your college professor or know-it-all co-worker at the watercooler smirks and tries to tell you the Bible is basically all made-up stories and that there is no scholarly evidence for the existence of a certain person, place or event found in the Bible, just smile and say, "You mean they haven't found it yet."

December 25: Scripture Readings for the Feast of the Nativity (Midnight Mass)

Here is a Bible study Extra for the readings that will be heard at the Midnight Mass for the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas).

Here also are some beautiful and inspiring Scripture meditations and quotes from the Saints on this most blessed time of year found on Don Schwager's site.

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From the Contreras family to you and yours, have a blessed, holy and happy Christmas!

December 20: Reflections on the Scripture Readings for this Sunday's Mass

To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings. This Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Advent and the Gospel reading is the familiar story of Mary's visitation to her cousin, Elizabeth.

Here are the Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

My own weekly study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) is not available on my website at this time due to technical difficulties. If you would like a copy, please e-mail me directly and I'll send it right to you. Sorry for any inconvenience! :)

Reflections on the Sunday Scriptures for the younger ones in your family by Emily and Jeff Cavins can be found at Family Night .

Here also is the link to the current weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn, and an audio reflection by Fr. Robert Barron.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

December 13: Reflections on the Scripture Readings for This Sunday

To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings. This Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent and in the Gospel reading we hear the people asking John the Baptist: "What must we do? "(to prepare the way of the Lord in our lives.)

This is one of my favorite Bible passages and one that intensely captured my imagination when I first started reading the Scriptures.

Here are the Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

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If you want to learn more about John the Baptist as the precursor of Christ and the herald of Advent, go here.

You can find my own weekly study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) on my website. As I mentioned previously, Don has a treasury of beautiful and profound meditations and resources for the Advent season, found here.

Reflections on the Sunday Scriptures for the younger ones in your family by Emily and Jeff Cavins can be found at Family Night .

Here also is the link to the current weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn, and an audio reflection by Fr. Robert Barron.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

December 6: Reflections on the Scripture Readings for This Sunday

To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings. This Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Advent and we will be hearing about John the Baptist and his call to "prepare the way of the Lord."

Here are the Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

If you want to learn more about John the Baptist as the precursor of Christ and the herald of Advent, go here.

You can find my own weekly study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) on my website. As I mentioned last week, Don has a treasury of beautiful and profound meditations and resources for the Advent season, found here. Our family has used these every year since our boys were small.
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Reflections on the Sunday Scriptures for the younger ones in your family by Emily and Jeff Cavins can be found at Family Night .

Here also is the link to the current weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn, and an audio reflection by Fr. Robert Barron.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

Conversions to Catholicism in Shanghai -- From Reading the Bible!

This is such a great story on so many levels. The fact that people are finding Christ. In China. In the Catholic Church. Through reading the Sacred Scriptures.

Shanghai, China, Dec 1, 2009 / 12:04 pm (CNA).- Many conversions are taking place in Shanghai, China, in part thanks to the encouragement of Bible reading and youth outreach programs.

One convert’s story began in a classroom encounter with Catholicism and led to the conversion of another young man he met while reading the Bible at McDonald’s.

While most Catholics in China are born to Catholic parents, many of the nearly 300,000 Catholics in Shanghai are converts, the United Bible Societies China Partnership reports.

One convert, 27-year-old Shen Cheng, had little exposure to the Catholic faith as a youth. He became interested in Catholicism when one of his professors introduced him to a book by American legal scholar Harold J. Berman. The book so interested Cheng in Catholicism that he bought a Catholic Bible.

Exploring Scripture convinced him to convert to Catholicism. He calls the Bible his “daily bread,” essential to his soul’s well-being.

Shen would often read the Bible wherever he went. At one McDonald’s restaurant he frequented he would read the Bible with a crucifix in front of him.

Lu Xiaochen, now 25, was working at the same restaurant part-time during his university vacation. He became curious after seeing Shen reading the Bible each day and began a conversation with him.

Shen shared his faith with Lu. According to United Bible Societies, Shen’s sincerity in answering questions and his love for God made a huge impression on Lu who then decided to be baptized.

See entire article here.

Hey, we have a few Mcdonald's restaurants where you and I are, don't we? What's to stop us from evangelizing in this same manner? Fear? Fear of what? It isn't illegal, you know (not yet, anyway). Fear of human opinion? There is a Chinese proverb that says: “A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion.” And let's not forget Our Lord's words: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

So be not afraid to take that Catholic Bible to McDonald's or anywhere else. You just may lead someone to the Happiest Meal of all--the Table of the Lord.

November 29: Reflections On the Scripture Readings For The 1st Sunday of Advent

To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website. This Sunday is the 1st Sunday in Advent, and features a portion of Jesus' Olivet Discourse from the Gospel according to St. Luke. It also marks the beginining of a new liturgical year; in the three year cycle of readings which the Catholic Church uses, we are going from Cycle B to Cycle C.

You can find my own weekly study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) on my website. Don, by the way, also has some beautiful and profound meditations and resources for the Advent season, found here. Our family has used these every year since our boys were small.

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Reflections on the Sunday Scriptures for the younger ones in your family by Emily and Jeff Cavins can be found at Family Night .

Here also is the link to the current weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

The Beatles, A 1000 Years From Now

This is pretty funny, but it may need some background.

There's a method of interpreting the Bible used by a lot of modern scholars that claims to be able to know what the Bible means simply by looking at what is in the biblical text, in the history of that time, and what they find in other literature written about the same time as the Bible. They then publish large and numerous books of their findings called "the assured results of critical scholarship." Needless to say, they don't take into consideration what the Church has always taught about what the Scriptures say, which is often in conflict with their own findings. This would be merely interesting if it were not the scholarly view that dominates most college and university Scripture programs, as well as most diocesan and parish based Bible studies. It is also the view that is reflected in the footnotes of the translation of the Bible that is most used by American Catholics. This view invaribly leads to a dry, skeptical impression of the Bible by the average Catholic, which in turn also leads to people giving up on studying the Scriptures completely. I've see it happen again and again.

Anyway, this video is a humorous look at what scholars studying the Beatles, using this same type of scholarship, might say about them 1000 years from now (please ignore the usual vulgar You-Tube com-box comments attached to this video. It is a great shortcoming of the internet that any potty-mouthed adolescent has an easy, anonymous forum for inane attention seeking).

November 22: Reflections On the Scripture Readings for Christ the King

To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website. This Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King and the Gospel reading is Jesus' testimony about his Kingdom before Pontius Pilate.

You can find a great article over at the Rosary Light and Life page about the Kingdom of God and how Christ is the King of all creation and of our lives here. If you'd like a MS Word formatted copy of the this particular article, e-mail me and I'll forward it to you. You can find additional articles there on this subject here and here.

You can find my own weekly study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) on my website.

Once again, here are reflections on the Sunday Scriptures for the younger ones in your family with Family Night by Emily and Jeff Cavins.

Here also is the link to the current weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

Ted Sri: Navigating the Scriptures (mp3/RealAudio)

Catholic Answers LIVE
November 16 2009

Navigating the Scriptures

Guest
Ted Sri

Description
BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Edward Sri is provost and professor of theology and Scripture at the Augustine Institute’s Master’s in Catechetics and Evangelization program in Denver, Colorado. He is the author of two Catholic best-selling books, including The New Rosary in Scripture: Biblical Insights for Praying the 20 Mysteries (Servant) and The Da Vinci Deception: 100 Questions About the Facts and Fiction of The Da Vinci Code (Ascension Press) (coauthored with Mark Shea). His most recent book, on men-women relationships, is called Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights on John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility (Servant). He also is the author of Mystery of the Kingdom: On the Gospel of Matthew (Emmaus Road), Queen Mother: A Biblical Theology of Mary’s Queenship (Emmaus Road) and Dawn of the Messiah: The Coming of Christ in Scripture (Servant) and a co-author of the popular apologetics series, Catholic for a Reason. Edward is a founding leader with Curtis Martin of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). He appears on EWTN and regularly writes and speaks on Scripture, apologetics and the Catholic faith. He also serves as a visiting professor at Benedictine College, where he taught full-time for nine years. Edward holds a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He now resides with his wife Elizabeth and their four children in Littleton, Colorado.

Click here to listen to show in Real audio format

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Israel displays coins from ancient Jewish revolt

I just love this stuff. In another life, I could have been an archaeologist:

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel displayed for the first time Wednesday a collection of rare coins charred and burned from the Roman destruction of the Jewish Temple nearly 2,000 years ago.

About 70 coins were found in an excavation at the foot of a key Jerusalem holy site. They give a rare glimpse into the period of the Jewish revolt that eventually led to the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple in A.D. 70, said Hava Katz, curator of the exhibition.

The Jews rebelled against the Roman Empire and took over Jerusalem in A.D. 66. After laying siege to Jerusalem, the Romans breached the city walls and wiped out the rebellion, demolishing the Jewish Temple, the holiest site in Judaism.

The coins sit inside a glass case, some melted down to unrecognizable chunks of pockmarked and carbonized bronze from the flames that destroyed the Temple.

"These really show us the impact of the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century," said Gabriela Bijovsky, an antique coin expert from Israel Antiquities Authority. "These are a very vivid, dramatic example of that destruction."

"The most important coins we have are from those last four or five years of the rebellion against the Roman army, and one coin we found was actually minted very close to the destruction of the Second Temple," she said.

The coins were excavated from an ancient street below the Temple Mount, experts said. Archaeologists had to sift through debris and remove boulders thrown off the Temple Mount during the Roman raid before they found the road and the hoard of coins.

Today the Al Aqsa Mosque compound sits atop the ruins of the temples. Muslims refer to the site as the Noble Sanctuary, marking the spot from where they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The conflicting claims make the site one the most explosive issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The coins are part of a larger exhibition in Jerusalem's Archaeological Garden, showing a collection of antique coins that have been uncovered over the past three decades.

The exhibition shows not only coins minted in Jerusalem during the rebellion but also European, North African and Persian coins that were found around the holy site from various periods.
"This just shows the international character of the city," Katz said. "It shows the importance of Jerusalem to generations of people ... the importance of Jerusalem never faded away for Jews, Christians and Muslims," she said.

[SOURCE]

The destruction of the Temple they are speaking of, of course, is the same incident Jesus was speaking about in the Gospel reading from last Sunday's Mass (see previous blog entry here.]. Funny how the accuracy Scriptures are continually verified by the witness of history.

7th Annual West Coast Biblical Conference, January 22-24, 2010

The folks over at St. Joseph's Communications and The St. Paul Paul Center for Biblical Theology are again offering their premier Bible conference for those who are interested in gaining in their knowledge and love of God's Word. The three speakers are top-notch, and these events are always fun and spiritually fruitful, with lots of great Bible study material available for your buying pleasure.

This years conference is focused on the Gospel of John. Concurrently, The St. Paul Center is offering a free online mp3 on that Gospel. Check it out here (on the right hand side of the page).

Here are the details of the Conference.

The basics:
7th Annual West Coast Biblical Conference
John ~ The Sacramental Gospel
Riverside Convention Center - Riverside, CA
January 22-24, 2010
Speakers:Dr. Scott Hahn, Dr. Brant Pitre and Prof. Michael Barber

Registration is Open!

Hope Amid the Catholic Bible Study Wasteland

Great post over at The Pertinacious Papist about the state of Catholic biblical studies since the Second Vatican Council. As can be attested by any orthodox Catholic who loves the Scriptures but is repulsed by the lifeless critical method of mainstream scholarship, it is positively painful to see what the average Catholic is offered in the way of parish based Scripture study and in Catholic colleges. No wonder so many Catholics who had an initial interest in getting to know more about the Bible end up turning to more invigorating Protestant material and presentations (sometimes making the entire journey to Protestantism as a result), or just say to heck with the whole thing.

It's not not all dead and negative, however, as the writer quoted by the blog (Joe Martin) points out and as I often tell anyone who will listen. There are great Bible study materials if you know where to look for them. That's one of the purposes of this blog and my website, and I hope to be able to post info about where to find said resources as time goes on -- so stay tuned.

November 15: Reflections On the Sunday Mass Scripture Readings

Here are the readings for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website. This Sunday's Gospel is the from the Jesus' Olivet Discourse, where he prophesies the destruction of the Jewish temple as well as his own Second Coming.

Once again, here are reflections on the Sunday Scriptures for the younger ones in your family. Check out Family Night by Emily and Jeff Cavins.

You can find my own study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) on my website.

Here also is the link to the current weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

On the Road and Running Late

Sorry for the delay on posting this week's Scripture study and updating the website. I'm on the road right now and looking for a few minutes to get it done. Hopefully later today we'll have our act together. If you need my own weekly study before then, please e-mail me directly and I'll send it to you. Thanks for your patience!

Question Box: Where Do I Begin?

Q. I just bought my first Bible: where do I start? Do I just dive in or should I have a more structured approach?

A. After a couple of decades of reading and studying the Bible, and of creating and leading Bible studies, I think I've come to the conclusion that to really read the Bible in a way that will help you grow in knowledge and, more important, spiritually, a two track aproach is the best: Devotion and Study.

First, you should be reading the Bible everyday. Just reading it; praying to the Holy Spirit before and after, reading little by little, meditating on that little bit and over time becoming familiar with it. This is really the basis of growing in love for God and his Word and it is something that comes over a long time of doing it. A ready-made way of doing this, of course, is by using the readings that the Church hears at daily Mass. That alone is enough to feed your soul and help it grow.That's number one.

At the same time, if you really want to grow in an in-depth knowledge of the Scriptures (which will also benefit you in your daily Bible reading), you need to study the Scriptures in a more systematic manner. Some people like "topical" Bible studies where you study a theme of Scripture for several weeks (like, for example, about famous men or women in the Bible, courage, faith, stewardship, parenting, discerning God's will, etc.). Personally, I prefer starting out by getting involved in a study which gives you a broad picture of salvation history. Two very popular programs are Jeff Cavins "Great Adventure/Bible Timeline" series and another series Cavin's did with Dr. Scott Hahn on EWTN called "Our Father's Plan." Studies like this will help you get that "Big Picture" that will make the rest of your Bible study come alive and be more understandable.

After that, you should start studying the Bible book by book. There are several ways you can do this. You can join a good Catholic Bible study group if there is one being offered near you. Also, there are a lot of good Catholic Bible study guides and commentaries that you can use (like the Ignatius Study Bible and the Navarre Bible commentaries) to go through each book one by on your own. If you like to download mp3s, there are some very good Catholic Bible studys that you can download and listen to at your leisure. Some can be found at ewtn.com in their audio library (especially studies on the Gospels). There is a site called St. Irenaeus Ministries that has on-going Catholic studies of many books of the Bible. Just these alone should keep you busy for a while.

So, to re-cap: the best way to learn the Bible is to read a little of it every single day for spiritual edification and to grow in familiarity. At the same time, be studying at least one book of the Bible all the time so that you can grow in knowledge and have a solid foundation to your daily Bible reading.If you need more information or resources, please visit my main webpage, found here.

Hope that helps. :)

November 8 -- Reflections On The Scriptures for this Sunday's Mass Readings

Here are the readings for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website. This Sunday's Gospel is the story of the Widow's Mite.

New for this week: reflections on the Sunday Scriptures for the younger ones in your family. Check out Family Night by Emily and Jeff Cavins.

You can find my own study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) on my website.

Here also is the link to the current weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

And finally, the weekly video by Professor Michael Barber on the Sunday readings (not available yet at the time of this posting, but keep checking back here--or there--for updates).

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

November 1: Feast of All Saints, Scripture Readings from Sunday Mass

Here are the readings for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website. This Sunday is the Feast of All Saints (some places may hear the readings from the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time instead. Sorry, I don't have a study for that one.)

You can find my own study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) on my website.

Here also is the link to the current weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn.

New for this week: the Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

And finally, the weekly video by Professor Michael Barber on the Sunday readings.

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

Pope calls Catholics to daily meditation on the Bible

Vatican City, Oct 28, 2009 / 10:37 am (CNA).- At today's General Audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict provided a lesson on the theological renaissance of the 12th century, advising Christians to learn from the monks and set aside time every day to meditate on the Bible, “so that the Word of God will be the lamp that illuminates our daily path on earth."

Benedict XVI began his address to the 15,000 faithful by recalling how the 12th century was a time of a spiritual, cultural and political rebirth in the West. In that time, theology “flourished, refining methods, advancing towards new problems, in contemplation of the mystery of God,” he said.
As fruits of this development, figures such as St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure would appear in the thirteenth century. The two different environments in which this theological activity flourished were monasteries and schools, which would soon gave birth to universities, an invention of medieval Christianity.

Monastic theology, the Pope added, was due to abbots gifted with evangelical fervor and dedicated to inspire and nurture the desire for God. The method was primarily linked to the prayerful contemplation of Holy Scripture and the texts of the Church Fathers. The monks, he expounded, "were devoted to the Sacred Scriptures and one of their main activities consisted in lectio divina, that is, a meditative reading of the Bible." The Holy Father noted the Synod on the Word of God last year recalled the importance of reading Scripture and said it must be built on monastic theology.

"As monastic theology is listening to the Word of God," the Pontiff said, "it is necessary to purify one's heart to welcome it and, above all, one must be full of fervor to encounter the Lord. Theology therefore becomes meditation, prayer, a song of praise, and the impetus for sincere conversion."

The Holy Father emphasized "it is important to reserve a certain time each day for meditation on the Bible so that the Word of God will be the lamp that illuminates our daily path on earth."

See the entire article here.

Reflections On the Sunday Mass Readings for October 25, 2009

Here are the readings for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website. The Gospel reading is the story of the healing of the blind Bartimaeus in Jericho.

You can find my own study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) on my website.

Here also the weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn.

And finally, the weekly video by Professor Michael Barber on the Sunday readings.

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!

Reflections For This Sunday's Scripture Readings: October 18, 2009

Here are the readings for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

You can find my own study (along with Don Schwager's meditation) on my website.

Here also the weekly audio/print meditation on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn.

And finally, the weekly video by Professor Michael Barber on the Sunday readings.

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord's day!