September 19: Study and Meditation for this Sunday's Scripture Readings

To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings. In this Sunday's Gospel Reading, Jesus tells his disciples the parable of the Dishonest Steward. This Sunday is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C.

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

My own weekly study can be found here under "Current Study."

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

Here are three audio reflections on the readings by Sister Ann Shields, Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

Here is a Catholic Bible study podcast on the Gospel Reading, about an hour long, at Sunday Gospel Scripture Study.

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

Further study resources for the Readings: St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

Discussion, questions and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed week!

September 12: Study and Meditations on the Sunday's Scripture Readings

To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings. In this Sunday's Gospel Reading, we hear the much beloved--and challenging-- story of the Prodigal Son. This Sunday is the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C.

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

My own weekly study can be found here under "Current Study."

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

Here are three audio reflections on the readings by Sister Ann Shields, Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

Here is a Catholic Bible study podcast on the Gospel Reading, about an hour long, at Sunday Gospel Scripture Study.

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

Further study resources for the Readings: St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

Discussion, questions and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed week!

September 5th: Study and Meditation 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. In this Sunday's Gospel Reading, Jesus warns those who would follow him to count the cost of doing so. This Sunday is the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C.

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

My own weekly study can be found here under "Current Study."

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

Here are three audio reflections on the readings by Sister Ann Shields, Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

Here is a Catholic Bible study podcast on the Gospel Reading, about an hour long, at Sunday Gospel Scripture Study.

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

Further study resources for the Readings: St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

Discussion, questions and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed week!

What Was the Story of "The Tower of Babel" All About?

In the Catholic Answers "Quick Questions" newsletter I receive by e-mail each day, there was an interesting question asked and answer given about the familiar story in Genesis 11. I don't think I've heard this particular interpretation on the event, so I thought I'd share:

Q: “ What was the sin of the tower of Babel?"

A: A Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture explains Genesis 11:1-9 as follows:

The inhabitants of the city started to build a great stage-tower zigguarat, which they raised to some considerable height and then were unable to complete. The massive remains were a visible reminder of the ineffectual attempt which tradition recorded to have been accompanied by discord and consequent migration of many of the population. This meager historical record explains why the sacred writer did not mention the nature of the sin which led to the frustration of the grandiose design. But his deep conviction of God’s overruling government of the world taught him that the attempt had been displeasing to God and the narrative suggests that the sin was one of overweening human pride and self-sufficiency.

The story has been widely understood to tell of a miraculous intervention by which different languages were introduced and the population thus became unable to understand one another. But it must be noted that the different groups among not only the Japhethites and Chamites, 10:5,20, but also among the Semites, 10:31, are already recorded to have had their various languages, and as the two former groups are already out of the story, the origin of languages is not recorded here. Moreover, the word for "languages" is lason which is that used in 10:5, 20, 31. In our passage this word is not found. That used is sapah, "lip," which also signifies "utterance." The natural meaning here is that the people at first in complete harmony "all saying the same thing" fell out among themselves and could not agree upon a common policy; and as a result of the discord (and possibly of fighting) there was a migration. Already in the fourth century St. Gregory of Nyssa was quite emphatic that God did not miraculously impose different languages on mankind. (192-193)

The Jerome Commentary on Genesis 11:1-9 says:

The evil is in their desire to "make a name" for themselves (cf. 12:2) rather than in the attempt to build a tower "with its top in the heavens" . . . Human smallness, not divine impotence, is emphasized in the Lord’s descent (vs. 5). The plural in verse 7 may reflect the concept of God’s royal court, an early idea in Israel. The punishment had been anticipated in verse 4. The name of the city, Babel, is here associated with the Hebrew root bll, "to confound." The great city and its (implied) defeat thus becomes synonymous with man’s revolt against God and its consequences. (17)

For more information about the getting Catholic Answers "Quick Questions," go here.

August 29: Study and Meditations 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. In this Sunday's Gospel Reading, Jesus teaches about humility and avoiding favoritism.

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

My own weekly study can be found here under "Current Study."

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

Here are three audio reflections on the readings by Sister Ann Shields, Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

Here is a Catholic Bible study podcast on the Gospel Reading, about an hour long, at Sunday Gospel Scripture Study.

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

Further study resources for the Readings: St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

Discussion, questions and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed week!

August 15, The Assumption of Mary: Study and Meditations 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 the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

For an explanation of this mystery of our Faith, see the apologetics tract from Catholic Answers, "Immaculate Conception and Assumption."

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

My own weekly study can be found here under "Current Study."

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

Here are three audio reflections on the readings by Sister Ann Shields, Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

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

Further study resources for the Readings: St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

Discussion, questions and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed week!

August 8: Study and Meditations on This Sunday's Scripture Readings

To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday's Scripture readings. This Sunday we hear Jesus' explain the importance of our being found ready for him when he comes again at the end of time, or when we meet him at the end of our lives.

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

My own weekly study can be found here under "Current Study."

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

Here are two audio reflections on the readings by Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

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

Further study resources for the Readings: St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

Here is a Catholic Bible study podcast on the Gospel Reading, about an hour long, at Sunday Gospel Scripture Study.

Discussion, questions and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed week!