1. I am doing pretty good on going through the Bible in a non-specific period of time. I usually make it through in a year, more or less.
So far so good.
2. Bible memory - I keep forgetting to include that in my daily routine. So, here I go again.
I think it’s very important to do. Just a little bit every day.
Okay, I posted this on some guy’s You Tube video. He claims to be Catholic. He’s gathering a group around himself and trying to be their fearless leader in all things religious and political. I’ll post the exchange here.
He said in his video that he wanted to compare older Bible translations with newer ones to find something about something.
I expect to be banned. We shall see.
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I said:
I fear that what you are trying to do with comparing Bible translations is show that the Bible has been changed. A better approach to Bible study is to actually study the Bible. If you want a good Catholic resource, Fr. Mike’s reading through the Bible podcast is excellent. If you want a good Protestant resource, then Bible Gateway is a great resource, as is the Bible app. Bible Gateway has all the translations you could imagine. Bible Gateway is good because you can line up several translations side by side and compare if you’re so inclined. There are also parallel Greek-English versions with literal translations as well. I think you’re missing the purpose of Bible study if your goal is to point out errors in translation and how eeeevil elitists are deliberately messing with the text. Meh. There was a big kerfuffle about Pope Francis changing the Lord’s Prayer! Horrors! Just like there is fake news about President Trump, there is a lot of fake news about the Pope. Many Catholics don’t like him. That’s fine, but he didn’t change the Lord’s Prayer. Then there’s the Mandela effect theory that the lion and lamb thing was changed to lion and wolf. Again. That’s nonsense. Then there are those who claim that the book of Enoch was banned! Nonsense. If it had been banned, why is it so easy to find and read? The Ethiopian Orthodox Church accepts it as inspired. The book has been around for a long time. One problem I see with it is that it’s all about judgment with little or no grace. It’s very different from the OT prophets.
[Here’s a better explanation of the place of the book of Enoch in Church history. I should have said Ethopian Coptic Church. https://evidenceforchristianity.org/what-is-the-banned-book-of-enoch/] Some have elaborate theories about the Nephelim and all that. Great for science fiction. Not so great for building one up in the faith. I have noticed that those who get into the Book of Enoch theories get farther and farther away from Jesus. It’s not edifying except as an interesting book of ancient literature that had some influence on the Jewish culture and therefore the NT. Anyway, be careful my beloved brother. There are many false prophets out there. Don’t get sucked in.
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He responded:
Tell you what. I'll decide for myself what my best resources will be. I will not consider your opinions to be of any value on any subject. Ok?
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My response:
Tell you what. The Bible is God’s Word, and your opinion does not matter, nor does mine. It is a matter of faith. I will continue to give out reliable resources on Scripture until and unless you ban me. If you are Catholic, then study the Catechism. Otherwise, quit saying you are Catholic. It is not a religion that you get to make up as you go along.
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This guy can make up whatever he wants. What he can’t do is call it Catholic. Same goes for anyone, including me, and including even the Pope.
The Catholic position on the Canon of Scripture is clearly stated in the documents of the Council of Trent. It’s not a matter of blind acceptance of what the Church declares. There is enough evidence supporting the Church’s position to fill an Amazon warehouse and maybe more.
Again, if someone claims to be Catholic, then try to know what that means. Otherwise go ahead and be a cult of one.
BTW, the same goes for any Protestant denomination. If someone wishes to claim membership in any of them, then know what that church teaches. All of them put out statements of faith and give membership classes so people will know what is being taught and try to faithfully represent that faith.
One of the dangerous things in Christianity is an anti-traditionalist, extreme libertarian view of the faith.
I think that a false dichotomy has been set up in the minds of many. The phrase “Christianity is a relationship, not a religion”is false.
Yes. Our faith is primarily about having a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Yes. We enter into a relationship with Him. That relationship is compared to marriage in Ephesians 5.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[b]her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”[c] 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Our faith is also a religion.
I grew up in the Baptist religion - for which I am extremely grateful. There are many things I still love about that religion - and yes, it is a religion. We were never taught that it was okay to not be an active member of a local congregation. In fact, we were taught that church attendance was expected of all believers in Christ.
We just didn’t like the word “religion”, but it didn’t mean we didn’t practice our faith. It’s a question of semantics not meant to discourage church attendance or good works. Avoiding the word “religion” is part of the Baptist religion. No big deal, IMO. And my opinion is not an article of faith.
What about the Bible? Read it. Pick up whatever copy you have lying on your shelf and read. That’s what St. Augustine did after all.
Except the New World Translation, but even the JWs couldn’t mess the Bible up completely.
The Bible will lead you to Christ if you allow it to. Start with the Gospels.
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From St. Augustine: Confessions of Saint Augustine
So was I speaking and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when, lo! I heard from a neighbouring house a voice, as of boy or girl, I know not, chanting, and oft repeating, “Take up and read; Take up and read. “ Instantly, my countenance altered, I began to think most intently whether children were wont in any kind of play to sing such words: nor could I remember ever to have heard the like. So checking the torrent of my tears, I arose; interpreting it to be no other than a command from God to open the book, and read the first chapter I should find. For I had heard of Antony, that coming in during the reading of the Gospel, he received the admonition, as if what was being read was spoken to him: Go, sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me: and by such oracle he was forthwith converted unto Thee. Eagerly then I returned to the place where Alypius was sitting; for there had I laid the volume of the Apostle when I arose thence. I seized, opened, and in silence read that section on which my eyes first fell: Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, in concupiscence. No further would I read; nor needed I: for instantly at the end of this sentence, by a light as it were of serenity infused into my heart, all the darkness of doubt vanished away.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Romans 1
- Open my eyes, that I may see
- Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
- Place in my hands the wonderful key
- That shall unclasp and set me free.
- Refrain 1:
- Silently now I wait for Thee,
- Ready my God, Thy will to see,
- Open my eyes, illumine me,
- Spirit divine!
- Open my ears, that I may hear
- Voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
- And while the wave notes fall on my ear,
- Everything false will disappear.
- Refrain 2:
- Silently now I wait for Thee,
- Ready my God, Thy will to see,
- Open my ears, illumine me,
- Spirit divine!
- Open my mind, that I may read
- More of Thy love in word and deed;
- What shall I fear while yet Thou dost lead?
- Only for light from Thee I plead.
- Refrain 3:
- Silently now I wait for Thee,
- Ready my God, Thy will to see,
- Open my mind, illumine me,
- Spirit divine!
- Open my mouth, and let me bear,
- Gladly the warm truth everywhere;
- Open my heart and let me prepare
- Love with Thy children thus to share.
- Refrain 4:
- Silently now I wait for Thee,
- Ready my God, Thy will to see,
- Open my heart, illumine me,
- Spirit divine!
Matthew 23:11The greatest among you shall be your servant.Word association.: Serve. Listen. Go. Preach. Share. Live. Named. Savior. Samuel (see his call in 1 Samuel 3)
Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, [a] and to enjoy him for ever. [b][a]. Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21; Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 6:20; 10:31; Rev.4:11[b]. Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:10; Phil. 4:4; Rev.21:3-4What area are you supposed to live this mission out? We are all called to be servants and even sent ones, but not all have the same job. See the Body of Christ teaching in Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 12, etc.
Chapter 15[a]The Gospel Teaching.[b] 1 Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. 2 Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 [c]For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; 4 that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; 5 that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. 9 For I am the least[d] of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God [that is] with me. 11 Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
A. Basic Definition
theological virtues - from the Free Dictionary
pl n(Theology) (esp among the scholastics) those virtues that are infused into man by a special grace of God, specifically faith, hope, and charity. Compare natural virtues
B. Scripture
1 Corinthians 13:13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
He who has a will is said be good, so far as he has a good will; because it is by our will that we employ whatever powers we may have. Hence a man is said to be good, not by his good understanding; but by his good will. Now the will relates to the end as to its proper object. Thus the saying, "we exist because God is good" has reference to the final cause.
Luke 2:14 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)14 [a]“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”Footnotes:New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
- 2:14 On earth peace to those on whom his favor rests: the peace that results from the Christ event is for those whom God has favored with his grace. This reading is found in the oldest representatives of the Western and Alexandrian text traditions and is the preferred one; the Byzantine text tradition, on the other hand, reads: “on earth peace, good will toward men.” The peace of which Luke’s gospel speaks (Lk 2:14; 7:50; 8:48; 10:5–6; 19:38, 42; 24:36) is more than the absence of war of the pax Augusta; it also includes the security and well-being characteristic of peace in the Old Testament.
Luke 2:14 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)14 Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.
Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus tells the crowd that they will receive no sign except the sign of Jonah, which was a prophetic code for his Death and Resurrection.
Matthew 1128 [o]“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,[p] and I will give you rest. 29 [q]Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Here is an excerpt from Bishop Robert Barron's reflection on today's Gospel passage. All of his reflections can be found at the website FREE Daily Gospel Reflections from Bishop Robert Barron.
Many Protestants read Bishop Barron. He is one of the best apologists for Christianity in our day. He's not just for Catholics. He is appreciated by all kinds of Christians, yet he is definitely Catholic. Give him a hearing. See what you think. Friends, today’s Gospel gives us the parable of the sower... A recent poll concerning religious attitudes in America shows that most Americans favor a radical tolerance in regard to religious beliefs. It also shows a shocking ignorance in regard to belief systems, dogmas, and the history of one’s own religion. There’s nothing in the world wrong with tolerance, but it can sometimes be a cover for indifference.Bishop Barron is mostly addressing the Catholic Church's failure to properly teach her people. Therefore many just go along with the cultural norm of radical tolerance as if their own faith doesn't matter much at all. Protestants make this mistake as well. I like the point he makes about radical tolerance sometimes being a cover for indifference. Yes, all Christians need to learn to get along with those who are of different faiths. However, all Christians should know and be able to explain the basics of why they believe in Christ. Besides, there are some practices that should not be tolerated by anyone. I remember reading about how the Protestant missionary, William Carey and a renowned Hindu teacher joined together to outlaw the practice of widow burning in India. Carey argued from a Biblical standpoint. The Hindu philosopher from his own faith. The practice went against both and was a custom that needed to be abolished. The Little Woman, Gladys Aylward used her friendship with the local Mandarin to get the custom of foot-binding outlawed in China. St. Teresa of Calcutta's work is well-known. St. Damian of Molokai is famous for his work in a leper colony in Hawaii. Wilberforce's work to end the trans-Atlantic slave trade is well-known as well, along with the efforts of many other Christian abolitionists. I could give many more examples of how Christians should not practice a lazy, indifferent form of radical tolerance. Also, since Christ died to save people from their sins, shouldn't Christians be happy to share that Good News in the most loving way possible? If Christians are indifferent to what their faith is, then how will people know that Christ died to save sinners? |
If there is one theme clearly stated in the New Testament it is that of the primacy of grace.
We just know that we will not lift ourselves to spiritual wholeness. A gaze has to come upon us from the outside. Not so much finding God as allowing ourselves to be found.
To come to Christ is to come to a higher, richer, broader form of life. Now life is not simply the pleasures and goods of the body; now life is lived in and through God.
