Category: Bible Study

“Blow the trumpet in Zion! proclaim a fast.” —Joel 2:15 I have written One Bread, One Body for about twenty years. Most of the time I have written these daily teachings in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Occasionally, I have to write these teachings on airplanes and at other sundry locations. Today, on this first day of Lent, I write from my hospital bed with an IV in my arm, as I await potential surgery. Today, throughout the world, many millions of Catholics hear the sobering words: “Remember, man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.”...

“When Jesus arrived at the house His disciples began to ask Him privately, ‘Why is it that we could not expel it?’ He told them, ‘This kind you can drive out only by prayer.’ ” —Mark 9:28-29 Demons are part of everyday life on earth. The Lord allows demons to tempt us and even harass us. We live in the midst of demonic degradation and destruction (see 1 Pt 5:8; Eph 6:12). However, we can greatly minimize demonic influence in our surroundings by being baptized and living fully our Baptisms. When we were baptized, we rejected Satan, all his works,...

“But what I say to you is: offer no resistance to injury.” —Matthew 5:39 Jesus sounds so naive. Everybody knows we must resist injury. Jesus says that after we’ve been hit on one cheek, we should turn the other. We’ll seemingly get killed if we take His advice. However, the Sermon on the Mount is not “advice”; it is the Lord’s command. Nonetheless, we rationalize that Jesus’ message in the Sermon on the Mount is poetic, symbolic, anything but literal. Sometimes Jesus does not speak literally, as when He said to gouge out our eye (Mt 5:29). So we’re tempted...

“Jesus replied, ‘Blest are you, Simon son of Jonah! No mere man has revealed this to you, but My heavenly Father. I for My part declare to you, you are “Rock,” and on this rock I will build My Church.’ ” —Matthew 16:17-18 Only the Catholic Church would celebrate a chair. We Catholics don’t need much of a reason for a party. The chair represents the authority of the Pope and the unity of the Church. We believe Jesus chose St. Peter as leader of the Church and intended that others succeed Peter as its leader. We rejoice in this...