Category: Bible Study

“If your foot is your undoing, cut it off!” –Mark 9:45 Jesus commands us to gouge out an eye or cut off a hand or foot under two circumstances. Jesus does not mean for us to literally maim ourselves, but He emphasizes that we should go to great extremes to resist temptations, especially temptations to sin sexually (Mt 5:28-29) or to oppose the ministry of another (Mk 9:39-47). Most of us are surprised by these emphases because we don’t think an impure glance or a negative reaction to the ministry of another the worst sins imaginable. However, we must lay...

“To the elders among you I, a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and sharer in the glory that is to be revealed, make this appeal.” –1 Peter 5:1 Today we celebrate the unity which comes from submitting to the authority of the Church through the Pope. Because of their submission to the Pope, Catholics can overcome their personal limitations and cultural blind spots. They can avoid the powerlessness and devastating defeat which accompanies extreme individualism and independence. In war, a common strategy, which has often been used by Satan, is: “Divide and conquer.” In some of the most...

“To the elders among you I, a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and sharer in the glory that is to be revealed, make this appeal.” –1 Peter 5:1 Today we celebrate the unity which comes from submitting to the authority of the Church through the Pope. Because of their submission to the Pope, Catholics can overcome their personal limitations and cultural blind spots. They can avoid the powerlessness and devastating defeat which accompanies extreme individualism and independence. In war, a common strategy, which has often been used by Satan, is: “Divide and conquer.” In some of the most...

“They saw a large crowd standing around, and scribes in lively discussion with them.” –Mark 9:14 A boy was possessed by a mute and deaf spirit, but all the religious leaders could do was discuss it. On another occasion, on the afternoon of His Resurrection, the apostles had abandoned the Lord, then Jesus had been crucified, Judas had committed suicide, but the two disciples on the road to Emmaus made small-talk about major happenings (Lk 24:14-15). “The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power” (1 Cor 4:20). The “preaching of the gospel” should not be “a...

“To you who hear Me, I say, love your enemies.” –Luke 6:27 Loving enemies is more than an attitude. It is expressed in: actions. “Do good to those who hate you” (Lk 6:27). speech. “Bless those who curse you” (Lk 6:28). prayer. “Pray for those who maltreat you” (Lk 6:28). To love is to reach out — even to enemies. We cannot reach out and at the same time be defensive. Our defensiveness, which is our natural reaction to enemies, must be put aside if we are to reach out to them in love. Therefore, Jesus teaches: “When someone slaps...