Catholics face lots of opposition in the media and from the culture, and it is easy to get discouraged, especially when good and holy endeavors don’t work out the way we planned. If the Acts of the Apostles teaches anything, it is that God’s way is always the best way, even if means taking a step back to move that much more …

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God never commands the impossible — although he may command the very difficult.

In all cases, God provides for our needs, and His providence guides and shapes us. There is no clearer example of God’s providential care and preparation of an individual in the New Testament than St. Paul.

After his conversion to Christ, Pa…

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Scripture often takes us on some unexpected turns. Many times these surprises are due to the changing social backdrop that are unknown to us readers, but well known to the Scripture’s original audience.

For example, why did the Jews lack the authority to execute Jesus, but only a few years later in the Acts of the Apostles, are they …

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When Peter and the apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin in Acts 5, a rabbi stood up and ordered the apostles to be removed from the room. The rabbi was Gamaliel.

Many of us might not be familiar with Gamaliel, but we should be. He is among the most revered sages in Judaism. He’s so revered that Jewish literature …

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Where did Jesus make Peter the visible head of His Church? Most people would turn to Matthew 16:17-19, where Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter and says “… upon this rock I will build My Church.” It is also the passage where Jesus gives Peter the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” and the power to bind and loose.

If you look…

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It’s good to stick close to the words of Scripture to avoid distorting its meaning. But sometimes focusing too much on one aspect of a passage can also distort its meaning. A good example of this kind of distortion can be seen in a very important text where Jesus gives the Apostles the authority to forgive sins in John 20…

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Jesus makes a rather cryptic reference in John 10:16 that has sometimes baffled the casual Bible-reader. After speaking about how He will lay down his life for the sheep, Jesus says, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one sh…

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Whenever Scripture says something unexpected or difficult to understand, it usually is a sign something more is going on behind the passage. For example, have you ever noticed the strange turns in Jesus’ conversation with the Jews about Abraham in John 8:51-58?

Jesus says whoever will keep my words will never see dea…

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The first thing that comes to mind when reading the passage in the New Testament about the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11) is our Lord’s profound example of justice and mercy. The background to this passage reveals that his example takes place within a potentially deadly game of entrapment.

When the scribes and …

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It’s amazing how often Jesus does or says something unexpected in the New Testament. These actions are usually surprising because we don’t understand the surrounding historical context.

For example, did you ever wonder why, “On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, ‘Let anyone who thirsts…

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We’re all pretty familiar with this …

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When we write, our words symbolize or point to things. God, however, is so great that not only do His words symbolize, but even things symbolize or point to other things since He is the Lord of history and his Providence directs all.

I wish I could remember which early Church Father said this, because it is a profound …

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The Gospel of John wonderfully depicts Our Lord’s life in a way that is accessible to both the average person as well as the scholar. The wedding at Cana is a great example of how John’s narrative is both easy to understand and enjoyable to the reader yet at the same time deep and profound. In fact, there is an elemen…

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The calling of the apostles is pretty much straightforward. Jesus walks up to fishermen and calls them to follow him and to become “fishers of men.” The meaning is deep, but not very mysterious. The same cannot be said for the calling of Nathaniel. Unlike the usual, “Come follow me,” Nathaniel and Jesus enter into a short dia…

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Even those who don’t read the Bible frequently are familiar with the prologue to St. John’s Gospel, since it’s among the most quoted and memorized words of the New Testament:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, a…

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Did Jesus ever tell us which books belong in the Old Testament? Many Protestants argue that he did and they appeal to Jesus’ words concerning the shedding of the prophets blood being “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah …” (Luke 11:50, Mathew 23:35). It is argued that according to the tra…

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Every Good Boy Does Fine,” my music teacher said, pointing to the staff lines of the music sheet. “The notes are E-G-B-D-F.” Over the years, I still remember the exact note order of the lines on the treble clef because of that little mnemonic device. Mnemonic devices such as this have helped untold millions recall com…

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Our approach to Scripture is very different than how the New Testament uses it. When we study Scripture, we usually start by picking a text and thinking about how it can be applied in…

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From childhood we’ve prayed the Hail Mary with the words, “Hail Mary, full of grace…” These words come from the angel Gabriel’s greeting to the Blessed Virgin in Luke 1:28. If you’ve looked up this verse in different Bibles, however, you may have noticed varying translations. What accounts for this, and what did the ang…

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