Re-assessing the Role of the Pharisees in the New Testament

1. Premise: a common perception of the Pharisees It has become traditional in the general readings of the New Testament to think of Jesus as being at war with the Pharisees, and their theological perspectives. This ordinary impression … [Read more...]

Sacramental Ecclesiology in the Loaves and Fishes

In Catholicism, there are those big-time verses that the Church has dogmatically defined as dealing with central questions of doctrine. The papacy is found at Mt 16:18 when Christ himself names Peter as the rock of the one Church he has now … [Read more...]

Early Fall Reading

The Beach Teacher Scriptural Lessons from the Shore, Alexander J. Basile, (St. Pauls, 2015) 103 pages; $8.95. ISBN978-0-8189-1383-9. Reviewed by Eileen T. Warner M.A.P.M. My Brother’s Keeper — A Novel about the Family of Jesus. B. Kas … [Read more...]

God’s Armor versus the Devil’s Stratagems

Spiritual Combat Revisited

Introduction To say that we are living in thoroughly trying times is unfortunately neither an exaggeration nor a platitude. We are witnessing the symmetrically opposite progression of falling ethical standards on the one hand, and rising … [Read more...]

Pentecost, the New Babel

One of the most beautiful and profound parallels of our dear Catholic faith is the notion of types and analogies. This means that many things in the Old Testament are foreshadowing of things in the New, or that certain things that were … [Read more...]

“Do This in Remembrance of Me”

The Most Holy Eucharist is the heart of Catholic Christianity. The reason for this is obvious: the Eucharist generates the Mystical Body of Christ and the Mystical Body of Christ is the Church (The Catechism of the Catholic Church {CCC} … [Read more...]

On Whose Authority…

Jesus has a peculiar, almost provocative way of opening up the deeper recesses of prejudices for inspection. In the New Testament, this is often by way of a rabbinical question. "You ask by what authority I make these proclamations: I will … [Read more...]

Winter Reading for February 2016

The Ancient Path: Old Lessons from the Church Fathers for a New Life Today. John Michael Talbot with Mike Aquilina. (New York: Image, 2015) 203 pages; $22.00. (Reviewed by Ken Colston) Richard John Neuhaus (A Life in the Public Square). … [Read more...]

Winter Reading for January 2016

Introducing the Old Testament: An Overview of Its Content and Its Message. John F. Fink. (Staten Island, NY: St. Paul’s Publishing, 2015) 136 pages; $12.95. (Reviewed by Kenneth Colston) The Marian Mystery: Outline of a Mariology. Denis F … [Read more...]

Summer Reading for August 2015

Soul-Centered: Spirituality for People on the Go. Jim Clarke. (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2015) 144 pages; $14.95. (Reviewed by Melinda Selmys) _____________ Make the Words Your Own: An Early Christian Guide to the Psalms. Benjamin … [Read more...]

Summer Reading for August 2015

The One-Minute Aquinas: The Doctor’s Quick Answers to Fundamental Questions. Kevin Vost, Psy.D. (Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2014) 265 pages. $24.15. (Reviewed by Jeffrey S. Burwell, SJ) The Saint Jerome Study Bible: Genesis t … [Read more...]

Questions Answered

Interpreting the Book of Job; Spiritual Communion: what it is, and what are its benefits.

Question: One of the more problematic books in Scripture is the Book of Job. Many Scripture scholars find it impossible to interpret. Is there some interpretation which might see a unifying theme? Answer: The Book of Job occupies a … [Read more...]

Mary, Daughter of Zion

In the ancient Near East, a woman, often evoked as a virgin, was frequently used to symbolize a city or a country. For example, at Isaiah 47:1, the city of Babylon is called a “virgin daughter”: “Step down! Sit in the dust, virgin daughter o … [Read more...]

Winter Reading for December 2014

31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator. Jared Dees (Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press: 2013) 164 pages; $9.95. (Reviewed by Brandon Harvey) The Power of Four: Keys to the Hidden Treasures of the Gospels. Eduardo P. … [Read more...]

A Silence about Mary

Mary is very central to the Gospel’s infancy narratives, but after Cana she almost disappears: we see her in the “Who are my mother and my brothers and my sisters?” passage, at the foot of the cross, and as being present at the Pentecost eve … [Read more...]