He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”-Luke 11:1-4 NRSV Lord Teach Me The reading... Read more
You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the... Read more
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so now I repeat,... Read more
This is one of those rare instances on this blog where I stray from my normal posts. Over the last few months I have attempted not to get political. I’m not even sure that this one will qualify as political as it it definitely falls under a moral lesson. Lesson In Futility Yesterday President Donald Trump announced that he and his wife tested positive for COVID-19. While there were plenty of people providing prayerful sentiments, I was shocked to see... Read more
The account of the promise of God to Abraham is an extremely important part of the Pentateuch. It is this promise that sees a nation come from him. Abraham, formerly Abram, was told to move from his home and he obeyed without question. It is this faith that causes God to show favor on Abraham. God tells him to look at the stars and his descendants will outnumber them (Gn 15:5). It is here we find the patriarch questioning because... Read more
In chapter three of the letter to the Hebrews the inspired author tells the readers that Jesus is superior to Moses. This is significant in many respects, and the writer does this to remind them of their new faith and responsibility to the gospel. Moses And The Old Covenant In doing this the writer uses his great Old Testament knowledge and referenced Numbers 12:7-8 and Psalm 95:7-11 in Hebrews 3:3-5. This selection from the Pentateuch describes Moses as the agent... Read more
Paul Wants Unity For The Church One of the central themes in all of Christendom is that of unity. Though there are many denominations Christians everywhere consider themselves to be in the family of God. However within the Catholic Church we have something that the other churches do not. We have the body, soul, and divinity of Christ present with us in the Eucharist (Our Orthodox brethren are the only exception). In the Catholic Church we are a family, and in that... Read more
In the previous two articles there has been much said about apostolic succession, but I think some clarification is in order. Apostolic succession is much more than one taking an office from a predecessor, though that is part of it. In combating the Gnostics, St. Irenaeus listed apostolic succession as a key to knowing the true church. The great saint boasted in each bishop being able to trace his lineage to the apostles. Today each bishop in the Catholic Church... Read more
Arianism, Church Fathers, And Apostolic Succession The temptation when looking at the Arian controversy is to immediately look to the Council of Nicea. However there is much more to the church’s response. As any good Pastor would be, Bishop Alexander became concerned by the teaching of one of his priests. This error has eternal consequences for those who became wooed by this new doctrine. Alexander admits that he initially ignored the false doctrines and hoped they would die out on... Read more
To those who study Church history the Arians are a familiar foe of orthodoxy. The heresy came to the forefront in the 4th century, and was declared heretical at the Council of Nicea in 325 and again at the Council of Constantinople in 381. How was the proper view of Christ upheld? Was it strictly by St. Athanasius’s brilliant exposition of scripture? No doubt that was part of the equation, but Arius was also pleading his case from sacred scripture. Apostolic... Read more
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