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Bible Study Evangelista - Spiritual Rosary Pilgrimage

Category: Social Justice Tag: Bible reading, faith, faith and works, social justice

 

Join me, Christopher West, Scott Hahn, Edward Sri, Fr. Calloway, Fr. Larry Richards, Fr. Patalinghug, Fr. Pacwa, Jason Evert, Fr. Spitzer, Ralph Martin, Sisters of the Immaculata, Christine Wood, and a slew of other top-notch Catholic speakers for the

The Spiritual Rosary Pilgrimage,

FREE ONLINE event starting this week of the Feast of the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary and finishing on the 7th of October, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary!

Join over 50000 pilgrims ready to celebrate the Blessed Virgin & the Life of Christ! Daily rosary video meditations by the speakers come to you via email when you

Sign up here!

New series will begin in October.

Bible Study Evangelista - 09 Justice & Society

Category: Social Justice Tag: Bible reading, faith, faith and works, social justice

 

Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the “virtue of religion.” [Worship.] Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor (CCC 1807).

“Justice is a habit whereby a man renders to each one his due by a constant and perpetual will” (St. Thomas Aquinas).

“For the rich man in the Gospel who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day, is not said to have stolen what belonged to others, but to have used what was his own unfruitfully; and hell received him after this life, not because he did anything unlawful but because by immoderate indulgence he gave up his whole self to what was lawful” (St. Augustine).

Topics Discussed:

Summary of the seven Catholic social justice principles

Justice as a biblical concept

Justice in society

Overview:

Minutes 00:12:00 – Recap of series, CSJ principles 1-5   

Minutes 12:01-24:00 – CSJ priciples 6-7, justice and righteousness in the Bible

Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Human justice and God’s justice

Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Some Church Fathers and Doctors on justice, justice as redemption and forgiveness

Additional Resources:

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Book, Amazon: Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and USCCB

Bible Study Evangelista - Care for Creation

Category: Social Justice Tag: Bible reading, faith, faith and works, social justice

 

“On this earth there is room for everyone: here the entire human family must find the resources to live with dignity, through the help of nature itself—God’s gift to his children—and through hard work and creativity. At the same time we must recognize our grave duty to hand the earth on to future generations in such a condition that they too can worthily inhabit it and continue to cultivate it.” —Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), no. 50

Topics Discussed:

Catholic social justice principle #8, Care for Creation

Creation as home-building, covenant making, and Sabbath keeping

Church documents on caring for creation

Overview:

Minutes 00:12:00 – Solidarity with creation and the poor   

Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Creation as home-building, covenant making, and Sabbath keeping

Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Transgressing the land’s Sabbaths causes slavery

Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Church documents on care for the earth: Laudato Si, On the Hundreth Year, Caritas in Veritate

Additional Resources:

More on Care of Creation from the Bible and Church documents 

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Book, Amazon: Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and USCCB

Bible Study Evangelista - 07 Solidarity

Category: Social Justice Tag: Bible reading, faith, faith and works, social justice

This highly detailed image of the Crab Nebula combines data from telescopes spanning nearly the entire breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum. The picture includes data from five different telescopes: the Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared) in yellow; the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (radio) in red; Hubble Space Telescope (visible) in green; XMM-Newton (ultraviolet) in blue; and Chandra X-ray Observatory (X-ray) in purple.

Notice that the green color is all we can (could) see with our own eyes. The rest is invisible to natural human sight.

Topics Discussed:

Catholic social justice principle #6, solidarity and connectedness

Quantum mechanics and God

Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate)

St. Catherine of Sienna’s Dialogue 

St. Thomas Aqunias’ Summa on being (existence), evil, and angels

Overview:

Minutes 00:12:00 – Solidarity as oneness, the science behind oneness   

Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Quantum mechanics and God 

Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Love as the connecting energy, Matthew 18:21-34 and the parable of the unforgiving servant

Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Gratitude and forgiveness as ways to act in solidarity with all

Additional Resources:

More on Solidarity from the Bible and Church documents 

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Book, Amazon: Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and USCCB

Bible Study Evangelista - 06 Dignity of Work & the Rights of Workers

Category: Social Justice Tag: Bible reading, faith, faith and works, social justice

For us as believers the dignity of work comes out of the whole theology of creation. Work is part of human dignity and written in natural law. As the parables of the talents and vineyard illustrate, every human being is created and gifted with special privileges – physical privileges, spiritual privileges, mental privileges, economic privileges, social privileges – precisely in order to use and work in them as God’s hands and feet on behalf of others, to make the world a more just and loving place. 

The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in Gods creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected–the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.

Topics Discussed:

Catholic social justice principle #5, the dignity of work and the rights of workers

Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate)

Equity vs. equality

Privilege 

Overview:

Minutes 00:12:00 – The dignity of work and theology of creation, the parable of the talents

Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Equality vs. equity, privilege

Minutes 24:01-36:00 – The parable of the vineyard

Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Ways to protect and defend the dignity of work and the rights of workers

Additional Resources:

More on the Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers from the Bible and Church documents 

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Book, Amazon: Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and USCCB

Bible Study Evangelista - 05 Option for the Poor

Category: Social Justice Tag: Bible reading, faith, faith and works, social justice

A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.

“The poor not only suffer injustice, they also struggle against it! . . . [Solidarity] means that the lives of all take priority over the appropriation of goods by a few. It also means fighting against the structural causes of poverty and
inequality; of the lack of work, land and housing; and of the denial of social and labor rights. It means confronting the destructive effects of the empire of money: forced dislocation, painful emigration, human trafficking, drugs,
war, violence and all those realities that many of you suffer and that we are all called upon to transform . . . Love for the poor is at the center of the Gospel.” —Pope Francis, Address to the First World Meeting of Popular Movements

Topics Discussed:

Catholic social justice principle #4, the preferential option for the poor and vulnerable 

How to serve without superiority

What Jesus meant by “take my ‘yoke’ upon you” 

Overview:

Minutes 00:12:00 – The secret to successful ministry, the preferential option for the poor   

Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Who are the poor, how do I serve them?

Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Serving without superiority, enabling the poor to thrive

Minutes 36:01-48:00 – The primary purpose of the option for the poor: to enable them to become active participants in society.

Additional Resources:

Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium)

St. Ambrose, “You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are giving him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are meant to be for the common use of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich.” (Populorum Progressio,Pope Paul VI, 23)

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Book, Amazon: Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and USCCB

The Bible Study Evangelista - 04 Responsibilities & Rights

Category: Social Justice Tag: Bible reading, faith, faith and works, social justice

 

“In human society one man’s natural right gives rise to a corresponding duty in other men; the duty, that is, of recognizing and respecting that right. Every basic human right draws its authoritative force from the natural law, which confers it and attaches to it its respective duty. Hence, to claim one’s rights and ignore one’s duties, or only half fulfill them, is like building a house with one hand and tearing it down with the other.” —St. John XXIII, Peace on Earth (Pacem in Terris), no. 30

SHOW NOTES

Topics Discussed:

Catholic social justice principle #3, rights and responsibilities 

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus

US foreign aid

 

Overview:

Minutes 00:12:00 – Responsibilities and rights are inseparable, the contemporary imbalance   

Minutes 12:01-24:00 – The Bill of Rights, healthcare, single-parent families, smoking, abortion

Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Rights begin with responsibility, Lazarus and the rich man

Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Freedom is for responsibility, the responsibility of the wealthy toward the poor

 

Additional Resources:

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Book, Amazon: Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and USCCB

Pacem in Terris, Peace on Earth, Pope John XXIII

Bible Study Evangelista - 03 Call to Family, Community, & Participation

 Category: Social Justice Tag: Bible reading, faith, faith and works, marriage, social justice

The person is not only sacred but also social. “We have all known the long loneliness, and we have learned that the only solution is love, and that love comes with community” (Servant of God, Dorothy Day). How we organize our society — in economics and politics, in law and policy — directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community.

Marriage and the family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. “The family… is the first and most important school of mercy, in which we learn to see God’s loving face and to mature and develop as human beings” (Pope Francis).

We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.

Bible Study Evangelista - 02 Life & Dignity, The Seven Principles of Catholic Social Justice

Category: Social Justice Tag: Beatitudes, Bible reading, faith, faith and works, social justice

“Human persons are willed by God: they are imprinted with God’s image. Their dignity does not come from the work they do, but from the persons they are.” -St. JPII

Topics Discussed:

Catholic social justice principle #1, the life and dignity of the human person

The Beatitudes as model for the justice of the Kingdom of God

Overview:

Minutes 00:12:00 – Life and dignity of the human person

Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Beatitudes 1 &5 and 2&6

Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Josh, my nephew with Downs Syndrome

Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Beatitudes 3&7 and 4&8, how two seemingly opposite “sides” of social justice issues can actually be working toward social justice in two equally important, but different, areas

Additional Resources:

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Book, Amazon: Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and USCCB

Bible Study Evangelista - 01 The Seven Principles of Catholic Social Justice

Category: Social Justice Tag: Bible reading, faith, faith and works, social justice

One of the most unique and attractive beacons in the Catholic Church is her well-defined, carefully articulated, deeply-held, and concisely packaged body of social teachings, a body of doctrine with which, the bishops say, “far too many Catholics are not familiar.” In fact, they add, “many Catholics do not adequately understand that the social teaching of the Church is an essential part of Catholic faith.”

Our times have made us hungry for guidance on how to live social justice with catholicity. We acknowledge that every baptized Catholic must live his or her faith in truth and justice. If you don’t get anything else out of all God is allowing in our world right now, get this week’s overview of the Seven Principles of Catholic Social Justice, and hear the Holy Spirit guide you in *your* next steps.

Bible Study Evangelista - 08 Anointing of the Sick, A Biblical Walk through the Sacraments

Category: A Biblical Walk Through the Sacraments, Sacraments Tag: Bible reading, marriage, Old Testament, sacraments

Like all the sacraments, holy anointing was instituted by Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry. “This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark, but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James the apostle and brother of the Lord” (CCC 1511; Mark 6:13; Jas. 5:14-15).

The anointing of the sick conveys several graces and imparts gifts of strengthening in the Holy Spirit against anxiety, discouragement, and temptation, and conveys peace and fortitude (CCC 1520). These graces flow from the atoning death of Jesus Christ, for “this was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases’” (Matt. 8:17).

Bible Study Evangelista - 07 Marriage, A Biblical Walk through the Sacraments

Category: A Biblical Walk Through the Sacraments, Sacraments Tag: Bible reading, marriage, Old Testament, sacraments

The Bible begins and ends with marriage. “Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its ‘mystery,’ its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising from sin, and its renewal ‘in the Lord’ in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church. ‘From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian marriage the spouses are strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the dignity of their state by a special sacrament'” (CCC 1602, 1638).

Bible Study Evangelista - 06 Holy Orders (Priesthood)

Category: A Biblical Walk Through the Sacraments, Sacraments Tag: Bible reading, holy orders, Old Testament, priesthood, sacraments

Institutional priesthood was God’s idea! In the Old Testament, God commanded that “the priest’s office shall be theirs by perpetual statue” (Ex 29:9). “Perpetual” does not mean “until Jesus comes,” but forever. Obviously, God desires there be an institutional priesthood, now, in His New Testament church.

Jesus, our true and eternal High Priest, ordained the twelve apostles as bishops. With apostolic authority, they, in turn, ordained others as deacons, priests, and bishops, maintaining the Old Testament hierarchical structure and establishing the apostolic authority that continues today in Catholic and Orthodox Churches. For this reason, the “office” of apostolic priesthood was filled by Matthias when vacated by Judas (Acts 1:20). This was done before the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit fell on all the apostles, including Matthias, demonstrating that God approved of and accepted Matthias, and ordination as the apostles’ process of passing on their authority.

Priests continue to be ordained through the Sacrament of Holy Orders throughout the New Testament to today. Jesus is the High Priest at the center of the pastors of church history pictured in Revelation 1. Jesus teaches, “watches” over, and guides His Church through salvation history through the priesthood He established and chooses.

Bible Study Evangelista - 05 Confirmation, A Biblical Walk through the Sacraments

Category: A Biblical Walk Through the Sacraments, Sacraments Tag: Bible reading, confirmation, sacraments

“…[T]he apostles, in fulfillment of Christ’s will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. For this reason in the Letter to the Hebrews the doctrine concerning Baptism and the laying on of hands is listed among the first elements of Christian instruction. The imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church.

“Very early, the better to signify the gift of the Holy Spirit, an anointing with perfumed oil (chrism) was added to the laying on of hands. This anointing highlights the name ‘Christian,’ which means ‘anointed’ and derives from that of Christ himself whom God ‘anointed with the Holy Spirit.’ This rite of anointing has continued ever since, in both East and West. For this reason the Eastern Churches call this sacrament Chrismation, anointing with chrism, or myron which means “chrism.” In the West, the term Confirmation suggests that this sacrament both confirms Baptism and strengthens baptismal grace” (CCC 1288-1289).

Bible Study Evangelista - 04 Confession, A Biblical Walk through the Sacraments

Category: A Biblical Walk Through the Sacraments, Sacraments Tag: Bible reading, confession, sacraments

Where is confession to a priest in the Bible? Everywhere! Throughout the Old Testament and into the New, God demonstrated His desire that we come to him when we fall into sin. Jesus gave the apostles power and authority over unclean spirits, to forgive sins, to heal, and to raise people from the dead, all of which testify to the power and authority in them through Christ. They, in turn, passed that power and authority to those whom they ordained. This power does not come from them, but from God. Confession restores the soul.

Bible Study Evangelista - 03 Eucharist, A Biblical Walk through the Sacraments

Category: A Biblical Walk Through the Sacraments, Sacraments Tag: baptism, Bible reading, sacraments

Part of the beauty of the sacraments is that God cares for and provides for us through them from birth to the last breath. Throughout the series, we are discussing the sacraments in that order: Baptism for new birth, Eucharistic nourishment, Reconciliation as medicine, Confirmation to sustain one’s holy witness, Marriage and Holy Orders for life-giving vocation, and Anointing for healing and the final journey home. There are seven sacraments, for complete preservation and salvation throughout human life. Glorious!

Bible Study Evangelista - 02 Baptism, A Biblical Walk Through the Sacraments

Category: A Biblical Walk Through the Sacraments, Sacraments Tag: baptism, Bible reading, sacraments

The origin and foundation of Christian Baptism is Jesus.  Before starting his public ministry, Jesus submitted himself to the baptism given by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, shown above.  The waters did not purify him; he cleansed the waters.  . . .  Jesus did not need to be baptized because he was totally faithful to the will of his Father and free from sin.  However, he wanted to show his solidarity with human beings in order to reconcile them to the Father. By commanding his disciples to baptize all nations, he established the means by which people would die to sin – Original and actual – and begin to live a new life with God.

Bible Study Evangelista - 01 The “Masterwork” of God, A Biblical Walk Through the Sacraments

Category: A Biblical Walk Through the Sacraments, Sacraments Tag: Bible reading, Old Testament, prophecy, sacraments

Are “sacraments” biblical?

Sacrament comes from the Latin for “oath” or “swear,” and oath-taking is as old as Creation, as old as the Old Testament, as old as Christianity. God Himself swears an oath to you in every sacrament, and you swear one to Him every time you receive one.

Jesus instituted seven Christian sacraments, or covenants, for His one; holy; catholic (meaning universal); and apostolic church. The sacraments are “the masterworks of God” (CCC 1116), that administer and affect saving grace in the soul. Together, they equip us for a complete self-donation to God that draws us deeper and deeper into the mystery of God’s Trinitarian life for all eternity.

Bible Study Evangelista - The Servant Songs: Episode 7 - He Has Borne Our Griefs, Servant Song 4

Category: Lent, Servant Songs Tag: Bible reading, lent, obedience, prophecy, suffering

Surely He hath borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him.

Isaiah 53:4-5

Bible Study Evangelista - The Servant Songs: Episode 6 - Sprinkler of Nations, Servant Song 4

Category: Lent, Servant Songs Tag: Bible reading, lent, obedience, prophecy, suffering

Yes, friends, this last Servant Song of Isaiah extols the Suffering Servant’s purifying, saving power over even infectious diseases. I’m not kidding. The Suffering Servant “sprinkles the nations” – outside the place of worship – purifying them of sickness and sin. Who could have ever planned such a series with such a show at this time?!

The supreme self-sacrifice prophesied in the main part of the text is as surprising as the spin Isaiah gives it. Any religious person of his day would have viewed the Servant’s suffering as rightful punishment for sin. But the prophet sees through a different lens. Through beautiful imagery, Isaiah announces three-fold vindication for the Servant whose vicarious suffering will “justify the many.” God greatly rewards the selfless Servant and turns his suffering into the balm that heals the world.