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Bible Study Evangelista - ”How”: Altar Fire & Purgatory

Notes and References

“For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29).

Fire in the OT:

• Genesis 15:1-17 God calls Moses from the burning bush
• Exodus 3:1-8 God leads from the pillar of cloud and fire
• Exodus 12:8-10 God descends on Mt. Sinai in a fire
• Exodus 13:17-21 God and Abraham make a covenant
• Exodus 19:18-19 the Passover lamb must be roasted and eaten

Leviticus 9:22-24, And fire came forth from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat upon the altar.

Leviticus 6:9-13 it is stressed three times that the altar fire, once lit, must burn continuously, because every sacrifice offered in the tabernacle from this time forward was to be incinerated in the fire that originated from God’s presence.

In early Judaism, criminals whose crimes were hanging offenses were said to be cursed by God (Deut. 21:22-23).

Luke 9:23-24, And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.”

Peter 4:12-14, When you experience suffering voluntarily (like OT freewill offerings) “the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”

1 Peter 1:6-7, Fire purifies metals of the impurities that make it weaker, less valuable, and less reliable.
1 Peter 4:12,  We suffer “fiery trials” to purify our faith.
Sirach 2:1-6, “Fiery trials,” especially the sufferings and humiliations suffered by those who “serve the Lord,” can cleanse us from sin and passions and purify us of the inclination to sin.

Exodus 34:14, It is the holy, jealous love of God, Himself, that purifies us.

“Either in this life or in the life to come, the soul that seeks union with God must be purged by ‘The fiery Love of God.’ The holy souls are purged of all the rust and stains of sin which they have not rid themselves in this life. The fire of purgatory is first of all The Fiery Love of God” (St. Catherine of Genoa).

1 Corinthians 3:9-17, For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw– each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

St. Faustina: “I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God.”

Pope Benedict the XVI, teaching on the mystics, said that rather than a “place” in the depths of the earth with an exterior fire, they saw purgatory as an interior fire. They understood purgatory to be the soul’s experience and awareness of God’s immense love and perfect justice. The soul suffers for not having responded appropriately to the perfect love it “sees” and experiences. This suffering is just, and is the simple, natural consequence of habitual separation of one’s will from love. It is precisely the love of God Himself which purifies the soul from the ravages of sin (General Audience, 1.12.11).

“The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect*, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned… The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire.

“As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come” (CCC 1030-1031).

Bible Study Evangelista - ”How”: The Bronze Altar

Notes and References

“For it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul by reason of the life” (Lev. 17:11).

Directly inside the tabernacle courtyard gate was the first facility, a gigantic BBQ-grill-like structure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exodus 27:1-8, God’s instructions regarding the altar are that it should be made of wood overlaid with bronze.

Leviticus 1, The altar was the place where the bloody and burnt animal sacrifices were offered, where judgment and atonement for sin could be made. The blood of the sacrifices was poured out around the base of the altar.

Exodus 29:38-42, Every day, morning and evening, a lamb, bread, and wine were to be offered on the bronze altar.

John 1:29, Jesus is called “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

1 Corinthians 5:7 & 11:23-29, St. Paul says the real Body and Blood of Christ is sacrificed in a Catholic Mass.

Hebrews 9:24, Not the Old Testament tabernacle, but in the sanctuary of heaven itself, Jesus is eternally presenting His pure offering to God, the only pure offering ever made to Him. He is not, however, continually re-sacrificed in a bloody manner, “for then He would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world” (Heb 9:26). Instead He eternally presents His once-for-all sacrifice sacramentally, through the Eucharistic Body and Blood of the spotless Lamb.

Revelation 5:6, St. John’s vision of heaven’s throne room in Revelation in which John see in the midst of the throne, the creatures, and elders in a Lamb as though it were slain with seven horns.

Malachi 1:11, The prophets predicted both a future non-Jewish sacrifice and a future non-Jewish priesthood that would offer it.

1 Corinthians 10:16-17, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

1 Corinthians 3:11, 14, “For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ… If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.”

1 Samuel 15:22-23, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”

Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit and contrite heart.”

Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

“The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father’s love and for our salvation. By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God” (CCC 2100).

 

Episode Resources

Fulfilled, Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism, Chapter 5, Sacrificial Love

Ignite, Chapters 6 & 7, The How of the Bible

Come join the chatter on the Facebook community. What’s the most sacrificial thing you’ve ever offered God? Tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway for this week’s show.  

Read the Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, when it becomes available, courtesy of Kristie Hynniman who does our transcriptions for you.

Bible Study Evangelista - “How”: The Resurrection of the Dead Stick

Notes and References

The institutional priesthood: “The priest’s office shall be theirs by perpetual statute. Thus you shall ordain them” (Ex. 29:9).

The lay priesthood: Ex 19:3-6, 3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel… 6 …you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

1 Peter 2:5-9, And like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Numbers 16:1-11, the people rebel against the institutional priesthood, but they are actually rebelling against God Himself: “Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together” (vs 11).

Romans 13:1-2, 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Hebrews 3:1-6, Jesus is the new Moses, our new, eternal apostle and High Priest. Where there is a High Priest, there must be other priests.

Acts 1:20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his dwelling place become desolate, and let there be no one to live in it’; and ‘His office let another take.’” The institutional apostleship/priesthood is and office, just as the Old Testament commanded.

Hebrews 13:17, Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account.

Episode Resources

Fulfilled, Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism, Chapter 4, A Kingdom of Priests

Ignite, Chapters 6, The How of the Bible

Come join the chatter on the Facebook community. Does the Catholic priesthood seem like a gift or burden to the Church? Tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway for this week’s show.  

Read the Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, when it becomes available, courtesy of Kristie Hynniman who does our transcriptions for you.

Image Credit

Image: https://unsplash.com/@wyman_h

Bible Study Evangelista - The “When” of the Old Testament

Notes and References

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: The following are the festivals of the LORD, my feast days, which you shall celebrate with a sacred assembly” (Lev. 23:2).

Leviticus 23, List of the major Old Testament liturgical feasts:

• Sabbath remembers creation & rest
• Passover & Unleavened Bread  remembers redemption from Egypt
• First Fruits & Weeks celebration of first harvest
• Trumpets celebration of New Year
• Day of Atonement remembers God’s promise of forgiveness
• Booths God’s remembers provision in the wilderness

 

Episode Resources

Fulfilled, Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism, Chapter 3, Keeping Time with God

Ignite, Chapters 5, The When of the Bible

Come join the chatter on the Facebook community. How does the Church’s liturgical calendar keep you “in time” with God? Tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway for this week’s show.  

Read the Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, when it becomes available, courtesy of Kristie Hynniman who does our transcriptions for you.

Image Credit

Image: https://unsplash.com/@heatherz | @hthrzbrsk

Bible Study Evangelista - The “How” of the Old Testament

Notes and Reference

The Kingdom of God “is like the head of a household who can bring from his store both the new and the old” (Matthew 14:46).

“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; from every man whose heart makes him willing, you shall receive the offering for Me. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. According to all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it” (Ex 25:2, 8-9).

“They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary” (Heb 8:5).

“And he erected the court round the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would go onward; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not go onward till the day that it was taken up. For throughout all their journeys the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel” (Ex 40:33-38).

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory….” (Joh 1:14).

“Do you not know that your body is a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Cor 6:19).

“If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” (Joh 14:23).

“Christ is the true tabernacle of God, ‘the place where his glory dwells’; by the grace of God, Christians also become the temples of the Holy Spirit, living stones out of which the Church is built. In its earthly state the Church needs places where the community can gather together. Our visible churches, holy places, are images of the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, toward which we are making our way on pilgrimage” (CCC 1197-1198).

Episode Resources

Fulfilled, Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism

Ignite, Chapters 6 & 7, The How of the Bible

Come join the chatter on the Facebook community. I’m in the Holy Land as we speak. How does it feel to have a “land” in addition to a “book” of your faith? Tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway for this week’s show.  

Read the Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, when it becomes available, courtesy of Kristie Hynniman who does our transcriptions for you.

Image Credit

Image: https://unsplash.com/search/unterageri-switzerland

Bible Study Evangelista - The “Where” of the Old Testament

Category: Making Sense of the Old Testament Tag: Bible reading, fulfilled, ignite

 

Notes and References

Ignite, Chapter 3, The Where of the Bible

Get a printable pdf of the maps, below, here.

   

“If the firstfruit [of Judaism] is holy, then the lump [of Christianity] is holy; and if the root is holy then so are the branches” (Rom 11:16). We Christians are “grafted in” to the olive tree of faith (vs 17).

“God created the world like an embryo. Just as the embryo begins at the navel and continues to grow from that point, so too the world. The Holy One, blessed be he, began the world from its navel. From there it was stretched hither and yon. Where is its navel? Jerusalem. And its (Jerusalem’s) navel itself? The altar.” (“Navel In Popular Culture”. 2016. Wikipedia. Accessed July 6 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navel_in_popular_culture#cite_ref-136.)

The Philistines are first mentioned in the Bible as descendants of Noah (Gen 10:14).

The Promised Land was “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex 3:8) and “the most glorious of all lands” (Ez 20:6,15). A single cluster of grapes so heavy that it had to be carried by two men (Num 13:23-24).

A popular expression denoting the land from north to south was “from Dan to Beersheba” (Judg20:1, 1 Sam 3:20, 1 Kin 4:25).

The “rose of Sharon” (Is 35:2).

The temple was built, destroyed, and rebuilt on the temple mount in Jerusalem on the very site on Mt. Moriah where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac (Gen 22:2 & 2 Chron 3:1).

Jewish tradition (Zech 14:4) that when the Messiah comes, the resurrection of the dead will begin there. And so it did: The Mount of Olives is where Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1:11-12).

It is thought that the stench, desolation, salt, and pitch fires that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah were caused by a volcanic eruption and earthquake on the fault line in this area (Gen 19:24-29).

Israel’s kings kept a fleet of ships to trade with Africa and Asia by sea (1 Kin 9:26) in imports of “gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks” (1 Kin 10:22).

The caravan of Ishmaelites that bought young Joseph from his jealous brothers was traveling on “the King’s Highway” trade route from Gilead to Egypt on camels loaded with spices, balms, and myrrh (Gen 37:25).

Episode Resources

Come join the chatter on the Facebook community. I’m in the Holy Land as we speak. How does it feel to have a “land” in addition to a “book” of your faith? Tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway for this week’s show.  

Read the Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, when it becomes available, courtesy of Kristie Hynniman who does our transcriptions for you.

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Infographic Images: 1) https://unsplash.com/@wwwynand
2) https://unsplash.com/@langthangdaydo
3) https://unsplash.com/@elinjonsson
4) https://unsplash.com/@aleskrivec

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Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 11: The “Who” of the Old Testament

God says He is Who He is, and nothing else. In the Bible, in His own words, we see that He is a living, personal God who insists on treating the persons He has made as persons too, by revealing Himself to them. In encountering God in the scriptures we can then consider that the Old Testament, and indeed the whole Bible, is about this same gradual, increasing self-disclosure to a particular race of people just like me: the revelation of a Person to persons, like ourselves, who also actually lived in a certain place at a certain time.

Notes and References

“A name expresses a person’s essence and identity and the meaning of this person’s life. God has a name; he is not an anonymous force. To disclose one’s name is to make oneself known to others; in a way, it is to hand oneself over by becoming accessible, capable of being known more intimately and addressed personally” (CCC 203).

St. Irenaeus, who was the bishop of Lyon in late second-century France, said that to understand “the divine program and economy for the salvation of humanity” we have to understand God’s “several covenants with humanity” and also “the special character of each covenant.” (Against the Heresies, Book I, Chapter 10, no. 3).

 

Ignite, Chapter 2, The Who of the Bible

Episode Resources

Come join the chatter on the Facebook community. How do “you” feel about being a “who” of the Bible? Tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway for this week’s show. 

Support this Podcast and the Breadbox Media network with your Premium Membership and unlock your deals today. https://www.breadboxmedia.com/the-bible-study-evangelista.html

Bible Study Evangelista - Old Testament Survey

01_Old Testament Survey

 

Category: Making Sense of the Old Testament Tag: Bible reading, fulfilled, ignite

 

Why is the Old Testament so hard to understand? In this show we take a bird’s eye view of the first half of the Bible and break it down into manageable pieces.

Welcome Katherine G, Andrea, Rowena, Kelly K, Elise, Renee L, and Jennifer C, Bible Study Evangelista’s newest friends of the show! Thank you for loving and lifting me :)

LOVE the Word™ is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice: lectio without the Latin.

L – Listen (Receive the Word.)

O – Observe (Choose one or more of the following personality approaches to connect the passage to your life and recent events.)

F | Franciscan – Take a few moments to thumb through your Bible. Look at the Table of Contents. Locate the division between the Old and New Testaments. What’s your predominant feeling about it?

I | Ignatian – Below is a video of underground Christians in communist China receiving Bibles for the first time. It is illegal to own a Bible or practice Christianity there. Punishments can include imprisonment with hard labor, detention without trial, torture, beatings, and even execution.

Do you respond this way when you open your Bible? Imagine you could never again have access to a Bible.

A | Augustinian – Thinking back over your life, try to describe your relationship with scripture, especially the Old Testament, in one word. What, if anything, bothers you most about the Bible? What makes you most uncomfortable about it? How do you hope or anticipate your relationship with the Old Testament to change as you work through this series?

T | Thomistic – Commit the genres and covenants of the Old Testament (see below) to memory.

V – Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)

All scripture is ‘god-breathed,’ or inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:16). Take a few moments to talk to Him, the “author” of the scriptures, about the gift of the Bible. What, if anything, bothers you most about it? What makes you most uncomfortable about it? How do you hope or anticipate your relationship with the Old Testament to change as you work through this series?

E – Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)

Holy Spirit, thank you for the gift of the scriptures, and the gift of those who teach them to us. + Amen.

.

*LOVE the Word™ exercises are offered according to FIAT: the four personalities, or “prayer forms,” explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Franciscan, Ignatian, Augustinian, and Thomistic: FIAT! These prayer forms correspond to the Myers-Briggs personality types.

Notes and References

Genres

• Law
• History
• Wisdom
• Prophets, Major and Minor

Covenants – not a legal contract but an exchange of persons

• Adamic – with creation, with Adam and Eve in marriage
• Noahic – with a family
• Abrahamic – with a tribe
• Mosaic – with a nation
• Davidic – with a kingdom
• Messianic – with the world

Episode Resources

Come join the chatter on the Facebook community. Tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway for this week’s show.  

Read the Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, courtesy of Kristie Hynniman who does our transcriptions for you.

 

Support this Podcast and the Breadbox Media network with your Premium Membership and unlock your deals today. https://www.breadboxmedia.com/sonjasupport.html

Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 10: Self-control Is of the Lord

“Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation” (St. Augustine of Hippo).

Welcome Marisa, Monica, Renee, Allyson, Kristen, Tami, Connie, Toni, Millie, and Laura T., Bible Study Evangelista’s newest friends of the show! Thank you for loving and lifting me :)

LOVE the Word™ is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice: lectio without the Latin.

L – Listen (Receive the Word.)

Subscribe to the show. Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Play | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS | More

O – Observe (Choose one or more of the following personality approaches to connect the passage to your life and recent events.)

F | Franciscan – Take a long look at a crucifix. Consider the self-control it took to make that sacrifice.

I | Ignatian – Imagine your Jeep has broken down in the desert and you are stranded there at mid-day while on your way to a vacation destination. You can make it, but you’ll have to walk the whole day and part of the next morning, and you’re running out of water. Your mouth and eyes and shoes are full of sand. You have a pack of crackers to last the whole day and into the morning. Your phone is dead and you forgot your charger. The sun is causing disorienting heatwaves that confuse your sense of direction. Sit for a few minutes, imagining the scenario.

Now that you have nothing to depend on and are not assured of even your own survival, what is most important to you? How do you feel? What are your thoughts and fears?

A | Augustinian – During the show, did the Holy Spirit point out a particular desert in your life in which He is attempting to work with you? Are you cooperating? In what area do you lack self-control the most? Is this an area you have struggled with for some time? How does your desert relate to that challenge?

T | Thomistic – Call to mind someone in your life who lacks self-control. What is your predominate feeling about that person? Why?

V – Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)

Remembering you are in His presence and that all of heaven stands by to assist you, make a plan of attack with the Lord in the area of self-control He brought to your mind during the show. Perhaps you’d like to talk to Him about a particular emotional, spiritual, or personal pitfall. You may want to review, recite, and re-write S-T-O-P. Write out your plan in your journal or on your journal page (get a free page and user guide to the right). Resolve to go to Confession for extra grace in that area. You have to go for Lent anyway, right?

E – Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)

Holy Spirit, As we begin to close out Lent, help me learn to walk in You, so I do not fall in the flesh. + Amen.

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*LOVE the Word™ exercises are offered according to FIAT: the four personalities, or “prayer forms,” explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Franciscan, Ignatian, Augustinian, and Thomistic: FIAT! These prayer forms correspond to the Myers-Briggs personality types.

Come On Over to Instagram and Introduce Yourself!

Episode Resources

Come join the chatter on the Facebook community. Tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway for this week’s show.  

Read the Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, when it becomes available (usually within the week) courtesy of Kristie Hynniman who does our transcriptions for you.

Support this Podcast and the Breadbox Media network with your Premium Membership and unlock your deals today! https://www.breadboxmedia.com/sonjasupport.html

Bible Study Evangelista - Unexpected Unleashed Q & A

We interrupt our current Fruit of the Spirit series to bring you special programming.  The audio below is a Q & A interview I did this week with a group of women in California who are working through my book, Unleashed. I did this hour-long GoToMeeting webinar with them in anticipation of our event together in June. I found their questions to be insightful; I had to really think about my answers, because it was clear they had really thought out the specifics of the questions. So of course, I knew you’d want to listen in…

Come On Over to Instagram and Introduce Yourself!

Support this Podcast and the Breadbox Media network with your Premium Membership and unlock your deals today! https://www.breadboxmedia.com/sonjasupport.html

Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 9: Gentleness Inherits the Earth

“Be gentle to all and stern with yourself” (St. Teresa of Avila).

L – Listen (Receive the Word.)

O – Observe (Choose one or more of the following personality approaches to connect the passage to your life and recent events.)

F | Franciscan – Take an egg outside and drop it on the ground. Reflect on how damaging an out-of-control temper can be.

I | Ignatian – Imagine you are sitting in the spring grass by the Sea of Galilee with Jesus and several hundred others as He teaches the Sermon on the Mount. Remember that another name for The Beatitudes is The Blisses. Do you feel the gentle breeze on your skin as Jesus speaks? How is that breeze teaching you gentleness? Is the sun warm on your face? How many of your senses can feel God’s gentleness as you sit with Jesus and hear His words: “The gentle shall inherit the earth.”

A | Augustinian – In what instance this week did your temper get the best of you? Be aware that you may be offered a pop quiz on gentleness in the near future.

T | Thomistic – Reiterate the steps of S – T – O – P in your mind. Commit Psalm 4:4 to memory.

V – Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)

Talk to Jesus about your last angry outburst. Remembering you are in His presence, ask your guardian angel to help you with S – T – O – P this week as you experience your pop quiz on gentleness. Say Psalm 4:4 out loud, or write it in your journal or on your journal page (get a free page and user guide to the right).

E – Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)

Holy Spirit, Guard the door to my mouth as  you closed the mouths of the lions for Daniel and His friends. I commit myself anew to Your gentleness. + Amen.

.

*LOVE the Word™ exercises are offered according to FIAT: the four personalities, or “prayer forms,” explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Franciscan, Ignatian, Augustinian, and Thomistic: FIAT! These prayer forms correspond to the Myers-Briggs personality types.

Come On Over to Instagram and Introduce Yourself!

Episode Resources

On our Facebook discussion community, tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway: have you ever been struck by how gentle God is with you? Reflect. 

References

Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea on Matthew 5:5

Read the Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, when it becomes available (usually within the week) courtesy of Kristie Hynniman who does our transcriptions for you.

Support this Podcast and the Breadbox Media network with your Premium Membership and unlock your deals today! https://www.breadboxmedia.com/sonjasupport.html

Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 8: Faithful to the Faithless

“Jesus is anxious to help the soul, and if it is faithful to this grace from God, it can very soon attain the highest holiness possible for a creature here on earth. God is very generous and does not deny His grace to anyone. Indeed He gives more than what we ask of Him. Faithfulness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit — that is the shortest route” (St. Faustina, Diary, 291).

LOVE the Word™ is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice: lectio without the Latin.

L – Listen (Receive the Word.)

O – Observe (Choose one or more of the following personality approaches to connect the passage to your life and recent events.)

F | Franciscan – Make a trip to daily Mass, and thank your priest for his faithfulness. As you receive Jesus in the Eucharistic covenant, thank Him for His faithfulness to you even when you are faithless.

I | Ignatian – Right now, where you sit, notice your breathing. As you breathe slowly in and out, pay attention to what you hear, smell, and see around you. Feel the pulse of life within your wrist. How is this a mark of God’s faithfulness to you?

A | Augustinian – Where do you struggle most with faithfulness, either to other people or to God?

T | Thomistic – If possible, go to Adoration to do this exercise: meditate on what faithfulness means. Then ask Jesus how you can be more faithful to Him.

V – Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)

Why does faithfulness to God begin at home? What was the most spiritually faithless time of your life? Can you identify the cause of your faithlessness from that time? In your journal or on your journal page (get a free page and user guide to the right), try to list as many ways as you can remember that God was faithful to you in that season. When have you been most faithful to Him? Write out a prayer of thanksgiving to Him for His faithfulness to you.

E – Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)

Holy Spirit, O Lord Omnipotent, Who permit evil in order to draw good from it, give ear to our humble petitions, in which we beg of You the grace to be faithful unto death, always conforming ourselves to Your most holy will. + Amen.

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*LOVE the Word™ exercises are offered according to FIAT: the four personalities, or “prayer forms,” explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Franciscan, Ignatian, Augustinian, and Thomistic: FIAT! These prayer forms correspond to the Myers-Briggs personality types.

Come On Over to Instagram and Introduce Yourself!

Episode Resources

On our Facebook discussion community, tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway: what circumstance you have experienced that convinced you that God is, indeed, faithful?

References

Catholic Encyclopedia, faithfulness

Read the Transcript

You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, when it becomes available (usually within the week) courtesy of Kristie Hynniman who does our transcriptions for you.

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Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 7

“You are my Lord, because You have no need of my goodness” (St. Augustine, Confessions).

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Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 6: The Law of Kindness Is In the Mouth

“It is a weakness of righteous men that they cannot discern praiseworthy things in a vice-ridden man” (Souda, a 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia).

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Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 5: Patience Obtains All Things

“Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices” (St. Teresa of Avila).

EPISODE RESOURCES

What makes you the most impatient? Tell us your worst display of impatience in our Facebook discussion community, where you can also post or chat with others about your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway.

REFERENCES

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Patience

Patience, Meditations for a Month, Richard Clarke SJ

St. Augustine on Patience

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Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 4: The Peace that Passes Understanding

When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 she was asked what we can we do to promote world peace. Her answer was simple: “Go home and love your family.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

What practice brings you the most peace? Tell us how you cultivate peace in our Facebook discussion community, where you can also post or chat with others about your daily #LOVEtheWordtakeaway.

REFERENCES

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Joy

Gaudium et Spes, Vatican II Document on Joy & Hope

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Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 3: The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

“Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls” (Mother Teresa of Calcutta).

 

EPISODE RESOURCES

What brings you joy? Tell us how you practice joy in our Facebook discussion community, where you can also post or chat with others about your daily #LOVEtheWordtakeaway.

What Christ Means by Purity of Heart article

A Lesson from the Cherubim, Sing When It Hurts article

REFERENCES

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Joy

Support this Podcast and the Breadbox Media network with your Premium Membership and unlock your deals today!

https://www.breadboxmedia.com/sonjasupport.html

Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 2: The Greatest is Love

“At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love” (St. John of the Cross).

 

EPISODE RESOURCES

The Road Less Traveled, Dr. Scott Peck

Tell us about your love bombs on our Facebook discussion community, where you can also post or chat with others about your daily #LOVEtheWordtakeaway.

REFERENCES

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Love

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Bible Study Evangelista - Episode 1: Known By Our Fruit

Jesus said they will know us by our fruit. Is the Holy Spirit producing fruit in me, or am I putting forth the rotten fruit of self-indulgence and self-reliance? Here’s how to take a spiritual inventory with St. Paul in Galatians 5.

 

EPISODE RESOURCES

How is the Holy Spirit also using the daily readings this week to speak to you about your fruit? Here’s our Facebook community where you can post or chat with others about your daily #LOVEtheWordtakeaway.

REFERENCES

Mat 7:15-20  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.

Gal 5:22-25  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

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https://www.breadboxmedia.com/sonjasupport.html