of the human person from conception until natural death
On December 8, 1854, Bl. Pope Pius IX published the papal Bull Ineffabilis Deus, which declared that the doctrine of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception of the BVM was dogma. “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and in virtue…
2nd Sunday of Advent Luke 3:1-6 Luke’s litany of imperial, regional, and religious authorities does more than date the Baptist’s preaching to 28 or 29 AD. It also contrasts human…
The Day of the Lord (Heb. Yom Adonai; Gk. hēmera Kyriou) has multiple meanings in the Bible, such as a day of judgment and destruction or a day of hope for those who have been forgiven. When the expression is understood as a prophesied time of divine judgment and intervention,
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Year B ~ Mark 4:35-41 This week’s Gospel marks the beginning of a chapters-long section that stretches between the teaching of chapter 4 and…
In the Hebrew Bible, there is one Book of Kings (Heb. Sefer Melakim) and, as one scroll, it was initially only consonants; only after 600 AD were vowel points added.…
In the New Testament, the word basileia can be translated by “kingship” (abstract noun), “kingdom” (concrete noun) or “reign” (action noun). The Kingdom of God lies ahead of us. It…
The sequence, which is from the Latin sequentia, meaning “that which follows,” was originally written to follow the Gospel Acclamation or Alleluia. The sequence was intended to extend and therefore…
Sixth Sunday of Easter ~ John 15: 9-17 Scholars commonly divide the Gospel of John into four sections: (1) Prologue (1:1-18); (2) Book of Signs (1:19-12:50); (3) Book of Glory…
Nature and dignity 