Listen To the Bible! | King James Audio Bible | KJV | King James Version
A ruler of the Pharisees has invited Jesus to his house to share a meal, and here Jesus teaches those present concerning the way of blessedness. Jesus teaches us how to live so as to be as much like Jesus as we can be, and so to be included in the Kingdom of God. This, our heavenly reward, should be the only reward we look for [ … ]
Jesus is so very sorry for a city and a people he loves that he must weep at the sight of Jerusalem. Here is the centre of Jewish faith, while the Jews are the people to whom he has directed most of his teaching, and they are the first chosen people of God [ … ]
Saint Augustine reflects on the contrast between the hidden riches of Christ and the visible poverty of his humanity. What appears small and limited in Christ’s earthly life conceals the fullness of divine wisdom and knowledge. Augustine draws on the language of scripture to show that Christ’s poverty is not a loss but a means: through it, humanity is brought to a greater inheritance [ … ]
In this homily, Saint John Chrysostom reflects on the Apostle Paul’s words to the Corinthian church: ‘Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians; our heart is enlarged.’ (2 Corinthians 6:11) Chrysostom, known for his deep pastoral insight and command of Scripture, explores how love works to expand the heart, just as heat causes material things to expand. He sees in Paul not only a preacher of doctrine but a man whose heart was capacious—so full of love that it embraced both the faithful and the unbelieving [ … ]
Saint Jerome begins by drawing a direct connection between the deer of the psalm and the newly baptized, freshly emerged from the waters of baptism. The metaphor of thirst is especially apt during this Easter season, when catechumens have completed their Lenten preparation and now experience the fulfilment of their longing in the sacraments. For Jerome, this thirst is not a vague spiritual desire but an acute yearning for the triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—whom he identifies as the ‘three fountains’ of the Church [ … ]
As adults, we often find ourselves weighed down by the responsibilities and complexities of life. Yet, Jesus, in his profound wisdom, encourages us to become like children in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Embracing childlike faith enables us to approach God with innocence, trust, and humility. This collection of prayers is designed to help adults cultivate and nurture that childlike spirit within, as we seek a deeper connection with our Heavenly Father [ … ]
The people are astonished by Jesus, in whom they see the mighty power of God. Straight away, though, Jesus turns to his disciples to tell them of the truth of his Messianic mission. In veiled terms, Jesus announces his passion and death: the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. There is extreme contrast between the people’s, and the disciples’, understanding of how the Messiah shall be, and the reality of Christ’s true mission on Earth, to suffer, to be crucified, and so to ransom mankind, redeeming us from death and sin. There is secret, hidden truth, which only gradually becomes manifest through the course of the Gospels [ … ]
As I contemplate the Baptism of Jesus, I am invited to reflect on my own baptism and the significance of this sacrament in my life. I am reminded that, like Jesus, I am a beloved child of God, called to participate in Jesus’ mission of love and reconciliation. I am challenged to live out my baptismal promises, to renounce sin and evil, and to follow Jesus on the path of discipleship. And I am encouraged to draw upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is poured out upon me in my baptism, to transform me from within and to make me a new creation in Christ [ … ]
This, in Matthew’s Gospel, is the second miracle of the loaves and the fishes. Jesus is preaching and working his healing miracles in the border country, where Jews and pagans live side by side. The landscape seems symbolic, archetypal; as Jesus nears the Sea of Galilee, he goes up into a mountain. It is here that Jesus’ miracles lead both Jews and pagans to glorify the God of Israel [ … ]
Psalm 23 is often referred to as the ‘Shepherd’s Psalm’ and is cherished for its profound comfort and reassurance in times of uncertainty and distress [ … ]
Psalm 45 suggests a joyous meeting of the earthly and the divine. The psalm honours a royal wedding while inviting readers to contemplate greater majesty of God’s eternal reign and spiritual significance of Christ as the divine Bridegroom. It is a poetic masterpiece that celebrates love, beauty, and the enduring nature of God’s sovereignty [ … ]
The paralyzed man would not have been able to come to Jesus without the help of his friends. It is his friends’ faith, and their initiative and bravery, as well as his own that work together to find a way to come to Jesus. Jesus is touched by their faith and their friendship. We may think now as well about the help we give others and the help which we receive from others, in matters of faith and as we confess our sins and seek spiritual healing. Our sins can be like a form of spiritual paralysis, in which condition we may rely a great deal on our friends to bring us back to Jesus [ … ]
Jesus has fed the multitude, the multiplication of loaves and fish prefiguring the Eucharist, through which all share, in community, the body and blood of Christ, becoming one. Now Jesus sends his disciples ahead of him, to cross the Sea of Galilee to the pagan regions on the other side, where the evangelizing mission will continue. There is symbolism here, as the early Christians are called upon by Matthew’s Gospel to make transition from the old observances to the new Law of Jesus’ love. Jesus meanwhile takes time alone to pray [ … ]
On the Sabbath, the day of rest and prayer, the Jews would gather in synagogues to recite the Shema and the eighteen blessings, which would be followed by readings from the Book of the Law, the Pentateuch, and from the Prophets. In today’s Gospel verses, Jesus has returned home to Nazareth, where, in the synagogue, he volunteers to read [ … ]
Jesus’ public ministry begins as John the Baptist’s concludes, John being imprisoned by Herod for speaking out against the immorality of Herod’s sexual relationship with his brother’s wife. Mission comes with danger, and John the Baptist was not afraid. Nor now is Jesus. Indeed, Jesus begins to preach with the very same words with which John had warned the people to beware of their sins: Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand [ … ]
Jesus teaches us to be bold and to have faith and confidence in the light of persecutions. His listeners are told that, when they are accused, the Spirit will be with them, guiding their words such that they become a living testimony to Jesus. The Christians’ accusers will be unable to answer their words then – the force of their witness will be irresistible [ … ]
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the presence of the angel becomes a symbol of divine comfort and support during Jesus’ moment of utmost agony. As Jesus withdrew a stone’s cast away from his disciples and fell on the ground to pray, sweating blood, the world’s sins and crucifixion-horror pressed heavily upon him [ … ]
The two parables make it clear that Christ intended the newly inaugurated phase of the history of our salvation to be the work of ages. His second coming was not to be an apocalyptic end of the world as we know it in weeks, months or just a few years after that first Easter. The world’s faith would grow with time. Christ’s Church would grow, to encompass the whole world. Christ intended the Gospel be preached to everyone the world over and through all subsequent history [ … ]
This is among the most perfect of the parables to listen to during Lent – indeed, it has resonances that must extent to each and every time we receive the Eucharist. We are simply not worthy. And God’s mercy extends to us nonetheless. The prayer of the Pharisee is false. It is not true prayer. We see him, standing there in the presence of God and congratulating himself, as if he does not need God for his redemption, as if he can redeem himself [ … ]
Just as Jesus teaches in these parables of that which is small becoming great, through the process of being hidden, in the earth or in the as yet unleavened dough, so Jesus teaches us, as the Gospel Evangelist teaches us, that the parables themselves reveal that which has been hidden, drawing the listener from a particular instance, readily recognizable from everyday life, to an understanding of matters of deep spiritual and cosmic significance [ … ]
The crowds gather to see and to hear Jesus. Among them, as Matthew relates in his Gospel (Matthew 12: 38-42), are the scribes and Pharisees, who ask for a sign from Jesus to prove his divinity. Jesus refuses to confirm his preaching with dramatic signs. It is his teaching Jesus wishes the people to hear. Through seeking to taunt Jesus, and through their unbelief, the scribes and the Pharisees express the hardness of their hearts. Christ is present to them and they refuse to see. Christ is speaking to them and they refuse to hear. Through the Gospel, we have witnessed Christ’s miracles. And we are called to hear his word. ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign.’ [ … ]
In Matthew, Jesus teaches the Our Father, the Lord’s Prayer, as part of the Discourse on the Mountain, in which we are instructed in the correct ways of practising almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Certain tendencies of the Jewish converts are corrected, particularly a certain ostentation and vacuity in the manner of prayer, giving and fasting to which they were accustomed. When they are praying, Jesus orders his followers not to be like the Gentiles, who heap up long-winded but ultimately empty phrases in the vain and superstitious belief that this will impress God. True piety means looking to God with simplicity of heart and true love through the course of each day. Spoken prayer is good and necessary, but the words only count if they express the truth of our inner feelings [ … ]
Saint Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310–367) was a bishop and doctor of the Church known primarily for his role in defending the Nicene faith against Arianism. This heresy denied the full divinity of Christ and therefore threatened the entire theological foundation of the Incarnation, Trinity, and Eucharist. In his principal theological work, De Trinitate (‘On the Trinity’), Hilary argues forcefully for the unity of the divine and human in Christ. The Eucharistic theology expressed in this passage reflects and supports that Christological argument [ … ]
This reflection, drawn from Saint Cyril of Alexandria’s commentary on the Letter to the Romans, richly develops the theological significance of unity, divine mercy, and the universality of salvation. The passage resonates deeply with themes central to Eastertide: renewal, reconciliation, and the triumph of divine love through the risen Christ. St Cyril, a towering figure in patristic theology and a staunch defender of orthodoxy at the Council of Ephesus, here offers a profound meditation on the body of Christ and the universal scope of redemption [ … ]
Saint Gregory of Nyssa, a 4th-century Cappadocian Father and key architect of early Christian theology, offers in this Eastertide reading a profound and poetic meditation on the transformative power of the Resurrection. Rooted in the joy of Easter, the sermon explores the cosmic and personal implications of Christ’s rising from the dead. Gregory’s theology is deeply mystical, sacramental, and steeped in scriptural imagery, and this piece reveals the vast scope of the Christian vision of renewal [ … ]
Melito of Sardis, writing in the second century, gives us one of the earliest and most powerful reflections on the mystery of Easter. His homily, poetic and theological, offers not just a celebration of the resurrection but a sweeping vision of salvation history fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The tone is triumphant and exultant—fitting for the season of Easter—but the substance is rich with meaning. At its heart, the homily proclaims a profound truth: that in Christ, death is not the end, but the beginning of new and eternal life [ … ]
On Holy Thursday, the Church gathers to remember the Last Supper—the evening when Jesus, in a quiet upper room, gave his friends the gift of the Eucharist, and with it, a new covenant sealed in his blood. The reading from Saint Melito of Sardis, a bishop from the second century, helps us understand the deeper meaning of what took place that night and how it connects to the cross and the resurrection that followed [ … ]
Mark’s Gospel, thought by many to be the earliest written, does not present an account of the birth of Christ. He begins with the proclamation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, leading into his baptism by John. Toward the end of the Gospel, when the crucified Christ dies, the centurion standing by him will affirm this, saying: ‘Truly this was the Son of God.’ Throughout this most fast paced of gospels, this is Mark’s message, to give his readers the knowledge that Christ is the Son of God [ … ]
Psalm 112 centralizes the concept of the righteous life. The psalm praises those who fear the Lord and delight in his commandments. This fear is not about being afraid, but about respecting and revering God, and finding joy in following his teachings. This respect for divine commandments sets the stage for a life guided by ethical and moral values [ … ]
Psalm 141, through appeals for divine guidance, protection, and the maintenance of righteousness, expresses struggles and aspirations of the faithful in their journey toward spiritual integrity. Psalm 141 is personal lament and a communal prayer, reflecting universal human desire for divine closeness and support in the face of adversity. Through its vivid imagery, heartfelt pleas, and expressions of trust in God, Psalm 141 meditates themes of prayer, moral integrity, and divine justice [ … ]
Psalm 66 is a joyous song of praise and thanksgiving. The psalm expresses gratitude and awe directed toward God for marvellous works, guidance and deliverance from adversity [ … ]
In this reading from On Spiritual Perfection, Diadochus of Photiké reflects on discernment, presenting it as a spiritual capacity formed by stillness, grace, and love. The mind, he argues, has a spiritual sense that enables it to distinguish reliably between good and evil when it is illuminated by true knowledge [ … ]
In this reading from Against the Heresies, Saint Irenaeus sets out a compact and carefully reasoned account of the Incarnation and its saving purpose. His focus is on the unity between Christ and humanity, and on the resurrection as the fulfilment of that unity [ … ]
In this reading from his commentary on the Psalms, Saint Hilary of Poitiers reflects on the meaning of unity within the Church, drawing from Psalm 133 (Vg. 132) and from the life of the early Christian community. Unity is presented not as uniformity, but as a shared purpose rooted in faith and love [ … ]
Our Lord Jesus’ visit to this particular part of the coast of the Sea of Galilee is brief. In today’s reading, Jesus alights in an area which is largely non-Jewish, as is evident in the huge herd of pigs that is here. It seems quite alien territory. We are reminded of just how very different communities existed in relatively close proximity around Galilee (also known as: The Sea of Tiberias; Lake Gennesaret), and we might think of how between those different communities there would be distrust, dislike, silence, even outright hatred. It is very beautiful to see Jesus passing between communities, and especially outside of his own Jewish community. There is a lesson for all time here against sectarianism. We are reminded that Jesus’ message is offered to all, perhaps especially when we find ourselves in strange lands [ … ]
In this reading from his letter to the Church of Smyrna, Saint Ignatius of Antioch sets out a clear and careful confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Writing as a bishop on his way to martyrdom, he addresses a community he knows to be firm in faith and love, and he seeks to strengthen them in the truth of Christ’s person and saving work [ … ]
This reading from the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World addresses the human concern with the subject of death. It approaches the subject not only as a biological event but as a spiritual and existential mystery that touches the deepest questions about meaning, identity, and destiny [ … ]
