The Church Fathers teach that the pool by which the sick people wait is a symbol of baptism. It is striking to consider that, for the paralyzed man, there is healing to be found here, and too that the mode of healing at this pool is generally capricious and not available for all. We are made aware through this passage of the Bible that our healing through Jesus is for all [ … ]
Saint Augustine Of Hippo | Confession And Conversion In Christian Life | Love And Do What You Will
Saint Augustine’s conversion was not a sudden or easy process. He struggled with doubts and fears, and it was only after a profound spiritual experience that he finally submitted himself to Christ [ … ]
Saint Francis Of Assisi And The Canticle Of The Sun
Saint Francis’ life took a dramatic turn when he was taken prisoner during the war and fell ill. After his release, Saint Francis had a vision in which he heard a voice telling him to return to Assisi and devote himself to God. Saint Francis obeyed the voice, but struggled to find his place in life after his conversion [ … ]
Parousia | Second Coming Of Jesus Christ | Apocalypse / Revelation
Christian Art | Parousia | Second Coming | Lamb Of God, You Take Away The Sins Of The World Luke 17: 26-37 (Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word) Early Christian thought [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses For Lent | The Synagogue In Nazareth | Christ Preaches Isaiah | Jesus And The Prophets | Audio KJV
Christ has come to Nazareth, where he was brought up, and on the Sabbath day has entered the synagogue. He has been given the book of Isaiah to read. The passage he chooses is this (Isaiah 61) [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses For Lent | Cleansing Of The Temple | Christ The New Temple Of God | Jesus And The Jewish Authorities
The Passover was the most important religious feast for the Jewish people. It was celebrated on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan, a spring month whose date, according to our solar calendar, varies following the lunar cycle, just as Easter does. It was followed by the festival week of Azymes, an English word (derived from the Greek ἄζυμος) for unleavened bread in Biblical times [ … ]
Parable Of The Prodigal Son | Parables Of Jesus
The parable of the prodigal son is among the most famous of the parables which Jesus teaches us. Indeed the phrase ‘prodigal son’ is familiar to English speakers who might not tend to read the Bible very often if at all. In the parable of the prodigal son, the story Jesus tells is so homely and familiar to our lives, and to our most basic human and family instincts, that even without the deeper meanings as we interpret the parable, it would be powerfully moving to hear as a tale of estrangement and difficulty followed by forgiveness and reconciliation through love [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses For Lent | The Parable Of Lazarus And The Rich Man | Hell And Judgement | Christian Charity | Audio KJV
Jesus speaks in parables when he has something important to communicate. The meaning of a parable may seem obscure or in need of explanation. Jesus does give interpretations of the parables to his disciples. We are encouraged through the parables to see our world in new and perhaps unexpected ways. The parables encourage us to think more deeply about Jesus’ teaching. They are, above all, a challenge – even an anarchic challenge – to everything we think we know [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses For Lent | The Mother Of The Sons Of Zebedee | You Will Drink My Cup | Jesus Journeys To Jerusalem
As the disciples accompany Jesus on the way to Jerusalem, so we are asked to unite ourselves to Jesus in his passion and death, so that we may share in his resurrection and accompany Jesus in his glory as Holy Week culminates in Easter [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses For Lent | Judge Not And You Will Not Be Judged | Christian Faith | Forgiveness | Audio KJV | Jesus
We are called once more by Jesus to seek perfection as our acts of mercy imitate, insofar as we are able, the mercy of God. We are taught again of the inseparability of our relationship with each other in the body of Christ, in the brotherhood of man, and of our relationship with God [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses For Lent | Transfiguration Of Jesus | Son Of Man | Moses And Elijah | Law And Prophets | Elevated Faith
As they travel on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus throws his disciples into confusion by telling them about the suffering and death he must undergo. The disciples simply do not understand. For centuries, the Jews have awaited the coming of the Messiah, whom they envisaged as a glorious warrior king, not as one who would suffer and die the most ignominious of deaths, on a cross, of all things. A person condemned to die on a cross could not be the Messiah; rather, according to the Old Law, he had to be “cursed by God” (Deuteronomy 21: 22-23). The disciples cannot see the divine plan for our salvation, while the command for all who would be saved to ‘take up his cross and follow me’ must have seemed both strange and terrifying. To reassure his disciples, Jesus allows them to witness his glorious body through the transfiguration [ … ]
What Is The Holy Spirit? Who Is The Holy Spirit? | Protestant And Catholic Perspectives
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit is a person, not a force or energy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: ‘The Holy Spirit is a personal and uncreated Love, the source and giver of all holiness.’ (CCC 733) This means that the Holy Spirit is not a thing, but rather a divine person who is coequal with God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses For Lent | Effectiveness Of Prayer | The Golden Rule | Christian Faith And Charity | Audio KJV | Love In Jesus
Our prayer must be true to God. It is natural to petition God for what we need. It would indeed be arrogant to ‘go it alone’ and not humbly to share with God our needs and to ask Him for help, as if He were not our Father and we His children and creation. We are called by Jesus to acknowledge that all we have, we have through God. And we are called to develop our conversation with God through a life of prayer [ … ]
Audio Bible KJV | King James Version | King James Audio Bible | Word Aloud New Testament | MP3 Download
The KJV Bible is a rich and beautiful text which might be considered intended to be read aloud. It is powerful poetry. It is of immense significance in the English literary and oral traditions. A variety of audio KJV is available, and each has a contribution to make [ … ]
Jesus Tempted In The Desert | Jesus Fasting 40 Days | Sin In The Bible And For Christians Today
Explore Jesus’ teachings on sin and temptation and as Christians resist temptation in the modern world. Learn from the Bible and religious authorities with quotations and insights [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses For Lent | Jesus Foretells His Death And Resurrection | Son Of Man | Messiah | Belief In Jesus | Audio KJV
Jesus orders his disciples to keep his true identity, as the Messiah, a secret. We might wonder why this should be. One answer to this is that many of the people of whom we read in the Bible were hoping for and expecting the coming of the Messiah, who would lead the Jewish people to freedom, and yet their expectation – of a new judge or great warrior king – was not in accord with Christ’s true purpose, namely to serve and to suffer and so to save [ … ]
Mystery Of Jesus In The Garden Of Gethsemane | Reflections On The Heart Of Christian Faith | King James Audio Bible
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays and struggles desperately with the weight of his coming Crucifixion. He sweats blood – he is in agony. Jesus enters into his Passion fully cognizant of the horror of it [ … ]
Penitential Psalms | School Of Christian Prayer | God Teaches Sinners How To Pray | Trust, Love, Honesty, Contrition, Repentance
The Penitential Psalms offer a path to spiritual growth and redemption, and this is reflected in the redemption offered by Christ on the Cross. Through his death and resurrection, Christ offers the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life to all who believe in him. The Penitential Psalms, through their focus on repentance and the mercy of God, can be seen as a powerful tool in the process of conversion and reparation that leads to redemption [ … ]
John The Baptist | Prophet | Audio KJV | Repent Of Sin | Spiritual Healing Through Faith | Prepare The Way Of The Lord
John the Baptist was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who is revered as a prophet in Christianity and Islam. He was a contemporary of Jesus and is mentioned in the New Testament as having been a forerunner of Jesus, preparing the way for his ministry. According to the New Testament, John the Baptist was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, both of whom were descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. He was known for his ascetic lifestyle, his practice of baptizing people as a sign of repentance, and his proclamation that Jesus was the Messiah. John the Baptist was eventually arrested and imprisoned by Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, and was later beheaded at the request of Herod’s daughter, Salome [ … ]
What Is Baptism? | How Does Baptism Relate To Christian Faith? | Jesus Was Baptized | Love Revealed By Jesus Christ
Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses | Jesus And The Rich Young Man | Give Away Everything You Own And Follow Me | Jewish Law | Eternal Life
The young man of today’s Gospel verses is very rich. He has followed the commandments, and yet he and Jesus both know that he is not yet perfect. In addition to what the young man already knows of the Ten Commandments, there is now the possibility of perfection, which is to follow Jesus, to release oneself from the bondsmanship of earthly possessions – to sell it all, give it all to the poor, and follow Jesus. It is a sad tale. The rich young man goes away unhappy. If this is the condition for finding perfection by following Jesus, he cannot do it [ … ]
Heaven And Hell | Satan And Free Will | God Is Love | Jesus
While Heaven is depicted as a place of eternal life, joy, and fellowship with God, Hell is described as a place of eternal separation from God, where people will experience great suffering and torment. Do we choose Hell as a rejection of love? [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses For Advent | Gospel Faith | Sin | Healing | John the Baptist’s Messengers to Jesus
John the Baptist has been imprisoned for speaking the truth about how the people should prepare themselves to be fit for the coming of the Kingdom. It may seem strange that he now sends to Jesus to ask him if he is indeed the one to come, the Messiah. Does John now doubt that Jesus is the Son of God?
Advent | True Faith | Christianity | Baptism | Prepare Ye The Way Of The Lord | Clean And Pure In Jesus
The message of this Sunday’s Gospel is so clear and so perfect. John has come to prepare the way of the Lord. He is not the Lord; he is come to prepare his way, the way of Christ.
The opening of John’s Gospel may be heard this week as a beautiful restatement from a new point of view of the message of the coming of the Lord and the beginning of Christ’s ministry [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses Advent & Christmas | Fourth Sunday Of Advent | Hail Mary, Full Of Grace, The Lord Is With Thee
In this Sunday’s Gospel reading we are reminded particularly of the devotion we offer to Mary and of the saving grace the Mother of God brings to our relationship with Jesus. We are reminded once again to think of Mary as the greatest intercessor to whom we may pray. We think as well of how through our relationship with Mary we help enable our knowledge of God within our hearts: it is as if through our love of the Mother of God, Christ may be continually born within us; we seek to become akin to Mary, to emulate her example, so that through the Mother we may the better know the Son [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses Advent & Christmas | The Witness Of John The Baptist | A Burning And Shining Light
Jesus pays tribute to John as a great prophet, bringing the truth of God to the people, as a burning and a shining light. There is perhaps a veiled rebuke as Jesus reminds the people that they flocked to him for a period, as if theirs was a fickle and fleeting regard. Nonetheless, Jesus speaks of John now to help the people, because John witnessed Christ and that witness could help people to believe and so be saved [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses Advent & Christmas | Sin, Redemption, Baptism | True Faith | John The Baptist, More Than A Prophet
Jesus pays tribute to John the Baptist is a way which is enormously encouraging to the crowds. He teaches them that they have already begun to respond to God’s call. They have searched for God, and they have travelled on pilgrimage to see John the Baptist, who was not something flimsy and delicate but a prophet, and the greatest of the prophets at that, because he is nearest to Christ, especially called to prepare the way and to point Christ out to his followers [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses | True Faith | Baptism And Prayer | John The Baptist Bears Witness To Jesus
Jesus and his disciples have moved south into Judea, and Jesus and John are baptizing people very near to one other. John’s location is precisely stated in these Gospel verses: he is at Aenon, an Aramaic word meaning wells, near Salim, which was to the northeast of Samaria, about thirteen miles to the south of the Sea of Galilee. In these verses, John’s Gospel develops the information given to us in the Synoptics: we learn that Jesus’ public ministry began while John the Baptist’s was current, and that there was no rivalry between Jesus and John; indeed, that John the Baptist rejoiced in Jesus’ beginning his ministry [ … ]
The Gift Of Scripture Considered In Relation To Dei Verbum | Essays From Seminary | Cf. The Gospel According To Tomàs
While God ‘can be known with certainty from created reality by the light of human reason'[1], He additionally chooses, ‘out of the abundance of His love’ (DV2), to reveal Himself to humanity. From the start God revealed himself to Adam and Eve, ‘[p]lanning to make known the way of heavenly salvation’ (DV3). After the fall, God has continued to reveal himself in history. He called Abraham, then taught the people of Israel through the patriarchs and through Moses and the prophets, that He is the one true God and to await the Saviour. Divine revelation was progressive through time, the Old Testament presenting ‘incomplete and temporary’ (DV15) understandings of God. The Old Testament prepares the way [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses | The Sadducees And The Resurrection Of The Dead | I Am The Way, The Truth And The Life | Jesus Faith And Gospel
The Sadducees deny the resurrection, because they are rich and so proclaim the false belief that the Messianic Kingdom has already arrived, their riches being their reward for living according to the Law. In order to challenge Jesus, they present him with a fictional case of a widow passed from brother to brother, according to the Levirate Law, hoping to make the resurrection look ridiculous [ … ]
Daily Bible Verses | Christian Faith | Render To Cæsar The Things That Are Cæsar’s And To God The Things That Are God’s | Prayer And Jesus | True Faith | Confession
In today’s Bible verses, the confrontation continues between Jesus and the Jewish authorities, who now send Pharisees and Herodians, themselves mutually hostile, to seek to provoke and condemn Jesus [ … ]
Sin | Understanding God’s Plan Of Sin And Forgiveness | What Is Sin? | Prayer And Jesus | Healing | Deadly Sin | Confession | Purity
Sin is an action or thought that goes against the will of God. It is believed that all people are born with a predisposition to sin, and that everyone is capable of committing sin. Sin is often seen as a barrier between people and God, and it is thought to be the cause of many of the problems and difficulties that people experience in their lives. Some common examples of sin in Christianity include things like lying, stealing, murder, and adultery. Ultimately, sin is seen as a form of rebellion against God, and it is thought to be something that can only be forgiven through mercy [ … ]
Ten Commandments | The Eighth Commandment: ‘Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness’
The eighth commandment is a call to authenticity and integrity in all aspects of life. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:25: ‘Therefore, putting away falsehood, let everyone speak the truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another.’ The commandment instructs us to speak truthfully and authentically in our interactions with others, rather than living a ‘double life’ where we present ourselves differently to different people [ … ]
Purgatory | Definition Meaning Hell And Purgatory | Bible
In the Catholic Church, Purgatory is believed to be a place or state of suffering that is temporary and where the souls of those who have died in a state of grace but are not yet fully purified are purified before they can enter heaven. It is believed to be a place of spiritual and moral purification, where the soul is cleansed of any remaining attachments to sin [ … ]
Word Aloud | King James Version New Testament (KJV) | King James Audio Bible KJV Download
The creation of the King James Bible was an extraordinary event in literary and religious history. This was a political act of nation-building and it was a great spiritual gift, of ‘one more exact translation of the Holy Scriptures into the English tongue’, this new translation stamped with royal approval [ … ]
When Was Jesus Born? | The Nativity Of Christ | When Were The Gospels Written? | Why The Birth Of Christ The Winter Solstice?
Saint Luke states that Jesus was born in Nazareth and that his parents had to travel to Bethlehem for a census, which was conducted when Quirinius was Governor of Syria. The reference to Quirinius as Governor of Syria is significant because historical records indicate that he held this position twice, first from AD 6-9 and again from AD 11-12 This means that Jesus’ birth would fall around these dates, and at least a decade after the date suggested by Matthew. [ … ]
The Ten Commandments | The Sixth Commandment: ‘You Shall Not Commit Adultery’
The Church teaches that marriage is a sacrament, which means that it is an outward sign of an inward grace. In marriage, a man and a woman are united in a way that reflects the union between Christ and the Church [ … ]
The Temple | Jerusalem | Judaism | Jesus | First / Second Temple Judaism | Solomon | Herod | Destruction | Jesus | God
Second Temple Judaism refers to the religious and cultural practices of the Jewish people during the Second Temple period, which lasted from the construction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 516 BCE until its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE. During this time, Judaism was marked by the development of various religious movements and the emergence of important religious figures such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes [ … ]