How Well Do You Know Your Bible? My Trivia Quiz Christmas Gift.

The Bible has fascinated authors throughout history and many have adopted its themes pretty explicitly in their fiction. Rosemary's Baby has an inverted birth of Christ episode near the end when the devil's baby is born and three men come to visit. The inversion is pretty obvious in the film as well as the book.  

A number of authors have used bible phrases as their book titles. It's interesting to me that every now and then when I'm reading the Bible I come across a phrase and think, "That would make a great title for a novel." The one I saw yesterday was in the book of Isaiah which I'm reading for Advent. The phrase was "abode of jackals." Now wouldn't that make a great title for a story about a dysfunctional family that are consuming one another through greed, jealousy, and hate. What a challenge to figure out how to redeem one or all of the characters. Sigrid Undset could have done it. She was a master of the human dilemma and the impact of sin and grace. Or how about a spy novel with a hero trying to prevent a terrorist attack by a cell of foreign agents working for an enemy country. And then again couldn't Agatha Christie turn that title into a fascinating murder mystery!

God’s Time Isn’t Our Time

A friend gave me a subscription to a Scripture study site for Christmas. I’m doing the introductory course on the Old Testament. A dozen lessons in, one thing particularly strikes me. God’s time is not our time. God makes a promise and then He waits and watches. 

Got any Good Spiritual Books on Your Reading List?

One of my favorite Catholic authors is Fr. Leo Trese. presently I'm reading his 1961 book, Seventeen Steps to Heaven. I take seriously his recommendation to make spiritual reading a part of daily life. How can we know God if we never think about Him? How can we love God if we don't know Him? Fr. Trese gives us this practical advice:

Loving God is the most important business of our lives....The truly practical Catholic, the Catholic who takes seriously his vocation to love God, will try to make spiritual reading a regular part of his weekly, if not daily, program.

And so, every day I read Scripture, or an entry in the Lives of the Saints, or a chapter in the Imitation of Christ, etc. At present I'm reading the life and ministry of Christ in chronological order in scripture. It puts things in perspective. What happened first? What did Jesus do right after His Baptism and temptation in the desert? I never thought about a lot of it before. His meeting with the woman at the well, for example happened very early in His ministry, so did the nighttime visit of Nicodemus. How does that impact my understanding of Jesus and His ministry?

Holy Week Monday: It begins. The repentant woman anoints Jesus for his burial....

And standing behind at his feet, she began to wash his feet, with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment....And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon: Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she with tears hath washed my feet, and with her hairs hath wiped them. Thou gavest me no kiss; but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet.My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she with ointment hath anointed my feet. Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less. (Luke 7:44ff)

Sign the open letter urging our bishops to "RESTORE THE SACRAMENTS!"

Sunday Meditation: Are You Listening to the Lord?

In his homily this morning Father stressed how important it is to listen to the Lord. All the readings stressed listening. Elijah heard God speaking in the tiny sound. Many people would miss his call after the earthquake and the storm. Only the person really listening could recognize that still, small voice. In the responsorial the psalmist declares, "I will hear what God proclaims; the Lord -- for he proclaims peace." But only the one who listens will hear that peaceful proclamation! And if he truly listens, he will put that peace into practice. In Matthew's gospel, we heard the story of Peter walking on water. When he heard the Lord call him to walk on the water, he responded to the invitation because he listened. But fear filled his heart and closed up his ears to the Lord's call. That's when he started to sink. He let the storm and the wind drown out the Lord's voice.

Father mentioned during the homily that often people say to him that they feel like the Lord isn't listening to them. But "that's not how it works," he said. "We're supposed to listen to Him!" So if you aren't hearing the Lord maybe it's because you're speaking instead of listening. Remember the scripture that says, "Be still and know that I am God." If you are still like Elijah and listening for God's proclamation like the psalmist and keeping your eyes on the Lord instead of the storm like Peter, who knows what you can accomplish? -- even walking on water. Be assured that, even if you falter as Peter did, the Lord will be there stretching out His hand to rescue you.

Praised be to God! Have a blessed Sunday!

The Bible at Your Fingertips

Don't have a Bible handy but have your I-phone and want to look something up. Here's a handy reference to put the entire Bible (New American which is the lectionary version) literally at your fingertips. And it proves that the USCCB is actually good for something.

I'm reading Acts of the Apostles during the Easter Season. It's one of my favorite books because it reads like an adventure story with travels, shipwrecks, miracles, heroes and villains. And we are still living that post Resurrection adventure story. The villains today abound which gives us plenty of opportunity to practice heroism.

Jesus asks. How do we answer?

One of the passages in scripture that always gives me a heartache is Jesus lament, "When I return will I find any faith on the earth?" Did He ask that question literally? As God He certainly knew how many would be faithful when He returned for the general judgment. Was his question rhetorical - expressing His pain at the loss of any of His children? Does Jesus' question call for a response from us? What should that response be? These are questions that I want to reflect on so I can give Him an answer. If he asked you that question, how would you respond?