The Bread of Life Discourse II - John 6, Part 4 (The Mass Readings Explained)

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Strength for the Journey: 19th Sunday in OT

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, the hero Frodo, a hobbit or “Halfling”, while on his long and arduous journey through the land of shadows governed by the Satan-figure Sauron, finds sustenance in lembas, the elven-bread given to him by Galadriel the elven-queen in Lothlorien, the mystic land of the Elves.  Each loaf of lembas is round and flat and tastes slightly of honey, and strengthens a man enough for a day’s journey.  While wandering with his faithful companion Samwise Gamgee in a land of monsters, demons, goblins, and giant spiders, Frodo stays alive on the sweetness of the elf-bread that breathes the odor of the golden woods and the beauty of the elf-queen.

The Bread of Life Discourse I - John 6, Part 3 (The Mass Readings Explained)

This week's video is now out as we move through John 6 in the lectionary.  Check it out below.

The New Manna from Heaven (The Mass Readings Explained)

This week's video is now out for The Mass Readings Explained.  Check it out below.

The Bread of Life: 17th Sunday in OT

This weekend we begin a five-week stretch of meditation on John 6, a kind of summer Eucharist-fest that comes around every three years.  The rationale for this is that we are in Year B of the Lectionary, which covers the second Gospel, the Gospel of Mark.  Now, Mark is the shortest of the Gospels, so in order to fill it out, the Church inserts John 6 into the middle of the Lectionary readings, near Mark 6, which recounts the same event, the Feeding of the 5,000.  John’s account, however, is much longer and includes a long discourse on the theme “Bread of Life” after recounting the miracle itself.  John doesn’t have its own lectionary cycle year, but rather most of the Fourth Gospel is read during Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter or other significant feast days.  John 6, however, doesn’t fit naturally into either the Advent-Christmas cycle or the Lent-Easter-Pentecost cycle, so the Church shoehorns it into the middle of Ordinary Time in Year B. 

The Feeding of the 5,000 (The Mass Readings Explained)

For the next 5 Sundays, the Church will take us through John 6 in the Gospel readings.  Video 1 was just released for this Sunday's Mass Readings.

Good Shepherds and the Sheep: 16th Sunday in OT

At this time in the Church year, we are working our way through the Gospel of Mark, approaching the record of the Feeding of the 5,000 (Mark 6).  In the next five weeks, we are going to take a break from Mark in order to meditate on John’s account of the same event (John 6), which will provide a lengthy opportunity to reflect on the theology and biblical basis for the Eucharist.  This Sunday, however, we will only read the introduction of the account of the 5,000, and focus on the issue of leadership for God’s people rather than the Eucharist itself.

1.  Our first reading comes from the prophet Jeremiah:

 Jer 23:1-6:

Unlikely Candidates for God's Service: The 15th Sunday of OT

Ancient Photo of Amos Found Among the Dead Sea Scrolls (colorized)

The readings for this upcoming Sunday are united by the theme of God’s choice of his messengers.  And, as is typical for God, he chooses some unlikely candidates. 

1.  Our first reading is from the prophet Amos 7:12-15:

A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament is Shipping!

The Catholic Introduction to the Bible that Dr. Pitre and I have been working on since 2012 has finally appeared in physical reality!  What you see in the picture is one of the fifty copies that magically appeared on my porch late last night.  I've heard that the printer has delivered them to Ignatius and Ignatius is trying to fulfill the orders as quickly as possible.
This book started with a conversation between Dr. Pitre and myself in a hotel room at what I believe would have been the 2009 SBL Annual Meeting in New Orleans, if I remember correctly.  We discussed the need for a biblical introduction for Catholic major seminarians and masters-level students that was on par with the introductions provided to Protestant seminarians and graduate students.  It took two years to gather the necessary funding and arrange the sabbaticals to have the time to write, but I began the first draft of the Old Testament volume in January 2012.  I would have had it completed by December, but in October of that year the birth of my special-needs son Niklaas, after a high-risk complicated pregnancy, really cut into my productivity and delayed the project, and when I went back to full time teaching in Jan 2013, I could make hardly any progress.  Although I was almost done in December of 2012, just the last two chapters, on The Twelve and Maccabees, took about six months, until around June 2013.  It took Dr. Pitre another year to make his editorial additions (largely the Patristic exegesis portion of each chapter, but many other improvements as well), and in July 2014 we sent the "final" draft to Ignatius Press.  That was about a year and a half later than planned, which caused difficulty with the press, as they had several high-profile books in the works that took priority. The project lay dormant until Spring 2016, when Ignatius began the layout and editing process in earnest.  That involved a great deal of work on the part of Dr. Pitre and I, as multiple drafts went back and forth, cleaning up images and footnotes, revising text, etc.  Finally, at the beginning of 2018, it felt like we were getting close to seeing this become a reality, the "light at the end of the tunnel," and now finally it is out, in time for adoption as a text for Fall classes, for those so inclined.
This book is a labor of love, and if it is long, it is because love wants to linger.  St. Josemaria said, "You think the Mass is long because your love is short."  The same concept applies to this book for those who might think it is too long.  Dr. Pitre and I well understand the need to be succinct and pedagogical, and I challenge any other Bible scholar to write something more succinct than my Bible Basics for Catholics, for example.  However, this book is not for the same audience as Bible Basics.  This is for serious Catholic students, who want to move on from milk to meat, so to speak.  It's written for persons who presumably have a strong grasp of English written rhetoric, some familiarity with the Scriptures, and a strong desire to embrace the Scriptures more fully with mind and heart.
Every single book of the Old Testament is precious to Dr. Pitre and I, and we treated each one with loving care, like a father who proudly lines up his children to introduce each one in turn to a respected guest who has come to visit.  Each biblical book is a universe in itself, and the Gospel can be found in each, though each time painted in different tints and hues.  We hope this book will find a warm reception from Catholics who love and are in love with God's Word, who have the patience and time to sit with the Word and develop a relationship with him.

Jesus Calls the Twelve Apostles (The Mass Readings Explained)

The latest video for this upcoming Sunday's Mass Readings is now out.  Jesus sends his twelve apostles, the prophet Amos is rejected by Amaziah, and the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick are all covered in the Scripture readings for this Sunday's Mass.

Neck Stiff? Heart Hard? Get Jesus! 14th Sunday of OT

This Sunday’s readings draw a comparison between three groups: (1) stiff-necked Israelites in the time of the prophets, (2) the townsfolk of Nazareth in the days of Jesus, and (3) you and I sitting in the pew.  The message to us is: repent, and believe the Good News.

1. Our first reading comes from near the beginning of the book of Ezekiel, when that great prophet was receiving his initial call from God:

The Brothers of Jesus (The Mass Readings Explained)

This week's video is now out below for The Mass Readings Explained.

Pilgrimage to Holy Land and Qumran, May 16-25, 2019

To coincide with the release of my new book on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jesus and the Scrolls: The Jewish Roots of the Church (Random House; April 2019), I'll be leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with special attention to Qumran and the Scrolls.  The specifics are here. I hope to have an electronic sign-up form available soon.  Till then, you can contact me for a pilgrimage application.

The Goodness of Life: The 13th Sunday of OT

The readings for this Sunday focus on the theme of death, and God’s power over it.  They discuss God’s relationship with, and intentions for, the natural world: topics that resonate with Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment Laudato Si. The first reading poses some issues that have to be discussed:

Reading 1 Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24

Jesus the Healer (The Mass Readings Explained)

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Birth of a Glorious Failure: The Nativity of John the Baptist

This Sunday we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, a great saint and biblical character who led a very difficult life and ministry. 

In hindsight, the conflict that led to his demise and martyrdom has a strangely modern ring to it: he was jailed by Herod Antipas for speaking out on marriage (Mark 6:17-18).  Specifically, John the Baptist held to the principle of one man, one woman, for life—a theology of marriage founded in Scripture (Mal. 2:13-16) and reflected in the Essene movement at Qumran (CD 4:19–5:2) and in the teachings of Our Lord (Matt 19:3-12).  This got him into trouble with the nation’s chief executive, Herod Antipas, whose own views on marriage had evolved: he had wed Herodias, his divorced ex-sister-in-law, who was also his niece.  John the Baptist said the marriage was unlawful.  Herod invoked executive privilege to have John arrested and detained for expressing his intolerant views on marriage in public.  Eventually, Herod had him beheaded at the request of his wife Herodias’ daughter Salome, who gave a “hot” hip-hop performance for the king and his cabinet that earned her a political favor (Mark 6:14-29).

The Nativity of John the Baptist (The Mass Readings Explained)

This week's video is now out for The Mass Readings Explained on the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

Now Seeds, START GROWING!: The Readings for the 11 Sunday of OT

In this week’s Mass readings, Jesus teaches us about himself and the Church using agricultural images.

We have to get re-oriented to what is going on in Ordinary Time of Year B.  The Gospel is moving ad seriatim (sequentially) through Mark.  We are going to read a substantial amount of Mark this year by the end of November, with the exception of the Passion and Resurrection accounts (Mark 14-16), which were already read at Palm/Passion Sunday and Easter.  

The second reading is moving through Paul’s Epistles to the Corinthians.  

The first readings for the rest of the year are selections from the Old Testament chosen to complement the Gospel reading.

The Parables of the Growing Seed & the Mustard Seed (The Mass Readings Explained)

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