House Rules/Notes…
1. Our meeting/classes are In-Person the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at St. John Neumann Catholic Church 11900 Lawyers Road, Reston, VA 20191 https://saintjn.org/ (usually held downstairs in Room 5), but they are ONLINE EVERY TUESDAY on Zoom.
2. To sign up for Zoom notifications and to receive the Meeting Recaps, go to www.meetup.com/catholicbiblestudy and join us! The Zoom Logon is the same every week: Zoom ID: 861 1782 2081 Password: 406952.
3. After each meeting, I send out Meeting Recaps of what we discussed. Please remember these recaps are unedited and without the pictures. The edited version with pictures will be posted before the next class on the Website – www.CatholicCatacombs.org. Taylor will notify everyone at that time and provide a link.
4. Questions encouraged. If you have questions, we ask that you keep them on topic and brief. You can ask in the chat box during the class, or email through Meetup.com, or email me at ron@hallagan.net afterwards.
5. Respectfulness. We will be discussing differences between religions and between Christian denominations, and we agree to be respectful at all times. Protestants especially are our friends and brothers-in-Christ; in fact, I personally owe part of my return to the faith to them!
6. No politics. It would be easy for us to self-destruct, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to learn/understand/apply the Bible and our Catholic faith.
7. Catholic Prayer & Fellowship. Are you interested in praying the rosary, etc. with other Catholics during the week? Follow fellow member Jason Goldberg at https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/. Daily/weekly prayer is saintly!
8. “The Chosen” TV series. All of us seek a relationship with Jesus Christ, which is not always easy. It can help if we have seen and heard Him. The Chosen captures Jesus better than any show I have ever seen. Highly recommended.
9. RSVP Reminder: Please RSVP whether you are attending the meeting or just reading the Recaps afterwards. The more RSVPs, the more Meetup will give exposure to “Catholic Bible Study” – a good thing!
Bible Study Format: Each week of the month has a repeating topic, as noted below.
Each meeting: 5 min greet/prayer, 10 min Apologetics, 15 min Gospel, 30 min main topic.
Week 1: Gospel Week
Week 2: Bible Week (Gen to Rev): We are in The Book of First Kings.
Week 3: Survey Topics Voted on by Members:
x 1) Great Women in the Bible 2) Book of Revelation 3) Fathers, Heresies, Church Councils 4) Modern Miracles
5) Luther & The Reformation
Week 4: Apologetics and Member Requests:
1. 57% Miracles since the NT
2. 35% Why does God allow suffering?
3. 35% What should our response be to those who ask us about priestly sex abuse?
4. 35% Explain Mother Teresa’s “Dark Night of the Soul.”
5. 28% What is Tradition? Is Tradition equal to Scripture in importance? (2Thes2:15)
6. 28% What about the atheist who leads a good life? Can I be a person be good apart from God?
7. 21% Explain what happens to animals after they die. Will we see our pets?
8. 14% Was Emperor Constantine good or bad? Was he a Christian? How was the Church affected?
Each meeting: 5 min greet/prayer, 10 min Catholic topic, 15 min Gospel, 30 min weekly topic.
Vote on above
Reader?
Catholic Prayer & Fellowship. Are you interested in praying the rosary, etc. with other Catholics during the week? Follow fellow member Jason Goldberg at https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/. Daily/weekly prayer is saintly!
Upcoming major holy days: August 15 – Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
We will cover the Assumption next Tues, Aug 13.
Opening Prayer
O Lord, let our prayers be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! – Ps-141:2
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. – Rev 5:8
As you taught us to pray together…
Our Father…
What was the origin of using incense in the Church?
Incense can refer to any smoke (usually fragrant), and its first use in the Bible was inferred (without specifically being mentioned) when Cain and Abel make their first offerings to God after the Fall (Gen 4:3-4). The smoke represents the offering of gratitude (or repentance) rising up to God. This was “pleasing to God” in that humans were seeking to mend their ways and to conform themselves to the goodness and likeness of God.
The use of incense was formalized during the Exodus when God instructed the priestly tribe of Levites to burn incense on a special altar. The incense was made from sweet spices and gums and was renewed daily. Once again, the fragrant smoke of the incense represented the “sweet smelling prayers” of the Israelites rising up to God. This practice not only continued to/during the time of Jesus but remained thereafter as part of the Church’s liturgy.
Today’s Agenda
1. Exegesis – Recap of The Lord’s Prayer
2. Apologetics – Justification
3. Gospel #1: Reading for 19th Sun in Ord Time, Aug 11, John 6:41-51 Jesus the Bread of Life
4. Gospel #2: John 3:1-8 Jesus and Nicodemus
Quote of the Week:
“Take heed, then, to have but one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to show forth the unity of His blood; one altar; as there is one bishop, along with the presbytery and deacons, my fellow-servants: that so, whatsoever you do, you may do it according to the will of God. – St. Ignatius of Antioch, disciple of John, 107AD
Apologetics and Exegesis Terms
Exegesis is the study/interpretation of the Word of God. On Tuesday nights, we are all exegetes!
Catholic Apologetics– apologetics means to defend a belief, so Catholic Apologetics is the art of defending the Catholic faith using reason, apostolic tradition, and Scripture.
Apologetics Word of the Week: Justification. “Justification” in Catholic teaching is the act of God’s grace that transforms a sinner into a just person. It involves the forgiveness of sins and liberation from sin's control, achieved through faith in Christ and the grace received in Baptism.
Going deeper, justification is a cooperative process between divine grace and human freedom, where individuals respond to God's call with faith and charity. Ultimately, it aims for the glory of God and the gift of eternal life, affirming that justification is a merciful initiative from God. It is not achieved by human merit but on faith in Christ's redemptive sacrifice.
In contrast, Protestantism often views justification as a legal declaration, where faith alone (sola fide) suffices for salvation, without the necessity of inner transformation or good works (although they say good works naturally follow). Catholic teaching highlights the belief in the integral relationship between faith, grace, and moral action within justification.
Exegesis of the Week: Recap of the Our Father abbreviating the last 7 weeks of exegesis.
Our Father Physical creator, Spiritual parent.
Who art in Heaven Our origin, our destination, our home.
Hallowed be thy Name Holy/perfect “I AM” = love, truth, justice, mercy. We proclaim Your glory!
Your Kingdom come It has come AND is coming = in process, waiting for us, free will must choose
Your Will be done God’s will (love, justice, mercy) are verbs; “Be done”= participate/apprenticeship.
On earth as it is in Heaven Jesus: the kingdom is at hand/here and coming = immanent and imminent.
Give us this day Manna every day = daily dependence on God.
Our daily Bread Eternal Bread/Incarnationà Jesus gives Himself to us for the journey (communion).
Forgive us our sins Upper Room; the cost is our self-centeredness; the reward is our relationship w/God.
As we forgive those others Like Christ/God; conditional; our Heavenly apprenticeship.
Lead us out of temptation Spiritual boot camp/moderation all things/apprenticeship every hour/day.
Deliver us from evil External protection against evil and the devil; deliver us to the gates of Heaven.
Amen! “It is true!” or “Let it be so!”
Gospel #1 – 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: John 6:41-51, Jesus Bread of Life
Context: Last week, our story in John 6 left off with Jesus returning to Capernaum after feeding 5000+, pursued by throngs of people who were convinced they had found the “kingly Messiah.” Jesus tells them they are seeking the wrong thing – worldly greatness. He compares it to the manna during Exodus that was temporary to the bread that he brings which is eternal. The point to note here is that the first half of John 6 is all about faith; belief in who Jesus is. If they don’t believe in who he is, they sure aren’t going to believe the next part!
John 6:41-51
41The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven," and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
What does this sound like? Think of Moses.
The Israelites complained (“murmured”) about Moses right after the miracle of the Red Sea to save them. Here, the Jews complain about Jesus’s claims right after he fed 5000+ with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish, when he is trying to save them. The allusions to Moses and the Exodus are endless.
43Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.
Jesus points to Exodus again using the same word (murmuring), which they all knew. He also quotes Isaiah 55:3 who wrote about the messianic age where God Himself will teach them: “Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”
Why do I keep pointing out these seemingly little connections to the Old Testament?
Because Jesus said this:
Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” – Matthew 5:17-18
So part of exegesis is making those connections because none of them are for nothing. They all have meaning!
47Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
This is an astounding statement, one that the Jews would have no context for understanding. But before we answer that, let’s first ask the question: Why do we see so much talk about flesh and blood?
Jesus is the true manna not only because He is the Word of God but because He sacrificed his life – his flesh and blood – for the life of the world.
For context, it helps to remember that sacrifices go way back and were quite important. They still are, but in an unbloody way.
Ever since man's fall from grace, sacrifices were offered for sins. Sacrifices are substitutes that we offer out of love – and also for reparations. We love our children so we sacrifice things so we can put them through college. If we have hurt someone, we will sacrifice our pride – or do something – to show that we are sorry for our actions.
In the OT, an unblemished animal was sacrificed in the place of the sinner. But unlike other gods, Yahweh had the Israelites eat the sacrifice, as though joining him for a meal of friendship, since friendship was being re-established. This wasn’t about God – He needs nothing. It was about us learning the value of goodness and the cost of hurting one another.
Why unblemished?
Because there is little cost to giving up an old, diseased goat that was ready to die anyway. That would only mean the
request for forgiveness was not sincere. We all know that the greater our sacrifice for another person, the greater our love. This applies here, too. Now let’s read this…
Leviticus 17:11: For the life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you for performing the rite of expiation on the altar of your lives, for blood is what expiates for a life.
What is the point of these words?
The Israelites recognized that one’s blood is one’s life. By offering up the life of the animal as a substitute, they put their hands on the animal’s head. This would symbolize transferring their sins to the animal, who was then burned. Remember the sweet smell of the smoke (incense)? It was sweet because it was the people’s sorrow for sin and desire to retain their friendship with God. The Israelites would then sprinkle the blood on the altar. Blood was life – a life for a life! Spiritually speaking, they were asking God for the animal’s life to be given to them. They knew that, without these sacrifices, they would all die in their sins. This is why many Orthodox Jews want to restart the sacrificial system when the Temple is resorted in Jerusalem.
And after all this, God shared the (cooked) flesh of the animal with the people as a sign of friendship. This is why Jesus talks about flesh and blood, which he is about to give up for us, and will also explain his words at the Last Supper.
I hope you can see that this not just a bunch of uneducated, primitive sacrifices. They have significant spiritual depth.
God was teaching the Israelites the principles of sacrifice and forgiveness as a way to become right again with God. This was the Old Testament form of temporary “Justification,” – becoming just again in the eyes of God. It was temporary because Jesus hadn’t come yet. As the Jews had predicted, Jesus will do away with bloody sacrifices when he offers himself up, and offer us eternal forgiveness instead.
48“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is my flesh.”
What God has wanted from the beginning is to sit down with his creatures in a fellowship banquet, sharing life and laughter, giving and receiving and giving back again. This is the loop of grace that theologians speak of. The more we receive the divine life, the more we should give it away and therein we automatically get more of it.
Next week…
As you can see, in Jesus last words above, he moves into the second half of the message of John 6, which is the eating of the bread, the Eucharist. This is where we will pick up next week.
Gospel #2 – Jesus and Nicodemus, surrender and cooperation
John 3:1-8
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.
He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?”
Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. You must be born from above.”
(Jesus continues) “Do not be amazed that I told you this… The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Q: What does Jesus mean by saying one cannot enter the kingdom of God without being born from above?
Born from above (or born again) refers to our spiritual regeneration, which all humans. We need it in order to garner the graces available to us that will strengthen us here, increase our wisdom and our equanimity, and develop our relationship with God that will follow us into the next phase of our lives.
Q: What does Jesus mean by saying one cannot enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit?
This gets down to the meaning of “sacrament.” Following the rule of the Incarnation – where God becomes man, Heaven meets earth, Spirit connects with the material – “sacrament” is the also the gift-giving of God’s grace to humans (supernatural blessings/power) through a material interface. In this case, it’s the water of Baptism. Jesus not only makes this clear here, but as he ascends to Heaven, his final instructions to his disciples are:
“Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” – Mt 28:20.
Q: What does Jesus mean when he says: “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Wind and Spirit share the same root word – pneuma in Greek. Jesus is playing on its double-meaning because the wind and the Spirit have common characteristics. When we have the Spirit, and when we believe in the Spirit, we can be led by the Spirit even though we don’t always know where it is leading us. And like the wind, we don’t control it. But we can cooperate with it, although that takes surrendering the ego/self. When we let the Lord take the lead in our lives, we are cooperating with the Spirit.
I’ve shared this before, but I can’t help but use the boating analogy. Our egos tend to make us think like speedboats. Speedboats don’t much care about the wind. We can drive them into the wind, away from the wind, we can go as fast as we want and wherever we want. In fact, we have to be careful, or we will run right over others.
The Christian life, however, should be more like a sailboat. In a sailboat, we have to respect the wind, be on the lookout for it, adjust our sails, catch it, and ride with it. A “sailor” is successful only to the degree that he learns how to cooperate with movement of the wind.
And so it is with us: our “success” in the Christian life depends on our openness to the Spirit guiding and empowering us. When we are “born of the Spirit” in Baptism, and advanced in the Spirit through the other sacraments, we receive the grace to move through life like the sailboat. It is grace that further accelerates our ability to cooperate with the Spirit.
Now lets’ read Jesus’ statement again and see if it makes more sense:
“The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8
Cooperating with the spirit/wind will bring us peace because we are not so anxious about the countless distressing things in our lives that we cannot control. We don’t ignore them; we give them to God and let Him lead us.
Closing Prayer
Prayer of Mother Teresa
People are often unreasonable and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you.
Be honest anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
In the end, it was between you and God, anyway.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,
Blessed art though among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners
Now, and at the hour of our death. Amen!
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