Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study & Apologetics
Every Tuesday, 7PM-8PM. This meeting is a lecture/Q&A format. It is free.
Zoom Meetings: www.meetup.com/catholicbiblestudy
Catholic Catacombs Website: www.CatholicCatacombs.org
House rules/notes…
Our meeting/classes are In-Person the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of every month at St. John Neumann Catholic Church 11900 Lawyers Road, Reston, VA 20191 https://saintjn.org/ (held downstairs in Room 5), and ONLINE via 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.
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 on our website before the next class at www.catholiccatacombs.org. Taylor will notify everyone at that time and provide a link.
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.
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!
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.
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!
“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.
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!
Our Website: CatholicCatacombs.org
Bible Study Format
Each week of the month has a repeating theme, as noted below.
Weekly Topics
Wk 1: Gospel Week – we study several Gospel stories, especially difficult ones.
Wk 2: Bible Week – we are working our way through the Bible. Currently the Prophets (1,000 BC-1 BC).
Wk 3: Survey Topics Voted on by Members:
x 1) Jesus’ Greatest Parables, x2) Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, x3) World Religions, x4) Great Women in the Bible 5) Book of Revelation 6) Prophecies 7) Fathers of the Church, Heresies, Church Councils.
Wk 4: Member Questions/Apologetics:
21% Explain what happens to animals after they die. Will we see our pets?
14% Was Emperor Constantine good or bad? Was he a Christian? How was the Church affected?
Please explain Limbo.
Could you review of Plenary and Partial Indulgences again?
Class on Mary?
The format for each weekly meeting is (roughly) as follows:
15 min Apologetics/Catholic Topic/Edifications
15 min Upcoming Gospel reading
30 min Weekly topic/theme
1 hour
Reader for the day… (not always needed, Taylor will select)
Survey sent out Sunday. One more week to complete. It takes 5 min.
Upcoming major holy days: All Saints Day Nov 1
Our Bible Study is a combination of Exegesis and Apologetics.
The Study and Interpretation of Scripture A Defense of our Faith using Scripture, Tradition, & Reason
Opening Prayer: Today we will just open with the Lord’s Prayer, starting with a reflection drawn from Bishop Barron:
Notice how this prayer rightly orders us in our lives, to God’s holy name first;
then by striving to do His will in all things and at all times;
then we ask to be strengthened by His spiritual food so that we may become agents of forgiveness; finally,
we ask the Lord’s help to overcome the inner temptations of our ego, and to withstand the evil in the world around us.
Lord, as You taught us to pray together:
Our Father Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily Bread;
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
TODAY:
Catholic Topic: Halloween and Ghosts
Sunday’s Reading – 29th Sun in Ord Time (10/20): Mark 10:42-45 Leadership and Service
Weekly Topic: Book of Revelation - Conclusion
Catholic Topic: Halloween
Q: At times in the past but also in the present, people who know little about Catholicism have claimed that Halloween is a pagan holiday that Catholics assimilated into Christianity. Is this true?
No, but then the best lies often have a kernel of truth in them – and so does this one!
Here's the connection:
Halloween is indeed an old Catholic celebration, similar to Marti Gras before Lent except this one is more for the children. As you may know, the day after Halloween is All Saints Day (Nov 1), which celebrates all the named and unnamed Saints since the time of Christ who successfully stood up against evil. Since the saints were being honored on Nov 1, it made sense to the Christians (Catholics) in Scotland and Ireland to celebrate “farewell” to all the pagan gods the day prior to All Saints Day. Halloween comes from the word, "All Hallow’s Eve” which is Scottish for the “Eve of All Saints.” Since the pagan Celtic religions were filled with demons, witches, magic spells, skeletons, etc., people dressed up accordingly in a way of celebrating their demise, no doubt with some Guinness beer.
At the time the Scots and Irish brought All Hallow’s Eve with them to the United States, America was mostly inhabited by Protestants, who disdained all things Catholic. Moreover, if you remember your history, the Puritans came to America because England wasn’t Protestant enough, so you can imagine what they thought about this horrible Catholic custom. It was condemned as Catholic paganism and that was the beginning of yet another conspiracy against Catholicism.
All that said, as our society today strives ardently to remove all traces of God from the public arena, it is little wonder that Halloween has become a concern for some. If people forget that its original intent was to celebrate good overcoming evil, then in a sense, paganism is left standing. That seems to be the bane of our times, but not for us at the Northern Virginia Bible Study group, no sir! We will continue to carry the Lord’s light wherever we go!
A neighbor’s house
Ghosts – do we believe that they exist?
The invisibility of the spiritual realm makes it seem as though there is a clear divide between it and our everyday life that we call “reality.” We forget that our five senses are designed to apprehend material things; in this lifetime we do not naturally have the faculties to apprehend spiritual realities. When, according to God’s will, spiritual beings such as angels appear, they must take on an appearance that is perceivable to our senses.
In a similar way, it seems the souls of the deceased have been permitted to appear to mankind. Such apparitions have been recorded for thousands of years. It is a mystery why God allows certain souls to seek spiritual aid, and why some people among the living – though very few – are able to communicate with them. We must trust His provident will.
Such visitations are rare but they follow a pattern. For example, many of these souls seek out saintly men and women whose holiness can benefit them spiritually. When the soul’s purification is complete, or when their helper has given all the assistance that they can, the visits cease. We call them the “poor souls in Purgatory” because they have no control (will) over their purification process.
These souls, despite being separated from their bodies, display “recognizable characteristics of the face and body that they animated during earthly life – and with which they will be united on the day of general judgment,” writes Dr. Gerard van den Aardweg, a renowned Catholic author and psychotherapist who has studied numerous cases.
There are other kinds of apparitions as well. It seems that departed souls can appear in certain places without the intention of visiting someone. Thomas Aquinas was able to infer (through the study of trustworthy apparitions) that some poor souls undergo their purification here on earth. Van den Aardweg says, “This may account for certain claims of recurrent apparitions of departed persons on certain fixed places, such as where they lived or the site of their sins.”
So, then, are documented ghost sightings actually apparitions of souls in purgatory?
Ghosts, properly understood, are disembodied souls, and disembodied souls belong to human beings who have died, since death results when the soul separates from the body.
The Catholic Church does not offer an official teaching on the subject of ghosts, although her theologians have discussed the matter for centuries. St. Thomas Aquinas had this to say:
…according to the disposition of divine providence, separated souls sometimes come forth from their abode and appear to men . . . It is also credible that this may occur sometimes to the souls of the damned, and that for man’s instruction and intimidation they be permitted to appear to the living.
So, yes, it seems that what people call “ghosts” are departed souls. Also note St. Thomas’s point that the “damned” may appear “for man’s instruction.” In other words, God doesn’t permit apparitions for mere entertainment.
Warning. However, demons are capable of pretending to be departed souls; therefore, not all “ghosts” are from Purgatory. Some apparitions that present themselves as souls of the dead may indeed turn out to be demons in disguise, seeking to deceive the credulous (gullible). Therefore, “so-called manifestations of the dead during magic or occult sessions are by no means the departed persons they pretend to be, but hoaxes or demonic imposters.” – Gerard J. M. van den Aardweg, Ph.D., Hungry Souls. In other words, a TRAP.
Takeaways for your Halloween plans:
1) Not every claim of ghostly activity is genuine; and 2) most paranormal reports can be attributed to natural causes.
no
Reading: Mark 10:42-45 Leadership and Service
Context: Continuing on from last week (the Rich Man and the Camel and Needle), Jesus is still teaching while enroute to Jerusalem for the last time. In the passage before this, James and John ask Jesus if they can sit at his right and left hand when he comes into his glory. Clearly, Jesus’ teaching on humility seems to have had little impact on the Zebedee brothers. In the passage below Jesus gives them another lesson, which also has application for us today.
Mark 10:42-45
Jesus summoned the twelve and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentileslord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Twenty-some years ago, the church changed the words, “ransom for all” to “ransom for many.” Why?
Some fundamentalists and non-Catholics think it means Jesus is being exclusive – that he only died for some of us; but that isn’t the case. The reason is first, because it’s a more accurate translation. The Greek word πολλῶν (pollōn) can also be translated as multitudes or countless, which does not exclude “all.” The same word is used at the Last Supper:
For this is the blood of my new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. – Mt. 26:28
Although “all” could be used for these passages, it could also give the wrong impression. Certainly, Jesus did die for all humanity, but not all humanity will seek or accept his offer of forgivness and to follow him. If the passages say “all,” it can leave the impression that everyone is saved and nobody has to worry or do anything different than what they have always done. Christianity is a call to love, charity, forgiveness, and humility, which is not “business as usual.”
Most of us understand Jesus teaching that those seeking to be the first in this life shall be last in Heaven, and the last here shall be first in Heaven. But how does this apply to our work today?
The application of Jesus’ teaching to our work is called “servant leadership,” which is what Jesus did while he was on earth. It’s why he lived humbly, went to those who were in need and forgave them, and why he laid down his life for us.
Instead of trying to control, judge, and play it safe, servant leadership calls us to serve others, show charity, seek input from others, and empower the least of our brethern to participate and help each other. It means nobody in our organizations or communities is lower than us and that we are not better than anyone. As Jesus said, whenever we enter a room, take the least seat in the house and expect no special treatment. Insist any special treatment goes to others.
Whether in business, government, the military, or the family, the best leaders are those who have everyone else’s backs regardless of the cost.
Servant Leadership
The Book of Revelation/Apocalypse – Conclusion 7:35
Over the last several months, we reviewed the purpose of the book of Revelation, the meaning of its prophecies, many of the symbolic references, and the interactions between Mary and the Dragon.
We also discussed that the book was written by the Apostle John while exiled on the island of Patmos near the end of the first century, and that the Book of Revelation is the genre of apocalyptic literature similar to the OT prophets Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah.
Apocalyptic literature typically deals in prophecy – usually regarding the immediate future, but occasionally it refers to the “End Times.”
The study of the End Times is called “eschatology” and refers to such events as Christ’s Second Coming, Judgment Day, and the New Heaven & New Earth.
We also discussed that the prophesied “New Age,” is the age we live in now. This age was ushered in by none other than Jesus Christ and is also known as the “Messianic Age,” or the “Age of the Church,” or the “Age of the Holy Spirit.” It is in this age that Heaven has been re-opened for business and God seeks to populate it with as many humans as possible – if people will only choose better than Adam & Eve (i.e., God-centered vs. self-centered).
The primary prophecies in Revelation – which are the “hub” of the book – involve the Roman Empire’s attempt to crush the Church. Around this theme, John gradually unfolds the plan that God has for the future of his Church. To do this, he uses scary, apocalyptic images, again just like the prophets Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. John’s various “predictions” have to do with the Church both then and now. They are an echo of what Jesus himself foretold:
In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” –John 16:33, Luke 18:7
Main Symbolism:
The Beast – John is “generally” referring to the Roman Empire. It’s seven heads refers to the seven hills around Rome. However, he is also “specifically” referring to the Roman Emperors, particularly the last 7 emperors of persecution.
Babylon – Rome
The Dragon – Satan
The Millenium – not a literal thousand years, but a long period of time – specifically, the Messianic Age that we are in right now.
The Woman/Queen in Revelation 12 giving birth to a boy (Savior) – Mary
Some non-Catholics will say the woman is not Mary but represents giving birth to Jesus’ new Church. What does the Church teach?
The Woman/Queen in Rev 12 is BOTH. The Woman/Queen was seen by the Apostolic Fathers as both Mary, the Mother of Jesus the Savior and the symbolically the Mother of the Church, which Jesus started.
Keep in mind that Mary is ideally suited for this role since she was a daughter of the Old Covenant (born prior to Jesus) and the mother of the New Covenant (Jesus is the New Covenant). Moreover, she was the Church’s first member!
Besides being an Apostle, why else is John the most qualified to speak about Mary?
On the cross, Jesus gives his mother to the care of the Apostle John. Mary not only finished out her years with John (~15 years?) but tradition says she remained an indispensable source of love and encouragement for all the apostles right up until her Assumption (est. 48AD).
The Great Tribulation – The last period of our time before the Second (final) Coming of Christ. During the Great Tribulation, it is believed that the Antichrist will win many humans over to his side (the great apostacy). Christ will come at that time, destroy the Antichrist, and lock away Satan forever. After this comes the Final Judgment of mankind.
The Antichrist – There are several references in scripture to Antichrists – Paul says many have come already, just like there have been many “tribulations” for the Church. But the last Antichrist appears to be a major earthly leader who opposes Jesus Christ and his teachings and may falsely substitute him/herself as the true savior of humankind. This Antichrist would be the center of the Great/Last Tribulation. He or she will seek to convince humans that all religions are the same, that humans have all the answers, that Christ is a lie, and that he will bring about utopia on earth. Many will fall for this.
The Antichrist will be charismatic and easily win people over. Looks like Jesus, but a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
The last 2 ½ chapters of Revelation (20-22)
At the end of Chapter 20, Christ returns, destroys the Antichrist, and brings an end to the Great Tribulation. This ushers in the Last Judgement, when all humans who ever lived will be judged according to the lives they have lived.
Chapter 21 and 22 present a vision of the new heaven and new earth, culminating in a description of the New Jerusalem.
In Rev 21, John sees a transformed creation where God dwells with humanity, eliminating sorrow, death, and pain. The New Jerusalem is depicted as a magnificent city adorned with precious stones, with 12 gates named after the tribes of Israel; and the walls of the city have 12 foundations named after the apostles, symbolizing the unity of God's people.
Revelation 22 continues this vision, introducing the river of life and the tree of life, which provides healing for the nations. The chapter emphasizes the eternal presence of God and the Lamb (Jesus), where there is no night and the faithful will reign forever.
Who recalls the Tree of Life?
At the end of Genesis 3, the Fall of Man:
After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. – Gen 3:24
This was because if we ate of the tree of (eternal) life, we would have remained fallen forever, like Satan. He sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden as a gift – to give mankind another chance.
The New Jerusalem
The “new Jerusalem” in Rev 2s is symbolic of the new earth, representing the culmination of God’s plan for the transformation of creation. The imagery of the new Jerusalem coming down from Heaven signifies a renewed relationship between God and humanity, where God will dwell among his people, eliminating all suffering and death. John Paul II emphasized that this is not merely some utopian ideal but an eschatological reality that transcends human possibilities. It is not just a spiritual domain, but our spiritual natures will have dominance, like Christ after the Resurrection.
Chapter 22 concludes with a call to all readers (present and future) to remain faithful to the teachings of Christ and to retain hope of Christ's imminent return. Together, these chapters encapsulate the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise of salvation and eternal life for those who believe.
Review of the Catholic Timeline:
The Millennium – the Messianic Age/Age of the Church/Age of the HS – the period we live in now.
The Great Tribulation – a very difficult period for the Church (all believers) before the Second Coming of Christ. To the extent there is an actual, final Antichrist, this will be the period of his leadership.
The Second Coming of Christ – Jesus will come to bring an end to the Great Tribulation.
The Final Judgment – a public event involving everyone who ever lived, after which we receive our glorified bodies.
New Heaven and New Earth - Creation is completed. It is not a destruction of the current physical creation but its fulfillment/transformation/renewal; all decay (entropy) is no longer. Humanity will experience new life like never before, including a renewed relationship with God.
The closing prayer will be the prayer of St. Michael, who defeats the Dragon in Rev 12.
Saint Michael the Archangel,
Defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the power of God,
Thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who
wander through the world for the ruin of souls.
Amen.
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