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The ideal woman!

August 12, 2011 pilgrim 6 comments

The other day I was having lunch with a friend and, out of the blue, she asked me: “What’s the most important quality you look for in a wife?”

Americans! Sheesh! Whatever happened to polite conversation about the weather?!

I did have to chuckle a bit though… You see, at the moment I’m spending some time reassessing and discerning again my vocation – married life, priestly life, religious life or consecrated celibacy. Therefore, questions regarding the qualities of a future wife may well be, at this point, moot.

“She is worth far more than rubies…”

But I also laughed because of the various texts which flashed through my mind when she asked this question. One such text was from the Book of Proverbs:

“Who can find a worthy woman?” – Proverbs 31:10 (ESV)

Who indeed?! 😉

I can still remember when, at university, I was asked to be a Reader one evening and I encountered this scripture for the first time. I had to read this passage at Mass without sniggering. I won’t lie, it was kinda hard…

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One good Lawrence deserves another

August 11, 2011 pilgrim Leave a comment

Yesterday was the Feast of St. Lawrence, so to mark this occasion I thought I would give a quick “tip of the hat” to another Lawrence, Dr. Lawrence Feingold.

Now, I’ve never actually met Dr. Feingold, but I have heard many of his talks and they’ve all been, without exception, brilliant. He comes across as unassuming, yet he clearly knows his stuff and is genuinely excited by the material he’s presenting.

I can’t recall exactly how it came about, but towards the end of 2009 I followed a hyperlink that took me to the website belonging to The Association of Hebrew Catholics. On that website I found the first couple of lectures by Dr. Feingold in his series “Themes of the Early Church Fathers“. I liked his tone and style immediately. At that time I had just started to discover these early Christian writers and Dr. Feingold’s series was a superb catalyst in helping familiarize me with the Early Church.

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Lectionary Resources

August 9, 2011 pilgrim 8 comments

A few people have recently asked me where I get the material for my “Lectionary Notes” posts. Here’s the process I go through each week:

1. After we conclude our Bible Study in the JP2 Group, we all go to the church next door for adoration. In the presence of the Blessed Sacrament I read the Lectionary Scriptures for the following week and spend a little bit of time praying through them.

2. When I next have some time, I read through the texts again using my NIV Study Bible.

Regarding Bible translations, translators have to make a choice between translating from the original language word-for-word (“formal equivalence”) or providing a looser translation but which attempts to better convey the thought expressed by the original writer (“dynamic equivalence”). This essentially results in a trade-off between readability and fidelity to the original words of the text. I quite like the NIV in that it falls somewhere between formal and dynamic equivalence, but with a leaning more towards dynamic equivalence.

The NIV is not a Catholic Bible and unfortunately therefore is missing the books of Wisdom, Sirach etc. Some of the study notes also have a non-Catholic skew, but on the whole it has excellent cross-references and always at least offers an interesting point of view.

3. The next book I reach for is my Ignatius New Testament Study Bible. I can’t say how much I love this book. It’s the RSV translation, which follows the “formal equivalence” approach. I would not-so-humbly suggest that it is a far superior translation to the NAB which is used in the Lectionary. Ignatius Press have produced a superb resource here, with excellent notes, maps and word studies. Every Christian should own a copy – it’s a bargain at $16. I will wait here while you click on the link and go and order a copy from Amazon. Seriously, I’ll wait…Done? Okay, let’s continue!

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Lectionary Notes, August 14th

August 8, 2011 pilgrim Leave a comment

August 14, 2011: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The readings this week focus around the Gentiles (those of non-Jewish ethnicity) and their place in salvation history. In the First Reading we hear the Lord proclaim through the Prophet Isaiah, that His house will be a house of prayer “for all peoples” and in the Psalm we sing about God’s glory being proclaimed “among all nations”. In the Second Reading, St. Paul gives us some insight into the relationship between the Jews and Gentiles in God’s plan for salvation. Finally, in the Gospel we read about Jesus’ encounter with a Canaanite women who, although a Gentile, is granted her request by the Lord because of her great faith.

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“Uncle John” RIP

August 7, 2011 pilgrim Leave a comment

Last week John Stott fell asleep in Christ.

Dr. Stott was born in England in 1921. As a teenager, he came to faith in Christ through the Anglican church. He would go on to dedicate his life to serving Christ for the next seventy years.

As well as being Curate and Rector of All Souls Langham Place for thirty years, he was a superb scholar, authoring over fifty books, including “Basic Christianity”. He lived a modest life and the royalties of his books were poured back into missionary work and leadership training overseas. Even after retiring, he continued to work tirelessly for the Kingdom and continued to inspire the new generation of Bible teachers. All of this earned him something of a household name among evangelicals.

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Lectionary Notes, August 7th

August 2, 2011 pilgrim Leave a comment

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1: 1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a

The events of this passage take place after Elijah has defeated the Prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:22-40). As a result of this humiliating defeat, Princess Jezebel has sworn to kill him (1 Kings 19:1-2). Elijah flees into the desert where, dejected and overcome by fear, he tells God that he may as well let him die (1 Kings 19:3-4). He then goes to sleep, but is awoken twice in the night by an angel who gives him bread and water. Strengthened by this food, he travels for 40 days to Mt. Horeb (1 Kings 19:5-8), also known as Mt. Sinai, the mountain where God revealed the Law to Moses.

Whereas Moses interceded for the Israelites (Exodus 32:11-13), Elijah appears to have reached the end of his tether (1 Kings 19:10). Elijah complains about his lack of success, saying that the people have abandoned God and he effectively condemn them. In saying this, there is the subtle implication that God’s promises have failed…

Then in the passage assigned for this Sunday, God reveals Himself to Elijah, indicating his patience, mercy and gentleness with His people. In the text that follows afterwards, God gives Elijah instructions as to what to do next.

At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. Then the LORD said to him, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.”

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD— but the LORD was not in the wind.

After the wind there was an earthquake— but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake there was fire— but the LORD was not in the fire.

After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Secret city on a hill

July 28, 2011 pilgrim 9 comments

Often in Scripture we have to harmonize two passages which seem to present some kind of conflict with each other. Today I would like to present one such conflict, one with which I’ve struggled over the years.

In the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says:

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” – Matthew 5:14-16

So, we’re supposed to let our light shine before others. Got it. Yet…in the next chapter it says…

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” – Matthew 6:1-4

So we should let our light shine….but only in secret? Hmm….

I’ve had people ask me about these two passages before and I have given them an answer, providing some distinctions between each of these passages, but today I’d like to turn the question over to you. How do we reconcile these two passages? What is Jesus trying to teach us? And if we follow His teaching here, what does it practically look like?

Please answer in the comments below.

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