Tuesday, July 10, 2018

St. Paul Center

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You can help us answer Pope Benedict XVI’s call to restore biblical theology.

In his famous lecture “Biblical Interpretation in Crisis,” Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, explained that Tradition is the key to interpreting Scripture and called for a return to Scripture study from the heart of the Church.

At the St. Paul Center, we are calling for a veritable revolution in biblical studies by raising up a new generation of faithful scholars and priests in order to answer this call.

But our ability to do this depends on your continued support.

We’re committed to working closely with young up-and-coming scholars through our annual Letter and Spirit Summer Institute, where we bring a group of doctoral students and priests to spend a week studying the Scriptures with Dr. Scott Hahn and other St. Paul Center Fellows.

And, through our conferences, including our November colloquium at the Society for Biblical Literature’s Annual Meeting, we’re reaching out to a broader network of scholars.

Our success also comes from the partnerships we’ve forged with other scholars who are seeking to renew Catholic biblical studies. For example, we are now working with The Aquinas Institute for the Study of Sacred Doctrine to translate and publish all the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, all in beautiful and high quality volumes that will be passed down in family libraries for generations to come.

Also, in partnership with Verbum Bible Software, we have developed three different St. Paul Center Verbum Libraries, two of which are ideal for Bible study and lay scholars and one which is designed exclusively for priests and seminarians in their preaching ministry.

Currently, the St. Paul Center is reaching out to seminaries across the country with the hopes of making this resource available and as affordable as possible to all seminarians.

Dr. Scott Hahn speaking at Conception Seminary in Conception, MO.

Furthermore, our team is gearing up for the first of two conferences we’ll host for priests in the coming months.

Click Here to Support Our Priests

These in-depth conferences, led by Dr. Hahn and other St. Paul Center Fellows, aim to both deepen our spiritual fathers’ understanding of Scripture and refresh their souls.

Last but not least, our success comes from the outstanding work Emmaus Academic does to bring the best Catholic scholarship into print.

Emmaus Academic is responsible for publishing our two world-renowned journals, Nova et Vetera and Letter and Spirit. We’re also responsible for bringing into print many classic works of theology that until now haven’t been available in English, including Sense of Mystery, the theological masterpiece of John Paul II’s dissertation adviser, Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange.

Will you help us serve those scholars, as well as the seminarians they teach and the priests they become?

This summer, can we count on you to continue that support with a gift of $50, $100, $250, or more?

Thank you for continuing to partner with us in this work of revitalizing biblical scholarship.

May God bless you!

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Trump Names Catholic Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court

Trump Names Catholic Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court: Big battle expected for Senate confirmation

Anti-Catholic Bigotry

July 2, 2018—Anti-Catholic Bigotry

Will Dems go after Catholic High Court nominees?

https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/download-anti-catholic-bigotry?utm_source=CM.com+Email+Subscribers&utm_campaign=3ffe5314e5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_07_02_04_53_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6225e731a9-3ffe5314e5-67009945

Israel presented U.S. with "red lines" for nuclear reactor deal with Saudi Arabia - Axios

Learn from the past to bring peaceful future to Middle East, pope says | National Catholic Reporter

Learn from the past to bring peaceful future to Middle East, pope says | National Catholic Reporter: As war continues to threaten the land of Jesus' birth and to undermine the existence of Christian communities there, the international community must learn from the errors of the past and do more to b...

'Sterile hypocrisy' behind mistreatment of migrants, pope says | National Catholic Reporter

'Sterile hypocrisy' behind mistreatment of migrants, pope says | National Catholic Reporter: Hearts that are closed to welcoming migrants and refugees are similar to those of the Pharisees, who often would preach sacrifice and following God's law without exercising mercy to those in need,...

Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection July 10, 2018

Your daily Gospel reflection...

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 9:32-38

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus directs his disciples to "ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest," to pray for evangelists to rescue the lost. But what precisely does it mean to evangelize?

Euangelion (glad tidings) was a familiar word in the culture of the New Testament authors. When the emperor or one of his generals won a battle, he would send evangelists ahead to announce the glad tidings.

The first Christians were being edgy when they adapted the word to their purposes. They were saying that the definitive battle had indeed been won, but that it had nothing to do with Caesar and his armies. It had to do with the victory that God had won in Christ over sin and death.

Jesus went into the belly of the beast—into the heart of our dysfunction, to the limits of godforsakenness—and he defeated the dark powers. He demonstrated that the divine love is greater than our greatest enemies.

This evangelical message entails, too, that there is a new King, a new Emperor. Christ, the victor over sin and death, must be the center of your life.

Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 384

Reading 1 Hos 8:4-7, 11-13

Thus says the LORD:
They made kings in Israel, but not by my authority;
they established princes, but without my approval.
With their silver and gold they made
idols for themselves, to their own destruction.
Cast away your calf, O Samaria!
my wrath is kindled against them;
How long will they be unable to attain
innocence in Israel?
The work of an artisan,
no god at all,
Destined for the flames—
such is the calf of Samaria!

When they sow the wind,
they shall reap the whirlwind;
The stalk of grain that forms no ear
can yield no flour;
Even if it could,
strangers would swallow it.

When Ephraim made many altars to expiate sin,
his altars became occasions of sin.
Though I write for him my many ordinances,
they are considered as a stranger’s.
Though they offer sacrifice,
immolate flesh and eat it,
the LORD is not pleased with them.
He shall still remember their guilt
and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.

Gospel Mt 9:32-38

A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus,
and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke.
The crowds were amazed and said,
“Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
But the Pharisees said,
“He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Monday, July 9, 2018

World's fish consumption unsustainable, U.N. warns

World's fish consumption unsustainable, U.N. warns: Overfishing is particularly bad in parts of the developing world where many people already struggle to get enough nutritious food to eat

It Still Doesn’t Get Worse Than Afghanistan – Foreign Policy

Stop the stupid trade game of chicken! | The Japan Times

Stop the stupid trade game of chicken! | The Japan Times: Washington and Beijing need to come to their senses before they ruin global trade system that has taken decades to build and maintain.

American Pravda: Post-War France and Post-War Germany, by Ron Unz - The Unz Review

Is Anybody Fighting Back? | Center for Strategic and International Studies

Is Anybody Fighting Back? | Center for Strategic and International Studies: As the United States moves toward round 2 of the trade war, round 1 having been completed last Friday with tariffs on $34 billion of goods on both sides, an increasingly popular question is, “Why isn’t anybody doing anything about this?” There are multiple answers to that, which this commentary discusses.

Top-level China forum to bring Qatar back to Arab League table | South China Morning Post

Progressive Democrats increasingly criticize Israel, and could reap political rewards

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/progressive-democrats-increasingly-criticize-israel-reap-political-rewards/story?id=56383943

Is Islam "Exceptional"?

Is Islam "Exceptional"?: "Western observers... will need to accept Islam's vital and varied role in politics and formulate policies with that in mind, rather than hoping for secularizing outcomes that are unlikely anytime soon, if ever." — Shadi Hamid, author of Islamic

Goliath and the Devil's Intimidation Tactic - RC Spirituality

Goliath and the Devil's Intimidation Tactic - RC Spirituality: Why do we often compromise or dodge the issues of faith? Fr. Bartunek explains in today’s video.

Pompeo Caught Between Trump’s Short Fuse and Kim’s Intransigence - Bloomberg

Pompeo Caught Between Trump’s Short Fuse and Kim’s Intransigence - Bloomberg: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s second day of negotiations in Pyongyang began with a pleasantry that turned into a test of wills.

Israel is bulldozing Khan Al Ahmar – and with it the two-state solution - The National

Israel is bulldozing Khan Al Ahmar – and with it the two-state solution - The National:

By destroying the Bedouin village and slicing the West Bank in two, Netanyahu lurches closer to his vision of a Greater Israel, writes Jonathan Cook

A Brief Introduction to Trade Economics - WSJ

A Brief Introduction to Trade Economics - WSJ: Why deficits are normal, especially for a country like the U.S., and what is comparative advantage.

Should the US try to keep China’s technology from advancing? | Asia Times

Should the US try to keep China’s technology from advancing? | Asia Times: Asian news hub covering geo-political news and current affairs across Asia

The Earth’s carrying capacity for human life is not fixed | Aeon Ideas

The Earth’s carrying capacity for human life is not fixed | Aeon Ideas:

In a recent Nature Sustainability paper, a team of scientists concluded that the Earth can sustain, at most, only 7 billion people at subsistence levels of consumption (and this Ju...

Recovery From Rheumatoid Arthritis Following 15 Months of Therapy With Low Doses of Ionizing Radiation: A Case Report - Shuji Kojima, Mitsutoshi Thukimoto, Jerry M. Cuttler, Kiyomi Inoguchi, Takahiro Ootaki, Noriko Shimura, Hironobu Koga, Akihisa Murata, 2018

Recovery From Rheumatoid Arthritis Following 15 Months of Therapy With Low Doses of Ionizing Radiation: A Case Report - Shuji Kojima, Mitsutoshi Thukimoto, Jerry M. Cuttler, Kiyomi Inoguchi, Takahiro Ootaki, Noriko Shimura, Hironobu Koga, Akihisa Murata, 2018: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that occurs commonly in old people. Hot spring radon therapy is widely practiced in Central Euro...

Freedom and Its Consequences

https://blog.ascensionpress.com/podcast/freedom-and-its-consequences/?utm_source=Ascension+Press&utm_campaign=b8d97ed2d6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_10_12_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e09e12a778-b8d97ed2d6-351387457&goal=0_e09e12a778-b8d97ed2d6-351387457&mc_cid=b8d97ed2d6&mc_eid=2bb902f84a

Could Islam Be Called a Heresy? - Ascension Press Media

Could Islam Be Called a Heresy? - Ascension Press Media: Over the centuries, the Catholic Church has seen many of her children rebel against her with all sorts of bad ideas, blasphemies, and outright heretical statements. The list is long (too long, sadly) and includes such heresiarchs as Marcion, Arius, Pelagius, Luther, Calvin and many more. These men and their followers greatly damaged the unity of the Church, and we still see the effects in various different ways to this day. All Christians are to be one body, just as the Son and the Father are one (cf. John 17:21). Unfortunately that hasn’t been the case for centuries. How are we supposed to expect the world to believe that the Father has sent the Son if we all contradict each other? The rebel children of Holy Mother Church make for a misleading witness to the masses who have yet to come to a conversion of heart. Not all rebellions against the Catholic Church started inside the Church, but some happened outside. One in particular, which is still with us to this day, is Mohammedanism, more commonly known as Islam. This “revolt”, of sorts, greatly twisted the truths found in Christian (and even in Jewish) theology. Catholic author and historian Hilaire …

Phone Calls Are Dead. Voice Chat Is the Future. - WSJ

Is Technology About to Decimate White-Collar Work? - MIT Technology Review

High-Skilled White-Collar Work? Machines Can Do That, Too - The New York Times

High-Skilled White-Collar Work? Machines Can Do That, Too - The New York Times: Few jobs would appear less prone to automation than fashion industry taste-making. But artificial intelligence is undeterred.

The Thai cave rescue is relying on some totally ingenious tech hacks | WIRED UK

The Thai cave rescue is relying on some totally ingenious tech hacks | WIRED UK: How do you rescue 12 boys and their football coach from deep inside a Thai cave? With drones, pumps, and 20-year-old DIY radios

Thai cave rescue operation suspended after four more boys freed - CNN

Democrats Increasingly Anti-Catholic, Anti-God

Democrats Increasingly Anti-Catholic, Anti-God: Christian orthodoxy despised more and more among party leadership

Roe v. Wade: An Indefensible Ruling

Roe v. Wade: An Indefensible Ruling: Even abortion supporters recognize it's bad law

Bait and Switch | The Vortex

Bait and Switch | The Vortex: It accomplished its goal.

Archaeologists discover a 12th Dead Sea Scroll

Archaeologists discover a 12th Dead Sea Scroll: Archaeologists from Hebrew University were excavating a cave on the cliffs west of Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, when they discovered evidence which suggests that it was once the hiding place of another Dead Sea Scroll.

All the times Jesus warned of Hell

All the times Jesus warned of Hell: Hell is a tough reality of human existence — one that Pope Francis has warned about, saints have seen in terrifying visions, and 20th-century apparitions emphasized. Most importantly, Jesus warned …

Progressive Catholic women join 'pink wave' of new political candidates | National Catholic Reporter

Progressive Catholic women join 'pink wave' of new political candidates | National Catholic Reporter: When her state representative voted against proposed gun safety laws after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Marybeth Redmond was outraged. It was just one more example of elected officials no...

China-Arab Cooperation Forum | Asharq AL-awsat

China-Arab Cooperation Forum | Asharq AL-awsat: Middle-East Arab News and Opinion - Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities

'Human Trafficking' from Lebanon to Syria a Thriving Business | Asharq AL-awsat

'Human Trafficking' from Lebanon to Syria a Thriving Business | Asharq AL-awsat: Middle-East Arab News and Opinion - Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities

Is Religion Opposed to Science

Friends,

The Catholic Church has always held that religion and science are not enemies, but rather two complementary paths to truth.

However, there is a growing claim in the culture that religion and science are diametrically opposed to each other.

To address this modern myth and set the record straight, I am proud to launch a new initiative showing how religion is not opposed to science.

Watch the video here: ReasonFaithScience.com

Peace,

Bishop Robert Barron
Founder, Word on Fire

Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection July 9, 2018

Your daily Gospel reflection...

Monday, July 9, 2018

Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 9:18-26

Friends, the centerpiece of our Gospel today is the story of the hemorrhaging woman. To get at the power of the Gospel, we have to reacquaint ourselves with the Jewish attitudes regarding the clean and the unclean. In the book of Leviticus we find carefully laid out prescriptions dealing with animals, plants, foods, and situations that are unclean. These prescriptions were meant to identify the Jewish people as a people. But they had a rather severe downside, since they placed certain people in extremely difficult situations.

Having a flow of blood for twelve years meant that for that entire period the woman in our Gospel was a virtual pariah. Anyone with whom she came in contact would be considered unclean. She couldn’t participate in the ordinary life of her society.

She touches Jesus and should have rendered him unclean. But so great is her faith, that her touch, instead, renders her clean. Jesus effectively restores her to full participation in her community.

The most important outcome is this: Jesus implicitly puts an end to the ritual code of Leviticus. The identity of the new Israel, the Church, would not be through ritual behaviors but through imitation of him.

Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 383

Reading 1Hos 2:16, 17c-18, 21-22

Thus says the LORD:
I will allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak to her heart.
She shall respond there as in the days of her youth,
when she came up from the land of Egypt.

On that day, says the LORD,
She shall call me “My husband,”
and never again “My baal.”

I will espouse you to me forever:
I will espouse you in right and in justice,
in love and in mercy;
I will espouse you in fidelity,
and you shall know the LORD.

Gospel Mt 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
“My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
“Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.”
And from that hour the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”
And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.

Sunday, July 8, 2018

They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America's Wars: The Untold Story | TomDispatch

They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America's Wars: The Untold Story | TomDispatch: Tomdispatch.com is for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of our post-9/11 world and a clear sense of how our imperial globe actually works.

Tomgram: Engelhardt, Overdosing in Twenty-First-Century America | TomDispatch

Tomgram: Engelhardt, Overdosing in Twenty-First-Century America | TomDispatch: null

Tennessee Court Seeks to Terminate Parental Rights for Young Sister of Down Syndrome Baby Euthanized by Vanderbilt Hospital

Tennessee Court Seeks to Terminate Parental Rights for Young Sister of Down Syndrome Baby Euthanized by Vanderbilt Hospital: It has been just over a year since the death of Baby Steffen Rivenburg Jr. at the hands of Vanderbilt Hospital, Tennessee Department of Children’s Services

Putin Needs a Deal With Trump - American Greatness

Putin Needs a Deal With Trump - American Greatness: The Russian Federation controls one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world. In fact, Russia’s nonstrategic nuclear weapons arsenal is likely larger and more advanced than its counterpart in the United States. To compound

MUSINGS III … Celebrating July 4 | JackMatlock.com

U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution Stuns World Health Officials - The New York Times

ANGELUS ADDRESS: Jesus Returns to Nazareth - ZENIT - English

ANGELUS ADDRESS: Jesus Returns to Nazareth - ZENIT - English: He Is Rejected by the People, Which Leads Him to Say: “A Prophet Is Not Without Honor, Except in His Own Country”

FEATURE: Pope Francis Visits City of St. Nicholas in Unprecedented Ecumenical Gesture for the Middle East - ZENIT - English

FEATURE: Pope Francis Visits City of St. Nicholas in Unprecedented Ecumenical Gesture for the Middle East - ZENIT - English: Zenit Takes You to Bari, Where Holy Father & Christian Leaders Reflected On & Prayed for Middle East

See the ‘Ave Maria’ interpreted in ballet (Video)

See the ‘Ave Maria’ interpreted in ballet (Video): Ballerina Tatiana Osipov will take your breath away with her ballet performed to "Ave Maria."

Catholic soccer (football) stars in the World Cup--Aleteia

Here's what Jesus had to say about love --Aleteia

Here's what Jesus had to say about love --Aleteia: Jesus had some very challenging words about it.

Here's what Satan's voice sounds like, according to St. Ignatius Loyola --Aleteia

7 Times the Virgin Mary has visited mankind

7 Times the Virgin Mary has visited mankind: Over the course of history, the Blessed Virgin has visited mankind at particular sites around the world. In the majority of Marian apparitions, only one person or a few people, quite often children…

This is the only officially recognized Marian apparition in the United States

This is the first known apparition of Our Lady after the Assumption

Filipino widower with 3 kids ordained a priest

Filipino widower with 3 kids ordained a priest: “How can he become a priest when he’s so funny?” my grandmother asked me after she heard that my second brother, known for his humor, entered the seminary. I smiled at her while thinking to myself,…

Unicorns Are China's Innovative Cavalry in Trade War - Bloomberg

Unicorns Are China's Innovative Cavalry in Trade War - Bloomberg: Beijing is choking off a lucrative pipeline of U.S. tech IPOs.

25 most powerful nations: 2018 US News and World Report ranking - Business Insider

25 most powerful nations: 2018 US News and World Report ranking - Business Insider: US News interviewed 21,000 people with the goal of discovering how nations are perceived around the world. The US has kept its number one spot, but Germany has overtaken the UK as the future of Europe changes.

An education in hope - The Boston Globe

An education in hope - The Boston Globe: The Kakuma Refugee Camp, 80 miles from anywhere in northwest Kenya, is a world apart, a holding center for thousands dispossessed by war and conflict. Opportunity knocks rarely here, but a once-obscure New Hampshire university has made it the idealistic focus of its global plans.

For some seniors, a cultural shift and a vital volunteerism

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/07/07/volunteer-movement-becomes-more-vital-for-older-mass-residents/yeCQS3L6ITCfZY4Y55nAyI/story.html?et_rid=1925983868&s_campaign=globesmostpopular:newsletter&et_rid=1925983868&s_campaign=globesmostpopular:newsletter

International Community Ignores Genocide of Christians in Nigeria

International Community Ignores Genocide of Christians in Nigeria: This brings the death toll of Christians to more than 6,000 since the start of 2018. "The Islamists of northern Nigeria seem determined to turn Nigeria into an Islamic Sultanate and replace Liberal Democracy with Sharia as the National Ideology. The

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Croatia Crushes Russia’s 2018 World Cup Dream - The New York Times

Croatia Crushes Russia’s 2018 World Cup Dream - The New York Times: Croatia beat Russia in penalties in their quarterfinal match to earn a trip to the semifinals, where it will face England.

A Judge Just Rejected the Trump Administration’s Request to Keep Some Families Separated – Mother Jones

A Judge Just Rejected the Trump Administration’s Request to Keep Some Families Separated – Mother Jones: The government will have to reunite children with parents who have been deported.

The Gaza blockade is illegal-- and so is the use of force to maintain it

The Gaza blockade is illegal-- and so is the use of force to maintain it: Israel’s resort to any force against Gaza demonstrators cannot be legally justified, despite efforts by Sari Bashi of Human Rights Watch. If Israel wants to protect its border, it must lift its siege of Gaza, Norman Finkelstein explains. Its refusal to take this preliminary peaceful step puts it in double breach of international law: imposition of an illegal blockade and unlawful resort to armed force when peaceful means have not been exhausted.

Cast of Roe v. Wade Film Quits Over Pro-Life Message

Cast of Roe v. Wade Film Quits Over Pro-Life Message: Film moves forward in spite of hurdles

What the Bible Says on Degrees of Sin and Mortal Sin

What the Bible Says on Degrees of Sin and Mortal Sin: If God gets “serious” about actual, real sin in heaven, why in the world would He not start now?

Pope: Truces imposed by force won't bring peace to Middle East

Pope: Truces imposed by force won't bring peace to Middle East: Leading an ecumenical encounter in Bari, that had peace in the Middle East at its core, Pope Francis also called for an end of the region being used for “gains that have nothing to do with the Middle East,” and demanded that Christians be treated as “full citizens.”

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