In the First Letter to the Corinthians 6:12–20 (NABRE), Paul warns the Corinthians against a particular sin of the body translated in the Mass readings as “immorality.” This translation is a bit confusing as we tend to use the word immorality to refer to any sinful act rather than to …

Both the Revised Standard Version Catholic Editions (RSVCE and RSV2CE) and the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) translations of the First Book of Samuel 13:14 use a rather interesting phrase to describe David as a “man after [God’s] own heart.” This phrase easily can cause no small amount of …

In the First Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul describes what the end times will look like and how the last days will come upon many as a surprise—while faithful Christians will be ready. In setting up this idea, Paul uses an interesting phrase. In the First Letter to the Thessalonians …

In the Gospel According to Matthew 13:24–53 (NABRE), Jesus tells five parables about the kingdom of heaven, a topic of constant discussion in the Gospels. Indeed, it’s talked about frequently enough that it’s easy to lose sight of what it means. There are two concepts here, each worth developing for …

In the book of Exodus, God outlines how he wants his people to treat others based on how he has treated them. The book of Exodus 22:26 (NABRE) concludes with the statement “If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.” In this translation, it’s …

In the twenty-second chapter in the Gospel According to Matthew (NABRE), the Pharisees devise for Jesus what they believe to be a no-win scenario. Their aim is to either force Jesus to speak openly against Roman rule, thereby making him a target to the Romans, or to force him to …

In the Letter to the Philippians 4:12 (NABRE), Paul writes about living in “humble circumstances.” Humility has been described as among the most important Christian virtues, and it is indeed worth cultivating. In this passage from the Letter to the Philippians, the word translated as “humble circumstances” is the verb ταπεινόω (tapeinoo), which means …

There are three significant attributes of God that all typically go by Latin names and are worth exploring. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. All of these words begin with the prefix omni meaning “all” or “every.” Omnipotent takes this prefix and adds to it the Latin potens, an adjective meaning “being …

In the Letter to the Romans 13:8–10 (NABRE), Paul wraps up a central theme throughout this letter by saying “who loves another has fulfilled the law.” This is a powerful statement in the context of Romans but also is an interesting statement from a language point of view. The Greek …

The reading from the Gospel According to Matthew 17:1–9 (NABRE) details the appearance of Moses and Elijah along with Jesus on the mountain, and describes the transfiguration of Jesus. The liturgical feast celebrating this event goes by its Latin name, Transfiguration. The Latin word figura means “form” or “appearance.” The …