In the eighth chapter in the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians (NABRE), we encounter an especially difficult concept to nail down—grace. The text describes gracious acts of people and of God. The idea of grace is extremely broad in English. What do we mean when we describe an …

In the Gospel According to Mark 4:35–41 (NABRE), Jesus calms the sea. After having done so, he rebukes his followers for having been afraid. They respond to this event by being filled with fear or awe. There’s an interesting interplay in this passage between different types of fear responses that’s …

In the fifth chapter in the Second Letter to the Corinthians (NABRE), Paul contrasts being at home in our body with being at home with the Lord. As we read this passage, it’s useful to bear in mind what Paul means by home in this context. While Ancient Greek has …

In the book of Genesis 3:15 (NABRE) we encounter: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” This passage contains God’s first statement to the serpent after the fall of humanity …

While we would expect to find themes of Eucharist or bread and wine central in the readings for the celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, instead we see the Church focusing on the idea of covenant in all three readings. The Hebrew word …

The fifteenth chapter of the Gospel According to John (NABRE) contains Jesus’ commandment to his followers: “love one another as I have loved you.” The word here translated as love, ἀγαπάω (agapao), is the verb form of the Greek agape, which often is used to describe God’s love for humanity. …

The fifteenth chapter of the Gospel According to John (NABRE) describes the work of Jesus Christ building his Church using the image of pruning a vine. This powerful and significant image addresses the idea of qualifying or earning a place in God’s kingdom. Within this image, the Greek text contains …

The First Letter of John 3:2 (NABRE) is a fascinating verse that hints at our future relationship with God in the statement: “We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” This is an especially interesting phrase because …

In the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel According to Luke (NABRE), Jesus appears to his disciples for the first time after he has been raised from the dead. In the Catholic lectionary and the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE), the Evangelist records that at Jesus’ appearance, the disciples were …

Passion Sunday celebrates the entry into Holy Week as the Church prepares to commemorate the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. We refer to this event a great deal during Holy Week, but how well do we understand what the word passion means? The word and concept enter English in a …