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 …

The Letter to the Philippians 1:20 (NABRE) contains Paul’s powerful comment that Christ will be magnified in his own (Paul’s) body. Interestingly, this statement shares a word in common with Mary’s Magnificat in the Gospel According to Luke 1:46–55 (NABRE), though it can be easy to miss the comparison depending …

The twenty-seventh chapter in the Book of Sirach (NABRE) looks at the role of wrath, anger, and vengeance in connection with faith. It’s worth being aware that the Book of Sirach is one of the deuterocanonical writings that is recognized as belonging in the Bible by the Catholic Church but not accepted as …

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 …

At one of our Turning to God’s Word retreats, we discussed the meaning of imprimatur and nihil obstat in Latin and in Church usage, and it seemed as though readers would appreciate a Lost in Translation post on the topic. The Latin phrase nihil obstat literally means “nothing obstructs.” It …

Throughout the Gospels Jesus constantly speaks in parables, though he’s willing to explain them to his inner circle. In the Gospel According to Matthew 13:1–23 (NABRE), Jesus discusses his use of parables with his followers and suggests that he deliberately uses them to make his message unclear. When evaluating this …

Vulgar is one word that comes up occasionally in a Catholic context. Its meaning has changed so much over time that it may be misunderstood. One such example is in the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE and RSV2CE) translations of the Second Book of Samuel 6:20: “And David returned …

Holy Week culminates in the celebration of the Triduum—Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. During this liturgy, one of the events we call to mind is Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane. As the first sorrowful mystery of the Rosary, the Agony in the Garden initiates Jesus’ Passion …

One of the more familiar passages from the Letter of Paul to the Philippians is hard to grasp in English because the original Greek defies easy translation. Let’s walk through this challenge and see if some clarity can be added. The original Greek of the Letter of Paul to the …