The Acts of the Apostles 20:15–38 (NABRE) describes Paul addressing the Church in Ephesus. He seems specifically to be talking with the leaders of Church, in this context the presbyters and overseers. This passage is of particular interest because the terminology Paul uses eventually was adopted by the entire Church …

The First Letter of Peter 3:16 (NABRE) looks at the attitude Christians are to take in bearing witness. Peter describes this attitude by emphasizing the importance of “keeping your conscience clear.” The idea of conscience as we know it today, however, is somewhat foreign to Greek thought. The Greek phrase …

In this week’s reading from the Gospel According to John 15:9–17 (NABRE), Jesus makes an unusual promise of joy to those who follow his commandments. In New Testament language, love and peace are much more common positive outcomes of following Jesus. What is the meaning of joy in the Christian …

The Acts of the Apostles 7:51 (NABRE) contains the end of the speech in which Stephen, one of the first deacons of the Church, accuses the Jews of being uncircumcised in heart and ears. Circumcision is the sign by which a man is marked as a participant in the Old …

In the third chapter of the Gospel According to John (NABRE), we encounter Jesus’ famous interaction with the Pharisee, Nicodemus. In this encounter between the two, Jesus emphasizes the need for being born from above, sometimes translated as “born again” or “born anew.” There’s little consistency among popular English translations …

What does it mean to believe in Jesus? In this week’s readings from the eighth chapter of the Gospel According to John (NABRE), Jesus talks to the Jews who believed in him about freedom. This passage contains a fascinating suggestion about what it means to believe in Jesus. In a previous column, …

The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord commemorates the angel Gabriel announcing to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to conceive. This feast celebrates one of the great Christian mysteries, the announcement of the Incarnation, God becoming human. The readings also show us the response of Mary and …

The “Our Father,” also known as the Lord’s Prayer, is found in the Gospel According to Matthew 7:9–15 (NABRE). What’s especially interesting about the Greek version of this prayer is that it contains in both Matthew’s and Luke’s versions a hapax legomenon, a word that is used only once. The word in the …

In the tenth chapter of the Gospel According to Mark (NABRE), we encounter Jesus’ talk about marriage. Included is this odd line in the Gospel According to Mark 10:9 (NABRE): “Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” This translation comes about by trying to translate a …

In the Gospel According to Mark 7:1–13 (NABRE), some Pharisees and scribes criticize Jesus because his followers eat meals with unclean hands. This concept of uncleanliness goes back to Jewish purity laws, which were a hot-button issue in Jesus’ day. Especially controversial is what seems to be Jesus’ disregard for Jewish religious …