The Rosary is a Marian prayer that depicts the Biblical life of Jesus.Pope John Paul II calls the Rosary a “compendium of the Gospel message” in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, published October 16, 2002. The Rosary was once thought to originate from the ancient prayer or worry beads of the Middle East and Asia, …
THE CRUSADES TO THE HOLY LAND “Undertake this journey for the remission of your sins,with the assurance of the imperishable glory of the Kingdom of Heaven!”Pope Urban II, in one of history’s most powerful speeches, launched 200 years of the Crusades at the Council of Clermont, France on November 27, 1095 with this impassioned plea. …
Angels appear in the Bible from the beginning to the end, from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation. The Bible is our best source of knowledge about angels – for example, Psalms 91:11, Matthew 18:10 and Acts 12:15 indicate humans have guardian angels. Angels announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds …
As the New Testament of the Bible was written in Greek, it is helpful to have a knowledge of the Greek alphabet and language. The Greek language has a rich history, dating all the way back to the thirteenth century BC. The Greek alphabet was derived from the Phoenician alphabet, as was Hebrew. Phoenicia (now …
“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together,she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.But just …
Jesus gave us the eight Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded for all posterity in the Gospel of Matthew, the first Book of the New Testament. Jesus offers us a way of life that promises eternity in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Ten Commandments, given to Moses on Mount Sinai in the Old …
Prayer is the opening of one’s heart and soul in a conversation with God, and thus is an expression of faith in a relationship with God. Jesus himself prayed often, as noted in the Gospel of Luke – before his Baptism (3:21), after healing the sick (5:16), before choosing the Twelve Apostles (6:12), before the …
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to …
With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.He did not say anything to them without using a parable.But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.Gospel of Mark 4:33-34 Jesus often taught in parables, an ancient Eastern literary genre. The prophet Ezekiel, for example, …
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread,and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.Do this in remembrance of me.”In the same way he …
