The Divine Lamp

St Irenaeus Ministries offers some outstanding podcast on Scripture. They also offer some of their podcasts for sale on CDs. Last week they began offering their study of Galatians online and Free! (See below). Only the first podcast is currently available, a new episode will be added every week. The link provided at the beginning of this post will take you to their most recent podcasts, and you can work your way back through the pages for older material. These include lectures on the Gospel of Luke, the Letter to the Hebrews, and an introductory series entitled “The Foundations of Biblical Thinking” (FBT). I didn’t really care for the FBT podcasts, but the ones on Hebrews and Luke were quite good.

Galatians - The Backdrop for Galatians (Click Here To Listen)
To celebrate the Year of St. Paul, we begin now a study of the Epistle to the Galatians, a work which is authentically Pauline. The most argumentative and passionate of all his letters, it speaks to an extremely contentious issue in the early church: whether a Gentile male had to be circumcised to be considered fully Christian. Theologians aptly recognize this epistle as “spiritual dynamite,” and the ways Luther and others interpreted this book ignited the Protestant Reformation. Galatians is well-renowned as a book that celebrates Christian liberty. Paul posits that if Jesus Christ is solely sufficient for our salvation, then a Christian’s life must remain unadulterated by an outdated legalism and non-Christian philosophies. To provide a bit of historical background, after persecuting the Way and undergoing a dramatic conversion, Saul (only later called Paul) began his ministry outside Damascus. A few years later he presented himself to the Church in in Jerusalem, who quickly sent him to Tarsus because of his infamous reputation. While Paul was in Tarsus, a mass influx of Gentile Christians entered the primarily Jewish Church in Antioch. The problems that arose when these Gentiles intermixed with Jewish Christians presented a dire problem, especially considering that the latter group had safeguarded their pedigree for generations. Barnabas traveled to Antioch to survey the situation for the Church of Jerusalem. Overjoyed at the conversion of so many Gentiles, he soon realized that these new Christians need an experienced teacher and called Saul from Tarsus to take the office. One day, while the leaders of the Church of Antioch were at prayer, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2). Heeding this command, the Church sent them to Cyprus and then to Asia Minor where they ministered to southern Galatia. Upon returning to Antioch, Paul found troublesome Judaizers coercing Gentile Christians to undergo circumcision. When Peter arrived in Jerusalem, Paul contested the practice of the Apostle of eating only with Judaizers or by himself, whereas he used to eat freely with Gentiles. After Paul publicly rebuked Peter about this, the matter was decided at the Council of Jerusalem in A.D. 50 (cf. Acts 15). Although many scholars debate over the dating of Paul’s letter, the fact he does not mention the council’s decision in Galatians clearly places its composition prior to A.D. 50. Studying this epistle reveals that Paul is far more than just a cantankerous character. Rather, he emerges as a staunch defender of all that is essential to the Gospel, one who is more than willing to stand up a powerful school of legalists to uphold the truth. Amidst all the theological arguments in this book, Paul takes great care to describe a living spirituality in which Christians experience the full life of Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

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St Martha’s Catholic Church in Kingwood Texas has a large collection of audio material available online, including an eight part introduction to the Old Testament done by Jeff Crandall. I’ve not listened to the audio yet, I have however listened to other talks Mister Crandall has given on Scripture. They are a little too liberal for my liking but I do think they can be very useful. I’ve provided a link to the first talk below. You can go HERE for the rest of the talks on the OT, and HERE for other talks on Scripture.

This is, of course, the Year of St Paul, established by the Holy Father with the intention that Catholics would re-devote themselves not only to the writings of St Paul, but to the Scripture as a whole. Do check the site out, and keep in mind that I offer some notes on the Scripture here. My notes on Amos are complete. My (ongoing) notes on Hosea will take you into chapter 8 of that book. My notes on St Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians will soon be complete. I’ll start on Second Thessalonians after its completion. I have some ongoing notes posted on Isaiah, the Psalms, and First Corinthians as well. All of these can be easily accessed in the list of links under this blogs header. In addition, you can find numerous links to print and audio resources on the Bible in my sidebars.
Introduction to the Old Testament Part 1

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Dane from CatholicClasses.org alerted me to the podcast their site is hosting.  The first talk can be heard:  HERE.  Don’t let the musical introduction or the introductory banter turn you off.  In this podcast they look at the Pope’s forward to the book, along with his introduction.

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From St Irenaeus Ministries comes this audio lecture.  In my opinion, this lecture series is not as good as others the site offers, such as the lectures on Luke and Hebrews, nonetheless, you should find it useful.   Here is the description:

Returning to our study in Exodus 3:4-22, the call of Moses on at Sinai showcases a veritable theology of God. The God of the Hebrews is not a mere tribal God, for He is “I Am Who Am.” Egypt is the classical Biblical metaphor for oppression and worldliness. In our modern context, we, too, need to escape from the “bondage of Egypt.” Christ has broken the shackles of our slavery to sin, the world, the flesh and the devil; we can further “despoil Egypt” if we adopt its wisdom for God’s mission (cf. Exodus 3:22). In Chapter 4, Moses questions his credentials to be God’s deliverer for Israel. To empower him on his mission, God gives him the power to show signs: the ability to turn his staff into a serpent, to spread and heal leprosy and to turn water into blood on dry land (4:2-9). When he protests that he speaks with a stutter, God permits Aaron to be Moses’ spokesman in a concession. On his way to Egypt, Exodus 4:24-26 describes how God’s anger wells up towards Moses who has been putting off circumcising of his sons. Neither Moses nor his wife Zipporah were thrilled with the idea of their sons’ suffering, but the Midianite matron ends up circumcising her sons to honor God’s covenant (cf. Genesis 17:1-14). This passage is an object lesson in not procrastinating and not taking God’s commands lightly. Chapters 5-11 highlight Pharaoh and the plagues of Egypt. In some instances Pharaoh hardens his heart against God and in other instances God Himself hardens the Pharaoh’s heart. The plagues upon Egypt are symbolic reminders that juxtapose the Egyptians with the people of God, set apart and bought for a price. In Exodus 12, God describes the Passover to Moses. Although the Passover meal has evolved over time, Catholics would do well to understand the Biblical depth of the Eucharist, which has many profound roots in the Passover. As the Israelites depart from Egypt and approach the Red Sea, the theme of deliverance begins in full-throttle. A testament to the hearts of the people, almost immediately after the river pulls back the people begin to doubt and complain. All the strong men of Israel would die before entering the Promised Land. In Chapter 19, the Israelites reach Sinai where they receive the Ten Commandments. Interestingly, Modern Jews and Christians tend to group these commands in different ways, sometimes out of a desire to highlight certain of theological principles. St. Augustine’s writings frame the current Catholic compilation which tends to group the ‘first’ and ’second’ Commandments. A traditional Protestant enumeration would be a brief first commandment and a long second commandment that expounds on the decrees against worshiping graven images. Regardless of the enumeration, we must strive never to take the Lord’s name, breaking any habits we may have adopted. It is also crucial not to work or pursue our own vain pleasures on Sundays (cf. Is 56, 58). Paramount is honoring our father and mother, for although they are not without error, we must respect those who represent the authority of God to a young child. If we keep this proper order, bowing before God and His Commands, we will be greatly blessed. Our study seeks only to open doors of the text, as it would take dozens of sessions to unwrap the treasures God gives His people at the end of Exodus and the ways we can learn from them. The goal of the Law is Jesus Christ. God gave these Ten Commandments are to prepare man to receive God and for God to embrace us. They frame our morality and keep us from making concessions. Mindful of the fact that we are not Jews living under the Old Covenant, the Law and God’s regulations for Tabernacle worship are of great benefit in keeping a Christian steadfast to Christ on his journey out of Egypt into the Kingdom of God.

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I recently received an email from Mister Peter Mottola who is apparently associated with St Irenaeus Ministries. He wrote to inform me that the series they had once offered, entitled “The Foundations of Biblical Thinking,” will once again be made available via their podcast site. The first installment has been posted already.

From the site:

Way back in September of 2006 we posted a preview of “The Foundations of Biblical Thinking.” This study of Torah has remained one of our most downloaded episodes, so by popular demand here it is in its entirety! So crucial to the Christian life, we will enter into Pentateuch’s time-tested wisdom and find that the more we understand these first five books of the Bible, the more rest will come to our souls (cf. Jeremiah 6:16).

Let us remember what Christ said “For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments [referring to Torah] and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19-20). In addition, one cannot grasp Christ without a firm knowledge of the Old Testament.

Only by feeding upon Christ in Word as well as Sacrament will He transform us into Himself. These sacred texts are inspired by the Holy Spirit, without error and are ordained by God to be the means of solid instruction for His people. As the Old Testament is filled with riddles, however, one must dig deeply and prayerfully enter into them in order to it in order to adequately enrich ourselves â we bring folly upon ourselves when we ignore it.

The Old Testament offers four key gifts to Christians: (1) it points to Christ as the messiah and the savior of Israel; (2) it deepens our understanding of Christ by enabling us to read the New Testament in the light of the Old, and vice versa; (3) it provides a type of spiritual road-map for life, describing a saga which we are all fated to relive; and (4) it reformats our thinking to focus more on God, opening the doors into the infinite recesses of the Divine Heart and His sublime mysteries. What bountiful treasures await those who proceed in faith!

Far more than a myth, the Book of Genesis begins with the verse, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (1:1). In the distant beginnings of the human race, this verse establishes the most important things. Genesis is a book of origins and generations that follows the Hebrew logic that we understand the things of God by understanding His beginning.

If we humbly follow the Word to God on His terms instead of our own, He will increase our faith and will preserve us from doubting the veracity of these books. We simply must take these texts more seriously than we would children’s stories; but the fact that some consider Genesis to be a series of mere fables highlights our need to interpret Torah correctly. By an earnest study of Torah throughout these fourteen episodes, we will gain a firm foundation to study the entire Bible, equipping ourselves to spread God’s Word to the nations.

Remember that this series and all our other material is available on our webstore, siministries.org/Store. Thanks to Adam the Catholic for leaving us a review on iTunes - if you enjoy these podcasts please take a couple of minutes to leave us a short review there, as that will help us reach new listeners. Finally, this episode marks our first foray into music, and your feedback on that (and anything else, for that matter!) would be greatly appreciated: podcast@siministries.org.

Music: The Symphony No. 9, opus 95, “From the New World” by Antonin Dvorak from musopen.com.

This site has some outstanding podcasts available. As someone who knows a thing or two about the Bible, I can heartily recommend the series on the Gospel of Luke, The Prophet Malachi, and on the Letter to Hebrews. I suggest downloading i-tunes and subscribing to the podcast (both are free). And browse their webstore for other outstanding studies.

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Listed below are some online audio resources which focus on the Mass readings for today. You can also listen to the prayers and readings from the divine office.  Finally, there are some links to the Mass Readings and notes upon the text.

AUDIO: 

Sunday Gospel Scripture Study by Monsignor Daniel Muggenberger. Time: 60 minutes

His Mercy Endures By Doctor Scott Hahn. This is very brief.

St Michael’s RCIA Podcast I haven’t listened to this one yet. Time: Unknown.

The Office of Readings

Reading and notes on: 

Acts 2:42-47

1 Peter 1:3-9 

John 20:19-31

The Historical Cultural context of the Gospel 

St John Chrysostom Homily 87 On The Gospel Of John

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For your Holy Thursday listening pleasure:

Pange Lingua Gloriosi (Sing My Tongue The Savior’s Glory) by St Thomas Aquinas. This is one of the best version I’ve heard so far online. The one listed below is also really good.

Another version of Pange Lingua Gloriosi. Perfomred by members of the FSSP

Ave Verum Corpus. Performed by members of the FSSP.

Psalm 21 (22). Used for the stripping of the altar on Holy Thursday Night.

Lauda Sion by St Thomas Aquinas. Done by the same choir as above.
A 50 minute audio lecture on the importance of the Eucharist. You can either download it, or play it direct by simply clicking on the player.

I get to ring the chimes during the procession tonight. I hope I don’t screw it up. I got to carry one end of the canopy (I’ve forgotten what it’s called) a couple of years ago but was never asked again. I kept stepping on the back of Father’s feet. It’s not my fault I walk fast

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