The Sacred Page

After reading, stop. If a particular passage has struck you, stay with it for five to ten more minutes. Pray the passage or try to make a resolution. If you've found food in the text just read, savor it. After the five or ten additional minutes of prayer and reflection, end your session with a... Sign in to see full entry.

The Scriptures is inspired, true; but it is also has the characteristics of human literature: (a) Unless you can read in the original languages, observe the grammatical and syntactical structure of the text you are using. English is not German nor Spanish nor Italian. To read intelligently means... Sign in to see full entry.

The Scriptures is no ordinary book and therefore it cannot be read "ordinarily." The following tips are offered for those who wish to make the reading of Scriptures an important part of their day. 1. Time and Place. Choose a time and a place. If one is going to read Scriptures and make it a part of... Sign in to see full entry.

The Text of Luke 9:43b-45 In Luke, this short passage follows after the Transfiguration and the Healing of the Boy Possessed. To note is the way Luke places the second prediction of his passion within the context of the people's amazement at the healing he just performed. Luke omits here the episode... Sign in to see full entry.

This is the second part of our reflection on Matthew's Parable of the Talent s It is notable that through repetitions and summaries, the reader is led to the confrontation between the owner and the negligent servant. The owner knew before hand that among the three servants, the last one had the... Sign in to see full entry.

The Text Of Matthew 25:14-30 The Parable of the Talents The parable of the talents can be found in Matthew alone. It is so popular that even the word for "talent" derives from this parable. It is a symbolic story of what would happen in the last day to those who refuse to heed the Lord's call to be... Sign in to see full entry.

The Text of Matthew 25:31-46 The passage is not formally a parable, though it has been mistakenly referred to as a parable because of the context in which it is found. The passage is a discourse on the last day and answers the question: "What will happen to all men come Judgment Day?" There was a... Sign in to see full entry.

In 1 Thess. 5:6 - 10. The verb "to keep watch" is paired with the verb for "be sober" as opposed to "to sleep. " St. Paul here exhorts the Thessalonians to remain alert and awake since the moment of the Lord's coming is near. In 1 Cor. 16:13, Col. 4:2 and 1 Pet. 5:8, it connotes a vigilance that... Sign in to see full entry.

The Text of Mark 13:33-37 Mark 13 contains the eschatological discourse of Jesus. An eschatological discourse, simply put, is a speech about the last day. Much of Chapter 13 can be compared with other "Last Day pronouncements" from other sources contemporary to it (e.g. those coming from Qumran) and... Sign in to see full entry.

The Text Of Luke 11:42-46 Prophetic woes are not so much pronouncements of doom as laments raised over a foreseen disaster. A woe is not a curse. But one utters a woe because of a curse that is seen as inevitable. Like the prophets of old, Jesus sees the consequences of hypocrisy and injustice about... Sign in to see full entry.