Episode 92: Year B – 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time In this episode, we continue our study of Jesus’ Bread of Life Discourse in John 6. The portion of the discourse that makes up the Gospel reading for this upcoming 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B, is verses 60-69. Like in last week’s episode, the question is whether Jesus intended his teaching to eat his flesh and drink his blood to be taken literally or figuratively. We argue for a literal interpretation.   Readings: Click Here Looking for Sunday Catholic Word Merchandise? Look no further! Click Here …

Episode 91: Year B – 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time In this episode, we focus on the Gospel reading for this upcoming 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time, which is the exchange that Jesus has with the Jews concerning his command to eat his flesh. The passage is taken from John 6:51-58. The key apologetical topic, of course, is the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Readings: Click Here Looking for Sunday Catholic Word Merchandise? Look no further! Click Here Hey everyone,   Welcome to The Sunday Catholic Word, a podcast where we reflect on the upcoming Sunday Mass…

Episode 90: Year B – 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we focus on one detail from the Gospel reading, taken from John 6:41-51, continuing the theme of the Eucharist. That one detail is Jesus’ comparison of the bread of life that he will give, which is the Eucharist, and the Manna in the wilderness. This revelation of the Eucharist as the New Manna, so I argue, supports the belief that the Eucharist cannot be merely a symbol of Jesus’ body and blood, but must be Jesus’ body and blood. Readings: Click Here Looking for Sunday Cathol…

Episode 89: Year B – 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we focus on one detail in the Gospel reading, taken from John 6:24-35, that pertains to the Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is Jesus’ metaphorical use of the images of eating and drinking. For many Protestants, such a metaphorical use is the key to unlocking the meaning of Jesus’ instructions to “eat his flesh” and “drink his blood” later in John 6. But we argue this is not the case. Readings: Click Here Looking for Sunday Catholic Word Merchandise? Look no further! Click Here H…

Episode 88: Year B – 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we focus on two details, both of which come from the Gospel reading for this upcoming 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B, taken from John 6:1-15, which is John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand. One detail, Jesus’ question to Philip, gives rise to the topic of the historical reliability of John and Luke’s Gospels. The second detail, the fragments picked up after the crowd ate, pertains to the Eucharist. Readings: Click Here Looking for Sunday Catholic Word Merchandise?…

Episode 87: Year B – 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time  In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we focus on two details in the readings for this upcoming 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B. The first detail is found in the second reading, taken from Ephesians 2:13-18. The relevant apologetical topic is that we as Christians are no longer bound by the ceremonial precepts of the Old Covenant, which would include the Sabbath. The second detail is in the Gospel reading, which is taken from Mark 6:30-34. The relevant topic, which isn’t all that apologetical in nature, is the Church’s teach…

Episode 86: Year B – 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we focuse on three details in the readings for this upcoming 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B, one of which comes from the second reading, taken from Ephesians 1: 3-14. The relevant apologetical topic is the gratuity of the initial grace of salvation. The other two details are found in the Gospel reading, which is taken from Mark 6:7-13. The first detail has to do with the topic of Jesus’ authority over unclean spirits, which he gives to the apostles. The second detail is the report that th…

Episode 85: Year B – 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time In this episode of the Sunday of Catholic Word, we focus on one detail from the Gospel reading for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B, taken from Mark 6:1-6—namely, the mention of Jesus’ brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude, along with his “sisters.” Obviously, the topic of concern is the Catholic belief of Mary’s perpetual virginity. Readings: Click Here Looking for Sunday Catholic Word Merchandise? Look no further! Click Here …

Episode 84: Year B – 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time In this episode, we focus on three details for this upcoming Sunday Mass Readings. Two of the details come from the first reading, taken from Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24, and both have to do with theological questions concerning death—God’s causal relation to it, and its relation to the fall of Adam. The third detail is Jesus’ raising of Jairus’ daughter in the Gospel reading, taken from Mark 5:21-24, 35b-43, which is the shorter version that leaves out the story of the hemorrhaging woman. The apologetical topic is the historicity of the stor…

Episode 83: Year B – 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we focus on three details from the second reading and Gospel reading that are relevant for doing apologetics. The detail in the second reading, taken from 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, is Paul’s teaching that in Christ we are a new creation. The topic that comes to fore here is the nature of justification as intrinsic righteousness. One of the details in the Gospel reading, taken from Mark 4:35-41, is Mark’s report of Jesus calming the winds and the sea. As we will see, when read in light of the Old T…