Daily Gospel Exegesis

To support the ministry and access exclusive content, go to: ⁠⁠⁠http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy⁠⁠⁠ For complete verse-by-verse audio commentaries from Logical Bible Study, go to: ⁠⁠⁠https://mysoundwise.com/publishers/1677296682850p Luke 12: 8-12 - 'If you declare yourselves for me, I will declare myself for you.' Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs: - 333 (in 'Christ with all his angels') - Again, it is the angels who "evangelize" by proclaiming the Good News of Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection. They will be present at Christ's return, which they will announce, to serve at his Judgement (abbreviated). - 1864 (in      'The Different Kinds of Sins') - “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss. - JPII's encyclical, Dominum Et Vivificantem (On The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church and the World, paragraph 46): "Why is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit unforgivable? How should this blasphemy be understood ? St. Thomas Aquinas replies that it is a question of a sin that is "unforgivable by its very nature, insofar as it excludes the elements through which the forgiveness of sin takes place." According to such an exegesis, "blasphemy" does not properly consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the Cross. If man rejects the "convincing concerning sin" which comes from the Holy Spirit and which has the power to save, he also rejects the "coming" of the Counselor-that "coming" which was accomplished in the Paschal Mystery, in union with the redemptive power of Christ's Blood: the Blood which "purifies the conscience from dead works." We know that the result of such a purification is the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, whoever rejects the Spirit and the Blood remains in "dead works," in sin. And the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists precisely in the radical refusal to accept this forgiveness, of which he is the intimate giver and which presupposes the genuine conversion which he brings about in the conscience. If Jesus says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either in this life or in the next, it is because this "non-forgiveness" is linked, as to its cause, to "non-repentance," in other words to the radical refusal to be converted. .... Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, then, is the sin committed by the person who claims to have a "right" to persist in evil-in any sin at all-and who thus rejects Redemption. One closes oneself up in sin, thus making impossible one's conversion, and consequently the remission of sins, which one considers not essential or not important for one's life. This is a state of spiritual ruin, because blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not allow one to escape from one's self-imposed imprisonment and open oneself to the divine sources of the purification of consciences and of the remission of sins." Got a Bible question? Send an email to logicalbiblestudy@gmail.com, and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!

To support the ministry and access exclusive content, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For complete verse-by-verse audio commentaries from Logical Bible Study, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mysoundwise.com/publishers/1677296682850p Mark 10: 17-30 - 'Give everything you own to the poor, and follow me.' Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs: - 1858 (in 'The Gravity of Sin: Mortal and Venial Sin') - Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother." The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger. - 2728 (in 'Objections to Prayer') - Finally, our battle has to confront what we experience as failure in prayer: discouragement during periods of dryness; sadness that, because we have "great possessions," we have not given all to the Lord; disappointment over not being heard according to our own will; wounded pride, stiffened by the indignity that is ours as sinners; our resistance to the idea that prayer is a free and unmerited gift; and so forth. the conclusion is always the same: what good does it do to pray? To overcome these obstacles, we must battle to gain humility, trust, and perseverance. - 1618 (in 'Virginity for the Sake of the Kingdom') - Christ is the center of all Christian life. the bond with him takes precedence over all other bonds, familial or social. From the very beginning of the Church there have been men and women who have renounced the great good of marriage to follow the Lamb wherever he goes, to be intent on the things of the Lord, to seek to please him, and to go out to meet the Bridegroom who is coming (abbreviated). Got a Bible question? Send an email to logicalbiblestudy@gmail.com, and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!

To support the ministry and access exclusive content, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For complete verse-by-verse audio commentaries from Logical Bible Study, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mysoundwise.com/publishers/1677296682850p Mark 10: 2-16 - 'What God has united, man must not divide.' Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs: - 1639 (in 'The Marriage Bond') - The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself. From their covenant arises "an institution, confirmed by the divine law, . . . even in the eyes of society." The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God's covenant with man: "Authentic married love is caught up into divine love." - 2364 (in 'Conjugal Fidelity') - The married couple forms "the intimate partnership of life and love established by the Creator and governed by his laws; it is rooted in the conjugal covenant, that is, in their irrevocable personal consent. Both give themselves definitively and totally to one another. They are no longer two; from now on they form one flesh. the covenant they freely contracted imposes on the spouses the obligation to preserve it as unique and indissoluble." What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder." - 2382 (in 'Divorce') - The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble. He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law. - 1650 (in 'The Unity and Indissolubility of Marriage') - Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ - "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" The Church maintains that a new union cannot be recognized as valid, if the first marriage was. If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God's law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists. For the same reason, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities. Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence. - 2380 (in 'Adultery') - Adultery refers to marital infidelity. When two partners, of whom at least one is married to another party, have sexual relations - even transient ones - they commit adultery. Christ condemns even adultery of mere desire. The sixth commandment and the New Testament forbid adultery absolutely. The prophets denounce the gravity of adultery; they see it as an image of the sin of idolatry. - 1261 (in 'The Necessity of Baptism') - As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them," allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism. Got a Bible question? Send an email to logicalbiblestudy@gmail.com, and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!

To support the ministry and access exclusive content, go to: ⁠⁠http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy⁠⁠ For complete verse-by-verse audio commentaries from Logical Bible Study, go to: ⁠⁠https://mysoundwise.com/publishers/1677296682850p Luke 10: 1-12 - 'Your peace will rest on that man.' Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs: - 765 (in 'The Church - Instituted by Christ Jesus') - The Twelve and the other disciples share in Christ's mission and his power, but also in his lot (abbreviated). - 2611 (in 'Jesus teaches us how to pray') - The prayer of faith consists not only in saying "Lord, Lord," but in disposing the heart to do the will of the Father. Jesus calls his disciples to bring into their prayer this concern for cooperating with the divine plan. - 2122 (in 'Irreligion') - The minister should ask nothing for the administration of the sacraments beyond the offerings defined by the competent authority, always being careful that the needy are not deprived of the help of the sacraments because of their poverty." The competent authority determines these "offerings" in accordance with the principle that the Christian people ought to contribute to the support of the Church's ministers. "The laborer deserves his food." Got a Bible question? Send an email to logicalbiblestudy@gmail.com, and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!

To support the ministry and access exclusive content, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For complete verse-by-verse audio commentaries from Logical Bible Study, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mysoundwise.com/publishers/1677296682850p Luke 9: 46-50 - 'The least among you all is the greatest.' Got a Bible question? Send an email to logicalbiblestudy@gmail.com, and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!

To support the ministry and access exclusive content, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For complete verse-by-verse audio commentaries from Logical Bible Study, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mysoundwise.com/publishers/1677296682850p Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48 - 'Do not stop anyone from working a miracle in my name.' Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs: - 1034 (in 'Hell') - Jesus often speaks of "Gehenna" of "the unquenchable fire" reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost. Jesus solemnly proclaims that he "will send his angels, and they will gather . . . all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire," and that he will pronounce the condemnation: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!" Got a Bible question? Send an email to logicalbiblestudy@gmail.com, and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!

To support the ministry and access exclusive content, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For complete verse-by-verse audio commentaries from Logical Bible Study, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mysoundwise.com/publishers/1677296682850p Mark 9: 30-37 - 'Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me.' Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs: - 557 (in 'Jesus' ascent to Jerusalem') - "When the days drew near for him to be taken up [Jesus] set his face to go to Jerusalem." By this decision he indicated that he was going up to Jerusalem prepared to die there. Three times he had announced his Passion and Resurrection (abbreviated) - 474 (in 'Christ's Soul and his human knowledge') - By its union to the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal. What he admitted to not knowing in this area, he elsewhere declared himself not sent to reveal. - 1824 (in 'Charity') - Christ died out of love for us, while we were still "enemies." The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself. Got a Bible question? Send an email to logicalbiblestudy@gmail.com, and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!

To support the ministry and access exclusive content, go to: ⁠⁠http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy For complete verse-by-verse audio commentaries from Logical Bible Study, go to: ⁠⁠https://mysoundwise.com/publishers/1677296682850p Matthew 9: 9-13 - 'It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick.' Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs: - 581 (in 'Jesus and the Law') - The Jewish people and their spiritual leaders viewed Jesus as a rabbi. He often argued within the framework of rabbinical interpretation of the Law. Yet Jesus could not help but offend the teachers of the Law, for he was not content to propose his interpretation alongside theirs but taught the people "as one who had authority, and not as their scribes" In Jesus, the same Word of God that had resounded on Mount Sinai to give the written Law to Moses, made itself heard anew on the Mount of the Beatitudes. Jesus did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it by giving its ultimate interpretation in a divine way: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old. . . But I say to you. . ."With this same divine authority, he disavowed certain human traditions of the Pharisees that were "making void the word of God" - 589 (in 'Jesus and Israel's faith in the one God and Saviour') - Jesus gave scandal above all when he identified his merciful conduct toward sinners with God's own attitude toward them. He went so far as to hint that by sharing the table of sinners he was admitting them to the messianic banquet (abbreviated). - 2100 (in 'Sacrifice') - Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit...." The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the heart or not coupled with love of neighbor. Jesus recalls the words of the prophet Hosea: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice" (abbreviated). Got a Bible question? Send an email to logicalbiblestudy@gmail.com, and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!

This is a bonus episode, where we respond to some recent listener questions. To support the ministry and access exclusive content, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For complete verse-by-verse audio commentaries from Logical Bible Study, go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mysoundwise.com/publishers/1677296682850p⁠⁠

To support the ministry and access exclusive content, go to: ⁠⁠http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy⁠⁠ For complete verse-by-verse audio commentaries from Logical Bible Study, go to: ⁠⁠https://mysoundwise.com/publishers/1677296682850p Luke 7: 1-10 - 'Give the word and my servant will be healed.' Got a Bible question? Send an email to logicalbiblestudy@gmail.com, and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!