Recommended Resources for Scripture Study and Reflection

LOTS of books here! Don't be intimidated! It's just a list with some explanation of each title. All good material for coming to a better understanding of the Bible.

I'll start with the NON-book resources for the auditory learners:

The Bible in a Year podcast is one way to go. Father Mike Schmitz does talk at an incredibly fast pace, so if you are using this in prayer, I suggest slowing the play speed down. The Ascension Press media player allows you to do that (the first speed option, 1x, is normal speed; click that and select 0.8 to slow the playback down ever so slightly).

The Daily Mass Readings calendar from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has an audio function, but you have to click into the calendar day to find it. Click on the day, and then select "Listen Podcast" to hear the day's Mass readings and Responsorial Psalm.

Now for the BOOKS!!!

If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts, and how each book of the Bible has been understood by the Church Fathers and used in Liturgy. (I can't wait until their volume on the New Testament is ready!)

Also by John Bergsma, commentary on the Sunday readings: The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year A
The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year B The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Mass Readings for Solemnities and Feasts

Anglican priest and Scripture scholar Esau McCaulley delves into key passages of Paul's letters (among dozens of other biblical books) that were historically twisted to uphold the institution of slavery and racial injustice in the United States. His book, Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope, is especially addressed to Black readers, but I found it extremely relevant to the questions American society is facing. McCaulley looks at several key areas in which the Scriptures have been kept from speaking fully to the American situation: prison reform, politics, justice, protest. He brings his broad knowledge of the Word of God to bear on the issues. (I have dozens of paragraphs marked for further reflection.) His reflection on slavery (and on the applications of Deuteronomy 23) is amazing.

Dr John Bergsma's Jesus and the Old Testament Roots of the Priesthood demonstrates how many of the Old Testament prefigurings and institutions were fulfilled (super-abundantly!) in Jesus and in the Church. This is especially clear in the Gospel of John, which in a way is the most "priestly" of the four Gospels. If you have questions about the priesthood in the Church, or about the difference between our baptismal participation in the priesthood of Christ and that exercised by our ministerial priests, or even simple questions like why Catholics call priests "Father" (when Jesus said, "Call no one on earth 'father'"), or if you would like to see in a fuller way how very many Old Testament types were pointing to Jesus and to the Church, this very readable book is for you.

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah, by Louisiana native Dr. Brant Pitre, presents the Mother of Jesus in the light of the Old Testament "types" (prefigurings that were historically real, but also prophetic symbols). This is especially important as we read the Gospel of John. Dr Pitre is an engaging author; I made great use of the Catholic Introduction to the Bible (Old Testament) that he and Dr Bergsma co-authored.

Dr Edward Sri's companion to the Gospel of Matthew is a good study guide: it even has reflection questions and space for you to write your answers! Mystery of the Kingdom: On the Gospel of Matthew (Kingdom Studies)

Do you get tripped up by the parables? We can go far astray in grasping Jesus' point if we interpret his parables from the individualistic standpoint of the 21st century. As we read some of the most beloved parables of Luke, you might find this double volume extremely enlightening, as I did. The author of Poet & Peasant lived and taught in the Middle East for decades, and brings his intimate awareness of traditional cultural expectations to bear specifically on the parables of Luke. Granted, the degree of literary analysis is meant for doctoral students, the cultural parts are very graspable. Please note that the author is not Catholic, so sometimes his comments reflect an approach to the Bible or Church life that is disconnected from the continuous tradition we know in the Catholic and also Orthodox Churches.

Dr. John Bergsma's fascinating presentation,Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity, gives the ordinary reader a sense of the many points of contact between the Gospels and the culture, spirituality, writings, and expectations of the Essenes. In many ways living a kind of porto-monasticism, the Essene communities sought to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of David through fidelity to the "works of the Law" (sound familiar?) in rigorous cultic purity. Their leadership seems to have descended from the Aaronic high priesthood, and their founder was clearly a prophetic soul imbued with the Holy Spirit. Many practices and expressions that we find in the Gospels and the letters of St Paul are found nowhere else in extant literature than in the Dead Sea Scrolls, making them amazingly valuable in authenticating, from a purely historical perspective, some of the very details that had been deprecated by "historical criticism" as invented or anachronistic.

Are you intimidated by St. Paul? N.T. Wright's Paul: A Biography is the book I would recommend to someone who wanted to read one (only one) book that combined the life and letters of St Paul. Written by a noted Scripture, this is a flowing narrative that is scripturally enlightening and historically sound. Wright gives the reader a way of following Paul through the Acts of the Apostles and the writing of his letters, making Paul the person that much more approachable, and the letters themselves more readable as a result of having a social and historical context.

The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ by Dr. Brant Pitre is a book of apologetics: not apologizing for the faith, but defending and explaining things that can be easily misunderstood. In this case, Pitre presents the person and ministry of Jesus in the light of Scripture and history in a readable, convincing way.

I don't have a lot of resources specific to Acts, but if you would like to go further into this unique book of the Bible, the two-volume set (Witnesses of the Messiah for Acts 1-15, and Envoy of the Messiah for Acts 16-18) by Stephen Pimentel seems to fit the bill. The sections include study questions for groups, too!

Years ago I attended a lecture series by Dr James Papandrea on the Book of Revelation and found it very helpful. His book, The Wedding of the Lamb: A Historical Approach to the Book of Revelation, is kind of expensive, but there is a Kindle version in case you are looking for a companion to Revelation by a Catholic theologian.

Essential Resources for Theology of the Body

As the Original Theology of the Body Fangirl, I pay attention to material that purports to present or promote Pope John Paul's thought. This is not a list everything worthwhile on the topic, but of the resources I consider most essential for getting into the heart of the matter. There are tons of other resources available, but these are the foundational ones.

For starters, you might consider Discover Theology of the Body, the 10-part video lecture series by Franciscan Father Robert Sprott for a live-streamed event we did in Chicago back in 2013 (before "live-streaming" was even a thing). It is behind a modest paywall, but there is a free discussion guide (by yours truly), so it can be used by parish groups or organizations.

The essential books are:

Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body, translated by Dr. Michael Waldstein: a critical edition of the Pope's series of biblical reflections. The introductions alone are valuable, content-wise. 

The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, Anniversary Edition, by Pope John Paul II with commentary and discussion questions by John and Claire Grabowski. This is a "Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation," a kind of papal document that sums up in an authoritative way the results of a Synod. In this case, it was the 1980 Synod of Bishops, which met to discuss "The Christian Family." Pope John Paul timed the start of his Theology of the Body talks to coincide with the opening work of the Synod. As you might imagine, there are many convergences between the two.

Love and Responsibility, by Karol Wojtyla (written while the future Pope was still basically a campus minister, doing marriage prep in his own inimitable way; as he wrote them, the chapters would be discussed by the students with a view to editorial fine-tuning). This is the philosophical-ethical study of human love.

Understanding Love and Responsibility, by Richard A. Spinello: because not too many of us are up to reading a philosophical treatment of human love, even one that is so spot-on in terms of its personalist approach.

The Human Person According to John Paul II, by J. Brian Bransfield: an introduction to Theology of the Body.

Humanae Vitae, 50th Anniversary Edition, by Pope Paul VI: an annotated edition of the landmark encyclical that dealt with contraception. Karol Wojtla was a member of Pope Paul VI's expanded "birth control commission," though he could not get a his passport approved from Communist Poland to attend commission meetings. The crowning sessions of the Theology of the Body talks are an application of the Scriptural principles to issues raised in Humanae Vitae.

NOT Theology of the Body, but a kind of catechism in the light of Theology of the Body: The One Thing Is Three: How the Most Holy Trinity Explains Everything, by Father Michael Gaitley. I highly recommend this presentation of the faith which draws inspiration from Theology of the Body and the Divine Mercy devotion. 

Sharing the news about the Nine First Fridays

Two weeks ago we were running a weekend book fair at a local parish. One of the parish priests recommended my book from the pulpit, urging people to make the "Seven Fridays." (More than a few voices from the pews shouted out the correct number!). Then yesterday, waiting for Church to open for confession, a woman walked by, looked at me and asked, "Are you the sister who wrote the book about the Nine Fridays?" I nodded, and she said, "I just love it!" (So glad! And she got the number right, too!)

Nine First Fridays is quite a challenge, as you know if you have tried to make them. But so worth the effort. And for this First Friday of October, there's now a poster you can download, print or share online to help others learn about (and make) the Nine First Fridays! Ask your parish if a poster can be put on the parish bulletin board, and included in the parish bulletin.

The QR code links to the Pauline webstore, where hardcover copies of the book can be ordered. We are waiting for the reprint stock to arrive, so orders will go out as soon as we ourselves get the books!

Texas, here I come!

Registration is now open for the women's retreat at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Mineral Wells, TX (in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area). A day-long event with two talks, an art meditation, confession, and a guided Hour of Eucharistic Adoration! Lunch is included (and there's no charge; donations are welcome).

God willing, I'll be doing book signings there, as well. I say, "God willing," because my book is already being reprinted, but there was a delay at the printer's, so I'm not sure it will be in stock by mid-October. (I am trying to arrange for a free shipping code for orders, and will sign book plates for all those who place an order that day.) 

Get your girlfriends together and spend the day with the Lord! Download and print the registration form and mail it in today! (Let me know if there is a problem with the link; just send a comment--it won't be posted.)

It's a Win-Win (for the Nine First Fridays)!

This past weekend brought a double dose of good news. Well, the first dose actually came at the beginning of the month, when I learned that my book for the Nine First Fridays had won First Place in the category of Prayer in the Association of Catholic Publishers' "Excellence in Publishing" Awards. 

Then this weekend, the Catholic Media Association (formerly the Catholic Press Association), the largest of the professional organizations for Catholic writers, journalists, and publishing houses, gave my book the First Place award in the Prayer category as well!

Add to that Pope Francis' announcement in the first week of June that he was preparing a document on the Sacred Heart of Jesus (to coincide with this 350th anniversary of the apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque), and it comes to a perfect trifecta of recognition. 

So if you haven't gotten your copy yet, all the signs say now is the time to get one, and begin making the Nine First Fridays!

Month's Mind and signs of the hundredfold

Today marks one month since we laid my sister Mary to rest. In the five weeks since her death, there have been more Masses offered for her soul than we can count, and she has been enrolled in many more through the various associations offered by religious congregations (including my own!). Every day brings a new grief, but there have also been many consolations. There is even a consolation in the grief itself: It is showing me that I love my sister far more than I ever realized.

A lot can happen in a month.

The hospital is setting up some kind of education program or fund in Mary's name. 

In the O.R. she ran for so many years, there is now a picture of Mary Kay on the wall. Someone told me it was going to be placed near the image of St. Ignatius (which someone Photoshopped so that he is holding a liver). Years ago I mentioned to Mary that an autopsy found that Ignatius had a pitifully desiccated liver; she took that information and ran with it. Only the Lord how many people on the liver team have Tiny Saints of St. Ignatius from Mary's "Tiny Saint" ministry at the hospital.

And a little over a week ago, I received a big, lumpy package from our convent in Alexandria, VA. It contained a hand-made Rosary from Sister Julia (who had been a guest at Mary's house during our last Christmas concert, and on account of illness ended up being nursed by her an extra three days). The Rosary was made with red beads, to represent Mary's birthstone, and six large freshwater pearls for the Our Father beads represented our Mom and her five daughters. The centerpiece was a Marian monogram with the miraculous medal within, since Mary died on the First Saturday of May, and attached to the chain were significant medals: Divine Mercy, since Mary died during the Hour of Mercy; Blessed Francis X. Seelos, whose intercession she especially sought in her illness; St. Joseph. (Recently I added another one: St. Ignatius of Loyola, the unofficial patron of the liver transplant team Mary worked with.) But there was more than a Rosary in the package. There was also a hand-made card, its pages decorated with pictures, beads, and colored paper, with a two-page spread from each of the sisters who made vows the same year I did (except for one sister stationed in Italy).

In that same postal delivery, I received a smaller envelope, from a Poor Clare Monastery. It was a sympathy card from a sister who had made first vows with us, in 1978, but then had gone on to the cloister. One of my co-novices in Boston had informed her as soon as she got the news of Mary's death. (The U.S. Mail functioned admirably in this regard!)

All of the messages promised prayer; all assured me of being loved as a sister by these women whom I have known for almost 50 years. Receiving all those sisterly messages (seven of them!) upon the death of my sister struck me as a sign of the "hundredfold" promised by the Lord to those who "leave father, mother, brothers, sisters, children and lands" for his sake. 

This race through the cancer journey has also put me in a position of being able to sympathize much more with people whose loved ones are being diagnosed with advanced or aggressive cancers. I can be more of a "sister" to them because of what I saw my sister suffer in her very brief, but intense fight.

One of the people in surgery sent us a copy of the letter from Mary in which she informed her team about her diagnosis, and let them know that she was stepping away from work to focus on "fighting the good fight" (we put that passage from St. Paul on the memorial cards). It is possible that some of these words will end up framed or documented (can you spot the John Henry Newman quote in Mary's final message to her co-workers?):

I recently received a rather concerning diagnosis.... we have a good plan in place. I have a ton of support. I have utmost confidence and my faith is strong.

This certainly wasn't 'on my Bingo card'! I do appreciate prayers. To the Catholics, please invoke Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos.

I have enjoyed my career over the last 45 years and working with each of you. I have few regrets, but chief of these is if I ever spoke harshly or behaved in an 'unbecoming' manner.

I will leave you with these thoughts. Please indulge me.

Know that God made you and placed you here for a reason. Be open to learning. Listen to understand. Walk the talk. And strive to be a person of integrity and credibility.

It has been my privilege. 

Rest in Peace, Mary Kay

I've spent a lot of time lately in the hospital. First in the oncology ward, and then, for the past week and a half, in an ICU unit. Not for my own health reasons, but to accompany my sister Mary as she dealt with a cancer that only showed up on anyone's radar after she went to work on Monday, March 18, feeling a little off her usual bouncy stride.

It was already far advanced and far more aggressive than the oncologist even guessed. Although surgery was just two weeks after the diagnosis, she was already weak. Chemo was hastened, but it was more than her previously robust system could handle. Just eleven days later, on the first Saturday of May, we surrounded her with love and prayer to accompany her passage to the Father.

As we surrounded her hospital bed in that final hour, her husband of 43 years put his hand tenderly on her brow while tears streamed down his face (and ours). Please pray for him. He had (and has) so many health issues, it was a given that Mary would be taking care of him. Life sure does not go according to plan, does it?

I was the firstborn in my family; Mary came right after me, so she was the person I knew the longest on this earth. After my mother's death, I would spend my vacation time at Mary's house, and once transferred to New Orleans, I would go there on my free Sundays to sit at the kitchen table with her, talking about which recipe to try out next. That's what I did the day before her diagnosis: we prepared sourdough cinnamon rolls together from her amazing starter. (I have her sourdough starter and will attempt to keep it alive.)

Mary was an operating room nurse who started out as a 19 year old surgical tech and worked her way up to R.N. First Assistant (boss of the OR) for the transplant team. She mentored untold numbers of nurses and doctors in the ways of the OR. While she was in the ICU we learned that she had been nominated for the hospital's "Nurse of the Year" commendation. (Evidently, a decision has already been made, and we have no idea if it was for Mary, though you know who I think utterly deserved it.)

Mary (right) with an anatomically correct liver cake.
Red velvet, of course. 

When not saving lives in the operating room, she was baking fancy cakes for coworkers' events, healthcare charities, or birthdays; running a monthly "salad club" (with her signature balsamic dressing (25-year aged balsamic vinegar and dried shallots) to encourage healthy eating (her own, first of all!) or giving fun cooking classes in her home. 

Having just turned 65, Mary was looking forward to retiring at the end of summer so she could do more such things, as well as putter in her garden, where the fig tree is already loaded with baby figs, and the pomegranate tree downed by Hurricane Ida has come back from the roots and is loaded with new fruits. Instead, she has been granted a better retirement, though one that leaves the rest of us out for the time being. 

If you have followed this blog for any number of years, you might recall that my sisters and I usually made a road trip together every summer; we started doing this with Mom, and often included Mary's granddaughter (until she became a teenager, and her grandmother and great-aunts became unbelievable fuddy-duddies). This year's trip was to have been to Austin in April, to share the experience of the eclipse. Instead, Mary's surgery was that week, and the sisters' trip ended up being an intense shared experience of seeing one of our number off on the ultimate journey, to the destination we all aim for. 

Mary kept in her locker a printout of the famous prayer (or meditation) of St. John Henry Newman, whose "Tiny Saint" image she kept on her key ring; when someone was in need of encouragement or hope, she would share it with them, and pass along a copy. She was a remarkable woman with a zest for life and a gift for communicating her faith. Please pray for the eternal repose of the soul of Mary Kay Harvey, and for the consolation of her husband, children, grandchildren, siblings, and scores of co-workers and friends. 

Mary's favorite reflection from Cardinal-Saint John Henry Newman:

God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission—I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his—if, indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham. Yet I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work;
I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.

Therefore I will trust Him.
Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away.
If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; 
in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him;
if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him.
My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us.
He does nothing in vain;
He may prolong my life, He may shorten it;
He knows what He is about.
He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers,
He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me
still He knows what He is about.

I've been silent. There's a reason.

Granted, it was Lent. And I have a host of deadlines to meet. And then, just two weeks ago, a close family member was diagnosed with cancer. One of those cancers that doesn't have symptoms until it reaches a nasty stage. And boy did it get nasty fast. Still, the surgeon was optimistic that it had not advanced too, too far.

The day of the diagnosis, the pastor made a house call for Anointing of the Sick. I brought Communion on Easter. The surgery was on Easter Tuesday. They got most of it, but some areas had to be left for chemo (and prayer) to handle.

Do you remember that before Lent I invited you to join our online book study? The final session was last night. The book was Finding God in Suffering. And while my relative has been suffering in one way, I have been suffering in another: being unable to "do something" to either make the problem go away or at least make things better. But even that suffering can be "commended into the hands" of the Heavenly Father in union with Jesus for a multitude of special intentions. 

So if you have some suffering (or some powerlessness) to bear, I am right there with you. Don't let a bit of it go to waste! Even the annoyance, the time "lost," the boredom, can be valuable: you are part of the Body of Christ, so everything that is yours is also His: his experience of annoyance, of delays, of waiting... Fill them with special intentions for the needs of the world; for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; for an increase of vocations; in reparation for the evils being multiplied because people with unimaginably corrupt minds and hearts are targeting the vulnerable... Let your heart go wild. There is infinite value in your hands, because your hands are His, and when the Father looks at you, He sees (and hears) the Son.

And if you need any specific intentions, just message me! I have pages of them!!!

First Friday! (and March: can you believe it?)

This year, March begins on a First Friday of Lent: a perfect day for you to begin the Nine First Fridays (if you haven't already). 

If you're not sure what I'm referring to, you really need to download the free introductory unit of my book (A Eucharistic handbook for the Nine First Fridays) and get going! We are right in the middle of the 350th anniversary year of the series of apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary that gave us not only the devotion of the Nine First Fridays, but Eucharistic Adoration as we know it today, the Forty Hours devotion, and the (ubiquitous and often misunderstood) image of the Sacred Heart itself.

I have my copy;
where is yours?

So what are you waiting for? (Jesus wants to know.)

First steps into Lent

Exhibit A: Starfleet Logo

Exhibit B: Bold Cross 

Do the ashes count if they form less of a cross and more of...a Starfleet logo (as in Star Trek)? Well, it (Exhibit A) will have to do. My sister (Exhibit B), in the meantime, received the perfect, well-defined, very forthright symbol of redemption on her forehead this Ash Wednesday. Either way, we're in Lent now! And as the initial readings for the season remind us, it's a season for prayer, fasting (oops, almost typed "feasting"; too much Mardi Gras over here!), and works of mercy. That got me thinking about one of my patron saints, a veritable prodigy of fasting: John the Baptist. 

It struck me only today that while John the Baptist is our Advent guide, he is rather marginal to Lent, except as a model of fasting (or prayer, when you focus on his life in the desert, which the early Church considered the place of prayer par excellence). John's mission was to prepare the way for the "one who comes after," the "one greater" than he. And that is Advent, plain as day. Lent, however, has a different focus. In Lent, it is as though John has led us to the Lord Jesus, and now we have a decision to make: to follow or not to follow. To follow on our own terms is not to follow Christ, but to follow our own path, with a bit of Christly decoration. Jesus makes that clear in the various "hard sayings" we find scattered throughout the Gospels, especially that winsome invitation to "deny yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me."

That doesn't mean making life miserable. Sometimes it means accepting life as it is and finding God in suffering.

Scores of people started joining us weekly for an online Lenten book study of a new book with that very title: Finding God in Suffering. Sessions are free, and meet every Wednesday night at 7 CST on Zoom. If you'd like to be invited, please message me by email or by sending your email address in a comment (that I will NOT post). You would have only missed two sessions, I think. Sorry I forgot to mention this earlier. If you join, you will get links to the earlier sessions. This coming Wednesday we will have the author with us, so that will be a good time to join. (And it gives you time to get the book; Here is an Associates link if you must use Amazon; otherwise, you can order direct from the sisters.)

Either way, solo or with an online study group, it's one way to learn how to "take up your cross every day" to follow Jesus.