All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teach them to observe everything that I have commanded you and remember that I am with you always, yes, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)We hear Scripture at Mass every Sunday – not just in the readings. The whole Mass is taken from Scripture. Do you know where these come from? Glory to God in the highest Heaven... (Luke 2:14) Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord... (Psalm 118:26) Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world... (John 1:29) Lord, I am not worthy for you to enter under my roof.... (Matthew 8:8) Next time you’re at Mass (or watching it online or on TV), pay attention to these familiar texts (and so many others). Most of them are taken from Scripture. Look them up! Here’s another fun test: Could you complete the following Scripture passages? The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want… (Psalm 23) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life…” (John 14:16) Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… (Matthew 11:28-30) Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies... (John 12:24) And we know that in all things God works… (Romans 8:28) At the name of Jesus every knee should bend... (Philippians 2:10-11) Again. We’ve heard them so many times. Why not just memorize them? Here are other basics of Scripture that we should all know: How many books are there in the Bible? There are 73 books in the Catholic Bible: 46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. (It’s good for us to know that all New Testaments are the same. Some extra books, however, are included in the Orthodox Old Testament, and some that we have in the Catholic OT are not included in the Protestant OT. Other than Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, and parts of Daniel, I can’t tell you what they are, but it’s good for us to know.) [Note from the editor: also, Wisdom, Baruch, and Sirach.] How many Old Testament books can you name? I won’t put you on the spot like Sarah Hart put me on the spot, but, really, how many can you name? I suggest that we all should know the first five: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Those are the five books of Moses (also known as the Torah or the Pentateuch). You should also know that after that follows all the History Books, followed by the Books of Wisdom and then the Major and Minor Prophets. You should know some of the books in each of these sections: History Books: Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles... Wisdom Books: Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs... Major Prophets: (see below) Minor Prophets: Obadiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Nahum... (those are just fun to say!) I got as far as memorizing all the History Books in order. I don’t know the Wisdom Books or the Prophets in order, but I think I can name most of them (except the Minor Prophets; those are hard. But you should at least know that). Oh, one more: you should know which is the last Old Testament book before the New Testament: Zechariah (one of the Minor Prophets). [Note from the editor: Actually, it's Malachi.] I would add that we should be able to name all the books in the New Testament. At the very least you should know the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and that they are followed by the Acts of the Apostles, which is then followed by the Epistles (first the letters of St. Paul and then the other letters) and ending with the Book of Revelation. What else should we know from Scripture? Who are the Major Prophets? Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah [Note from the editor: You're forgetting Daniel, Lamentations, and Baruch.] Can you name some of the women in the Old Testament? Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Ruth, Naomi, Deborah, Bathsheba, Judith, Esther. Do you know who they were? Can you name the 12 Tribes of Israel? At the very least you should know that these are the sons of Jacob. Of his sons you should know Joseph and Benjamin. You may also recognize Judah (there are nine others). Can you name the 12 Disciples? Simon Peter, James (the Greater), John, Andrew, James (the Less), Philip, Matthew (Levi), Thomas, Bartholomew (Nathaniel), Jude (Thaddeus), Simon (the Zealot). and Judas (Iscariot). Do you know in which book of the Bible the following stories are found?
What is the difference between heresy and simple disagreement? Looking at some of the main heresies throughout history might light the way forward.
Ever wonder what "excommunication" really means? Deacon Pedro navigates the canonical web to tell us all about it.
Some 1000 years ago, Armenian St. Gregory of Narek set out to write what is today considered to be one of Christianity’s spiritual masterpieces.
February 8th was the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, who was enslaved as a child and brought from Sudan to Italy in the late 19th century.
On the fourth week of Advent, our protagonist is Mary.