The First Prophesy in Human History

What is the very   first prophesy in human history? What or who is it about? As you might imagine, it's probably be pretty important. This single verse, Genesis 3:15 , is called the " Proto- evangelium ," which means "First Gospel." This one verse is the first mention of the Gospel in Scripture, and it occurs right after the Fall of Adam and Eve. Not only that, it's an encapsulation -- the "seed" -- of the entire Gospel. There is a summary of the Gospel hidden right here in this short verse. This means that God knew His plan to redeem all mankind from the very beginning, and said so. Not only does Gen 3:15 contain prophesies of Christ, it also provides three distinct prophesies of the Blessed Virgin Mary that every Catholic should know .  Take a second to think about that.  This was written thousands of years before Mary's birth.   How inexpressibly amazing is it that this verse would contain prophesies of her life? Also, how ama Read More April 26, 2017

The Greatest Verse in the Bible

I'm going to tell you the greatest verse in all of Scripture. You might be saying, how could he even say that? How could there be a "greatest" verse – isn’t that supremely subjective? Just a matter of opinion? I don’t think so. In one verse, God makes known His entire plan of salvation, his entire plan for all of human history. Not only that, he does this at the very beginning of human history. This one verse demonstrates that God is the Lord of all history. Everybody has their favorite Bible verse, right? I know there are a number of people who would claim John 3:16 as their favorite: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." It's hard to compete with that one, right? Or, Psalm 23 , "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Surely, the greatest verse in Scripture must be between those two, right? No, I don't think so.  Jesus Christ is the Word of Read More April 24, 2017

"Hail, Queen of the Jews"?

Have you ever wondered about the angel's strange greeting to the Virgin Mary? Why would God's own messenger be saying "Hail" to a young girl? Why is she called "full of grace" and not "Mary, full of grace"? Is this possibly a royal title? The answer lies in the other uses of "Hail" in the New Testament. This is an absolutely critical point in Scripture. First off, if Mary had said "No" to God, it would have changed everything . There is so much significance packed into this short verse. The Angel Gabriel says to Mary, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" Why does the angel say, "Hail"? Is the Virgin Mary a taxi cab ?  And why does the angel say "full of grace" instead of Mary's name?  I was just immersed in a Twitter battle about the meaning of this verse with some of John MacArthur 's hyper-Calvinist disciples. Check it out: This is a trap, of course. No where Read More April 20, 2017

Proving the Assumption of Mary: Part Four, Mary is the New Ark

This is the final post of this series about all the assumptions of the Bible, and how they all, ultimately, point to Christ and the Blessed Mother. We've covered the assumptions of Enoch and Elijah, of Moses and the Ark of the Covenant, and now of the New Moses and the Ark of the New Covenant.  Here's a summary of the previous three posts (parts one , two , and three ): (1) Elijah was assumed into Heaven on a "fiery chariot", as described in 2 Kings 2:11-12 . Elijah's presence in Heaven is confirmed in the New Testament when Elijah stands next to Jesus at the Transfiguration, cf. Luke 9:28-36 .  (2) Enoch was assumed into Heaven, as described in  Genesis 5: 21-24 . Enoch's assumption into Heaven is then confirmed in the New Testament in  Hebrews 11:5 . (3) Moses' death and burial are described at  Deuteronomy 34:5-6 . Yet, Moses' presence in Heaven is described in the New Testament when he and Elijah stand next to Jesus at the Transfigurati Read More April 19, 2017

A Well-Tailored Cross (Guest Post)

[This is a post from my beautiful wife. Enjoy!] It's the most wonderful time of the year. No, it's not Christmas, it's Holy Week, when a wealth of spiritual jewels, miracles, and mysteries are packed into a mere few days. No matter how dry or rich my Lenten experience has been, I've always been able to glean an abundance of graces from this intense spiritual boot camp. ... until now. Don't let this cuteness fool you! There is plenty of mischief packed into this tiny package. This is Charlie, our second oldest, holding his favorite food, the Forbidden Fruit.  Getting ready for the Good Friday service, I reflect on the constant distractions from entering into the spirit and solemnity of the Triduum. There are three little children with snotty noses and a proclivity for mischief. Being a stay-at-home mom, they follow me around the house like blood hounds and I just can't shake them off my trail. There are at least two decades of interruptions per Read More April 14, 2017

The Hidden Eucharist in the Our Father

“Ma-daddy,” my daughter said. “Ma- daddy .” I was trying to teach my daughter the Lord’s Prayer, but we were stuck at “give us this day our daily bread.”  Lucy, my daughter, kept tugging at my sleeve. “Dad- dy , why day-day ?” After trying to ignore the interruption the first dozen or so times, I finally stopped to listen. “Day-day?  What’s ‘day-day’?” “Day-day bread ,” Lucy answered. Her eyes and nostrils were flaring in exasperation. It took me some time to realize it, but it was God, through my child, that was truly asking the question. Have you ever noticed? There is something odd about the “Our Father.”  We pray "give us this day our daily bread" in the Lord’s Prayer. Do you remember seventh grade English class and diagramming sentences? Something should stand out about that sentence. It's   redundant . Why do we say both "day" and "daily"? As my daughter would say, why “day-day bread”?  It's actually not redundant at a Read More April 13, 2017