Catholicity - Apologetics For Our Time

     Every March 19,  The Church celebrates the Solemnity St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the foster-father of Jesus.     Based on what is known,  St. Joseph was probably born in Bethlehem, and he probably died in Nazareth, although that exact information is not certain. We only know who his father was, and something of his hereditary background - he was from within the line of King David. But more "personal details," the kind of stuff we make into movies, is nowhere revealed. However, intelligence and scholarly knowledge fills in may blanks.            Joseph was of a royal line, in the House of David - Scripture tells us that. But, he wasn't a prince; he was reduced to the humble, ignominious life of a common man. He was, in fact, a tradesman as far as we know. He probably worked in wood and metal, and St. Justin Martyr ( 90–100 AD – 165) su ggested he probably made yokes and plows. Th...

Today we ask this question: " Who do You listen to?"  Isaiah 4:9:8-15 Thus says the LORD: In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you; and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, To restore the land and allot the desolate heritages, Saying to the prisoners: Come out! To those in darkness: Show yourselves! Along the ways they shall find pasture, on every bare height shall their pastures be. They shall not hunger or thirst, nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them; For he who pities them leads them and guides them beside springs of water. I will cut a road through all my mountains, and make my highways level. See, some shall come from afar, others from the north and the west, and some from the land of Syene. Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, break forth into song, you mountains. For the LORD comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted. But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten...

 WHO REALLY WROTE THE BIBLE?  The Divine Symphony of Inspiration, Tradition, and Human Collaboration --- I. INTRODUCTION: Going Beyond the Myths and Fabrications Every generation confronts the same profound question:  Who truly wrote the Bible? Was it inspired by God, but written through the hands and thoughts of men? Maybe it was dictated word-for-word from heaven? Perhaps it was crafted by The Church authorities over centuries?       These questions are not merely historical curiosities — just as The Bible is not a historical book and should not be viewed as such. Rather, these questions shape how Christians - Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox alike - each understand God’s revelation and human participation in it.      What we find when we dig into this matter is not really hard answers. OF course, there are those who choose to approach it that way, with a simplistic outlook..."Its God, and there's nothing more." But if we break o...

  THE BIBLE NEVER SAID THERE WERE 3 WISE MEN  What if I told you that the phrase "3 wise men" is not found in the Bible? We all grew up calling them, "3 wise men", yet a majority of us who claim to stick to what the Bible teaches have never really questioned if they were actually three in number. Matthew is, in fact, the only Evangelist that mentions the, "wise men from the East", particularly in Mtt. 2:1 - 12, and in that passage, Matthew calls them "μάγοι" (magoi in Greek) from the East. Now, the Greek term "magoi" is plural, which tells us only one thing with certainty: they were more than one. The text never gives a number; it deliberately leaves the number undefined. The idea of three came later, drawn from the three gifts mentioned: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. However, Scripture does not say one gift per person..., it is possible that 2 persons could bring 3 gifts or even 10 persons could equally bring 3 gifts. The connection o...

    It may surprise some Catholics, and even a few Protestants, that Protestant demominations exist which teach that the Eucharist was just, "a symbolic gesture," that Jesus never intended it to mean what He said, as recorded by the Gospel writers.     Some go even further, to say that it was essentially meaningless, just 12 dudes sitting around having dinner with Jesus.     Whats interesting about this outlook is that it is mostly found among, new age, "purist" sects. While they claim for themselves an ineffeble fidelity to Scripture - both strictly and literally - they paradoxically reject whatever they find in Scripture which conflicts with their ideas!     And such a sterile, dismissive view ignores what was said about The Eucharist LONG before any of them got such ideas into their heads.      In fact, the earliest followers of Christ, from the Apostles onward, had much to say about it. And what did they say?    ...