First Wednesday Resources on the Mass

Audio of daily Mass readings (also available as a podcast on iTunes, "USCCB Daily Mass Readings")

CHURCH FATHERS

Catholic Answers' tract, "The Real Presence" lists many quotes from Church Fathers on the Eucharist.

St. Justin Martyr (100 - 165 A.D.): First Apology, where he tries to defend Christians & Christian practices against false Roman perceptions.  Ch. 66-67 are specifically about the Mass.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (315 - 386 A.D.): 22nd Catechetical Lecture, "On the Body & Blood of Christ", and the 23rd Catechetical Lecture, "On the Sacred Liturgy and Communion".  St. Cyril wrote this series as instructional lectures to those about to become Catholic. 

ARTICLES

The Mass Explained, step-by-step explanation of each part of the Mass by Cormac Burke

What Is Happening At Mass?, by Bishop Robert Barron

Live video feed from the perpetual adoration chapel at the Tyburn Convent in London, U.K.  Visit Jesus anytime!

1912 Catholic Encyclopedia article, "Liturgy of the Mass."  It gives a historical overview of the Mass from its very beginnings to the early 20th Century.

Bl. John Henry Newman's sermon, "Attendance on Holy Communion"

VIDEOS

Mark Hart, "Bored at Mass?" (duration 4:52)

Venerable Fulton Sheen, "The Meaning of the Mass" (duration 29:02)

Scott Hahn, "The Bible and the Sacrifice of the Mass"

Bishop Robert Barron, "The Mystery of the Mass - the Source and Summit of Christian Life" (duration 58:23)

Matthew Kelly, Part 1 of 3, "The Mass" (#3 of the 7 Pillars of Catholicism) (duration 9:33)

Matthew Kelly, Part 2 of 3, "The Mass" (duration 9:12)

Matthew Kelly, Part 3 of 3, "The Mass" (duration 4:09)

Brant Pitre, "Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist" (duration 1:12:08)

 

 

CHURCH DOCUMENTS

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part II, The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (#1066 - 1112, 1322 - 1412)

 

Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963)

 

St. John Paul II, encyclical on the Eucharist and its relationship to the Church, Ecclesia de Eucharistia (2003)

 

Bl. Paul VI, encyclical on the Holy Eucharist, Mysterium Fidei (1965)

 

Pope Pius XII, encyclical on the Sacred Liturgy, Mediator Dei (1947)

 

 

 



Resources: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

Maps

Here is a map of St. Paul's second missionary journey, on which he founded the church at Thessalonians's, after leaving Philippi. 

The Via Egnatia ran from the present-day Albanian coast to Istanbul.  The road went right down the middle of Thessalonica.  (from Wikipedia article "Via Egnatia", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Egnatia)

Main Topics from Sunday's Class

1) Living a moral life

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part 3 "Life in Christ" (#1749 - 2559), online here
• A pamphlet in PDF form written by Peter Kreeft for the Knights of Columbus: "Some Fundamental Principles of Catholic Morality" 

2) Tradition and authority

•  This article from Catholic Answers cites numerous Church Fathers who supported the authoritative nature of the Tradition passed down from the Apostles.
• Dr. David Anders (EWTN's "Called to Communion" radio show), "On the Usefulness of Tradition"

3) The End Times

• Msgr. Charles Pope's blog post summarizing what Catholics believe about the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the world
• The Rapture is bad theology and a misreading of Scripture.  Get the facts from Catholic Answers.
• Taylor Marshall did a series of 16 podcasts on the Book of Revelation, offering insights from the Church Fathers, authentic Catholic views on it, and no funny business.  He goes in depth to explain a lot of details about the book that are confusing.  Check out the podcast list here (#76, 77, 79, 81-85, 87, 88, 90-93, 96, 97) or download on iTunes

Resources on the Epistles

Catholic Encyclopedia article: Epistles to the Thessalonians

Steve Ray's introductions to 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians

St. John Chrysostum's (347 - 407 A.D.) homilies on 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians

St. Thomas Aquinas' commentary on 1 Thessalonians

Audio on St. Paul in General

Taylor Marshall wrote a book called The Catholic Perspective on Paul.  He also did a series of podcasts based on the material in the book (also available on the Apple Podcast app); I highly recommend both. 


Bishop Barron gave a series of 3 homilies on St. Paul in 2004: "St. Paul the Apostle", "Being in Christ", and "Paul's Basic Message".  Also available as podcasts.

St. Paul Center's series of audio lessons, "Lessons from the Early Church" (requires creating a free account), doesn't directly relate to St. Paul but examines the first few centuries of the Church.  

Videos 

Ralph Martin & Peter Herbeck, "Signs of the End Times: A Catholic Perspective"

 

From the Catholic Answers Live radio show: is sola scriptura reasonable?

From Fr. Mike Schmitz, "3 Steps to Unceasing Prayer" (1 Thes 5:17)

How do you know your religion is true?  Trent Horn answers the question on Catholic Answers Live:

Resources: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, & Titus

Access the Catechism online here
 
Pope Benedict XVI's description of Sts. Timothy & Titus from a weekly audience in 2006

St. John Chrysostum's (d. 407 A.D.) homilies on 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus

Overviews of the Epistles

Online Reads
Steve Ray's introductions to 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus 

Catholic Encyclopedia (1908 edition) article on the Epistles to Timothy & Titus

Audio on St. Paul in general

Dancing while listening is optional

Taylor Marshall wrote a book called The Catholic Perspective on Paul.  He also did a series of podcasts based on the material in the book (also available on the Apple Podcast app); I highly recommend both. 


Bishop Barron gave a series of 3 homilies on St. Paul in 2004: "St. Paul the Apostle", "Being in Christ", and "Paul's Basic Message".  Also available as podcasts.

St. Paul Center's series of audio lessons, "Lessons from the Early Church" (requires creating a free account), doesn't directly relate to St. Paul but examines the first few centuries of the Church. 

Videos
Fr. Mitch Pacwa preaching on the feast of Sts. Timothy & Titus:

Resources: Letter to the Philippians

Geography

Map of ancient Greece (from biblestudy.org):

 

Access the Catechism online here


Saintly Commentaries and Letters

St. Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians  (St. Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John)

St. John Chrysostum's Homilies on Philippians

St. Thomas Aquinas' verse-by-verse commentary on Philippians
 

Overview on the Epistle

Online
Steve Ray's introduction to Philippians (.doc)

Catholic Encyclopedia (1908 edition) article: Epistle to the Philippians

Audio

Dancing while listening is optional

Taylor Marshall wrote a book called The Catholic Perspective on Paul.  He also did a series of podcasts based on the material in the book (also available on the Apple Podcast app); I highly recommend both. 


Bishop Barron gave a series of 3 homilies on St. Paul in 2004: "St. Paul the Apostle", "Being in Christ", and "Paul's Basic Message".  Also available as podcasts.

St. Paul Center's series of audio lessons, "Lessons from the Early Church" (requires creating a free account), doesn't directly relate to St. Paul but examines the first few centuries of the Church. 

VIDEO SERIES!!

A 2015 Steubenvillve Applied Biblical Studies conference on Philippians.  Each of these talks are about an hour each.

Scott Hahn: "Epistle of Joy, Apostle of Joy: Overview of Philippians" 

Michael Barber, "Philippians 1, 'To Live is Christ'"

Brant Pitre, Philippians 2

Edward Sri, “Philippians 3: The Surpassing Worth of Knowing Christ Jesus”

 

John Bergsma, "Philippians 4: How to Have Joy, Advice from an Apostle"

Resources: Letter to the Ephesians

Geography
Map of ancient cities in Asia Minor, which is present-day Turkey (from biblestudy.org):

Access the Catechism online here

St. Ignatius of Antioch's Letter to the Ephesians (around 108 A.D.)
He lived 35-108 A.D. and succeeded St. Peter as bishop of Antioch, and was a disciple of St. John the Apostle.  He composed this letter while on the way to Rome to be martyred.


Overviews on the Epistles

Online

Steve Ray's introduction to Ephesians (.doc)

Catholic Encyclopedia (1908 edition) article on the Epistle to the Ephesians

St. Thomas Aquinas' verse-by-verse commentary on Ephesians (table of contents page)

Audio

Dancing while listening is optional

Taylor Marshall wrote a book called The Catholic Perspective on Paul.  He also did a series of podcasts based on the material in the book (also available on the Apple Podcast app); I highly recommend both. 
 
Al Kresta ("Kresta in the Afternoon" show on Catholic radio) hosts Scripture professor Dr. Peter Williamson on "Where do I start with Ephesians?"

Bishop Barron gave a series of 3 homilies on St. Paul in 2004: "St. Paul the Apostle", "Being in Christ", and "Paul's Basic Message".  Also available as podcasts.

St. Paul Center's series of audio lessons, "Lessons from the Early Church" (requires creating a free account)

Video

Jeff Cavins (co-author of the Great Adventure Bible Study) discussing Ephesians:

Curtis Mitch (co-author of the Ignatius Study Bible commentary), "The Four Marks of the Church in Ephesians"

Scott Hahn (the other co-author of the Ignatius Study Bible commentary) (and a ton of other stuff), on "A Plan for the Fullness of Time: An Overview of Ephesians"

Resources: Letter to the Romans

Sunday's main topics

Access the Catechism online here

1) How can we know God?  Faith, reason, science, religion, etc.

-St. Thomas Aquinas' five proofs for the existence of God, from the Summa Theologica
-St. John Paul II's encyclical Fides et Ratio
-Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum
-Fr. Robert Spitzer's Magis Center website with tons of resources on the interaction of science and faith
-Talks from Lighthouse Catholic Media by Fr. Spitzer (really, really good)


Overviews on the Epistles

Online
Steve Ray's introduction to Romans (PDF)

Catholic Encyclopedia (1908 edition) articles: "Epistle to the Romans" and "Epistle to the Galatians"

Audio

Dancing while listening is optional

The St. Paul Center has a free, 9-episode course on the Book of Romans, presented by Scott Hahn, John Bergsma, and Brant Pitre.  Highly recommended for an in-depth study!

Taylor Marshall wrote a book called The Catholic Perspective on Paul.  He also did a series of podcasts based on the material in the book (also available on the Apple Podcast app); I highly recommend both. 

Al Kresta ("Kresta in the Afternoon" show on Catholic radio) hosts Scripture professor Dr. Peter Williamson on "Where do I start with Romans?", part 1 and part 2.

Bishop Barron gave a series of 3 homilies on St. Paul in 2004: "St. Paul the Apostle", "Being in Christ", and "Paul's Basic Message".  Also available as podcasts.

St. Paul Center's series of audio lessons, "Lessons from the Early Church" (requires creating a free account)

Apologetic Questions

Call no man "father"?  St. Paul calls Abraham "father" seven times in Romans 4.  Here's an article from Catholic Answers on the issue.

 


Does the Book of Romans support Martin Luther's claim that we're saved by faith alone (sola fide)?  Here's a 5 minute video from the Catholic Answers Live radio show, with Jimmy Akin answering the question.

What exactly does St. Paul mean by the phrase "works of the law" mentioned in Rom 3:28 and Galatians?  Here's an old YouTube clip with Scott Hahn explaining the phrase in just less than 5 minutes.

On St. Paul's Writing Style in the Epistles

I found this to be very helpful in understanding St. Paul's sometimes complicated writing style.  This is from The Navarre Bible commentary on Romans & Galatians (pg. 54-55).


"...[the epistles of Paul] have all the features of real correspondence; one realizes immediately that these are not letters written with a literary purpose, nor are they intellectual reflections cast in letter form (quite a common practice in all languages), nor elaborations of some earlier text.  They have all the immediacy of things said or dictated on the spot.  St. Paul links ideas by association, he goes back a number of times over things he has already spoken about and keeps repeating ideas which he sees as very important; he develops his arguments slowly, moving in concentric circles; sometimes he rises suddenly to dizzying heights, pursuing an insight; on other occasions he writes straight from the heart and the tone is warm and passionate; he sometimes uses irony, reproach and even cutting words if he feels that is what his readers need. 

Paul's style does not follow any fixed method; but there is a basic order to it.  In each letter there are one or more core themes, to which the Apostle keeps returning, and these lead him on to other ideas which seem to be incidental.  This explains why we sometimes find unfinished sentences: the writer's thought has gone off on a tangent and does not come back, but it is easy to see what he is saying: in fact, these unfinished sentences have a poetry and strength and vitality of their own.

Still, these epistles largely do keep to the general structure of a traditional letter.  Paul begins with a greeting, which is not a stereotyped form of words but a vibrant, supernatural recollection.  He gives a little news about himself and sends his best wishes--for peace, grace and divine assistance.  He then moves on to deal with the matter(s) he wants to expound.  He reminds his readers of their duty, in all situations, to be charitable, and, always using new imagery, he paints an attractive picture of what the Christian life involves--how magnificent it is, and how demanding it is also.  He ends the letter renewing his good wishes and greetings, and praising God."