Author Archives: catholicbiblestudent

Two TV Interviews with Bishop John Barres

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I recorded two TV interviews with Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and host Monsignor Jim Vlaun.

In this first conversation, we talk about the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture in general, the value of commentaries for Catholic faith and life, the long tradition of commentary writing, the growth in understanding of historical background, the need for the CCSS, the goals of Scripture study, Lectio Divina, and homily preparation.

Encounter – Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture Series, Part 1 from Catholic Faith Network on Vimeo.

The second conversation focuses on my volume in the CCSS on the Wisdom of Solomon. We talk about reading the Old Testament in light of the New (DV 16), the problem of over-specialization and the need for an integrated vision for Sacred Scripture, the date of Wisdom, the historical and literary background, Hellenistic Judaism, Alexandria, Solomon as a role model for Wisdom-seeking, the funeral reading of Wisdom 3, the hour of death, Wisdom’s critique of idol worship, the need to “love righteousness” (Wisd 1:1), and the illumination of the human intellect by the Wisdom of God.

Encounter – Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture Series, Part 2 from Catholic Faith Network on Vimeo.

Two Interviews from the Augustine Institute

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Recently, I was interviewed by the Augustine Institute about my two new books. We got to record these interviews in the studios here at the A.I. and both of them have been produced as YouTube videos for you. I hope you enjoy them.

In the first video, I was interviewed by my colleague, Dr. Michael Patrick Barber, regarding my commentary on the Wisdom of Solomon:

In the second video, I was interviewed by our Admissions Counselor, Anna Wessel:

Two Interviews: Suffering Video and Wisdom Radio

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Last week, I got to speak with Bob Krebs on “Catholic Forum” out of the Diocese of Wilmington about my book on Suffering. It aired on Relevant Radio and Bob recorded it as video and put it on YouTube for you:

Yesterday morning, I appeared on Spirit Mornings Catholic Radio out of Omaha with my friends Bruce and Jen. We got to talk about the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series and my new volume on Wisdom of Solomon. It was early and it was a fun conversation. Check it out:

Two Radio Interviews on Suffering

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Last week, I was interviewed on the Catholic Answers Focus podcast by Cy Kellett. They published both the transcript and the audio: https://www.catholic.com/audio/caf/suffering-101 

We got into the philosophical deep end a bit. Here’s a challenging prompt he gave me:

Cy Kellett:
I appreciate that very much, but you appreciate, I know from the book that for many people, the personal crisis of their own suffering is intense in a way that almost seems to dispose them against theological or philosophical answers. They need something else. So how do you find that? Where’s the sweet spot for making a personal response to individual suffering and putting all of that in the theological context?

Also, I appeared on Treasures of Faith with Michael Gisondi on Divine Mercy Radio WDMC920. Here’s a link: https://files.ecatholic.com/34714/documents/2024/4/240425.mp3

New Interviews on Suffering

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I appeared on the Busted Halo show – the longing-running slightly funny show that broadcasts on SiriusXM satellite radio. They posted a video version of the interview:

Also, yesterday, I came back on the Kresta in the Afternoon radio show hosted by Marcus Peter. Here’s the link to the segment: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kresta-in-the-afternoon-april-22-2024-hour-2/id316247661?i=1000653266960

 

Two Written Interviews on Suffering

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Aleteia published an interview with me earlier this week. Here’s an excerpt:

Suffering is part of everyone’s life. It comes in all shades and varieties: illness, disability, pain, loss, depression …
Every news website today is replete with people’s suffering from around the world. Some regions of the world seem to have an unfair burden of suffering.
But most of the suffering that people endure is much less dramatic, and might not even be thought of as suffering: relatively small annoyances that stem from the rudeness of neighbors, the impatience of our own temperament, or simply the ups and downs of daily life.
Catholic spirituality has a lot to offer on not only the reasons for suffering but the ways in which we can fruitfully respond to it. (Link: https://aleteia.org/2024/04/14/if-you-are-suffering-and-you-probably-are-this-book-can-help/ )

And Catholic World Report published another. An excerpt:

   All of us suffer. We live in a fallen world, and suffering is simply a part of life. This suffering can take many forms, and we are all affected differently by it.
But why do we suffer at all? How are we to understand suffering? Is there any purpose to it? And what are we to do with the suffering we face? (Link: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/03/08/interview-with-mark-giszczak/)

Interviews on Wisdom of Solomon and Suffering

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On Thursday, March 21, I appeared on the Kresta in the Afternoon radio show with guest host Marcus Peter. We talked about the Wisdom of Solomon and my commentary on it. You can find the show linked here: https://www.ewtn.com/radio/podcasts/kresta-in-the-afternoon-~NY

Or you can direct download the mp3 here: https://i.listen.ewtn.com/~NY/~NY20240321.mp3

I appear in the second half of the program.

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The same day, I also appeared on Meet the Author with Ken Huck, talking about my book Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know. We had a wide-ranging conversation about the meaning of suffering and how to cope with it as a Catholic Christian.

My Post on Catholic Bible Study at the Verbum Blog

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As a blogger known as “Catholic Bible Student,” I felt honored to be asked to write a blog post for the Verbum Blog on “Catholic Bible Study.” So, while I know most of my blog posts show up here, I thought my readers would not mind if I did a guest column somewhere else as long as I provided an excerpt and a link. Over at Logos/Verbum/Faithlife (providers of the best Bible software known to man), they have been doing a series of posts on the distinctive nature of Bible study done by different denominations. So far, they have posts on:

St Jerome by Bernardo Strozzi – Gallerie Accademia

They needed a Catholic take, and I’m glad I could help. Of course, the post comes with a hefty helping of links to Verbum-provided electronic resources that can help further your journey in studying the Bible, along with references to Dei Verbum and Verbum Domini. Here’s an excerpt from the beginning of my post:

Catholics love the Bible. From the Easter Sunday stroll on the road to Emmaus when the risen Jesus conducted the very first Christian Bible study—“he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45)—to today, Christians have always been drawn to the Lord through the sacred page.

Catholics are conscious of abiding in a millennia-old tradition that is mediated by Jesus and moderated by the successors of the apostles, that is, the bishops. As the Second Vatican Council taught, “It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others” (Dei Verbum 10).

Since the time of St. Jerome, the patron of Catholic Bible study, we have been told that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.

You can read the full post here: https://blog.verbum.com/2024/03/catholic-bible-study/