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  The Importance of Reading the Bible Throughout my priestly ministry, I have always encouraged people to read the Bible. At a time when God, his revelation, and sacred teachings are distorted and redefined, it is a safe first practice to lead people to the Bible. By reading it, a person encounters a living word. He sees and hears God on his own terms, from his own deeds and words. Although more teaching will be needed, this initial practice of reading the Bible can dispel false images, co …

Sanctus and Hagios The word saint comes from the Latin word sanctus, which means “holy one.” The Greek equivalent hagios (which means “sanctified,” “set apart,” or “holy”) is used in a variety of ways in the Bible—both the Greek version of the Old Testament (known as the Septuagint) and the New Testament. For example, Christians on earth are “saints” (2 Cor. 1:1, Eph. 1:1, Col. 1:2, Phil.1:1, Rev. 5:8). The Israelites are “holy” (Lev. 20:26) and, therefore, are called “saints” …

Understanding Demonic Attacks From the popularity of The Exorcist from 50 years ago, to last year's Nefarious, demons and more importantly how to get rid of them are a topic that fascinates us. What does the Catholic Church say about demonic attacks? Demonic attacks can be divided into ordinary and extraordinary; the ordinary attacks are commonly called temptations. Temptations can come from the world and the flesh, as well as from the devil. Temptations of the world include wealt …

Pope Leo X Condemns Luther’s Teachings In Exsurge Domine, the bull in which Pope Leo X formally condemns Martin Luther’s heretical teachings, the pope refers to Luther as “the wild boar from the forest” who seeks to destroy the vineyard, “an image of the triumphant Church” entrusted to Peter. The comparison of Luther to a wild boar is appropriate for two reasons: (1) wild boars are aggressive, short-tempered, and easily provoked, and they will not hesitate to attack h …

Luther and the Doctrine of Sola Scriptura The doctrine that Scripture is the Christian’s only infallible rule of faith was popularized and promoted by Martin Luther, who, the story goes, affixed his Ninety-five Theses to the church door at Wittenberg’s Castle Church in 1517. His Theses put forth a series of propositions for debate, focusing prominently on the doctrine of indulgences—see the Catechism of the Catholic Church(CCC), paragraph 1471—which he sought to challenge. Since indulgen …