THE HEART OF A SEMINARIAN

A Roman Catholic Seminarian opens up his Heart and shares the Faith he Loves.

OFF TO HAITI

I am headed off to Haiti for 8 days for a mission trip with others from my diocese.  Pray for all of us that it will be a fruitful experience.  Following the Haiti trip, I will be going right into help leading a youth leadership conference.  Bottom line, I will not be posting until July 1.  God bless.

posted by: muniz at 11:19 | link | comments (2) |

HOW ARE BIBLE TRANSLATIONS DIFFERENT?

As it is well known, as a whole, Catholics do not know the Bible very well, which is evident by the Bibles that I have seen come into the Catholic Bible studies that I have taught in the past 5 years.  It is apparent that the only criterion for most Catholics for buying a Bible is that it says “Bible” on it.  So as a result, I will give a little explaination on the differences between all the various kinds of Bibles and give you my recommendations on which one you should get for yourself.

 

1) Get a Catholic Bible

For Catholics, you must make sure that it is a Catholic Bible instead of a Protestant Bible which has 7 less books than us.  Those seven books in the Old Testament (a.k.a. Dueterocanonical books or Apocrypha) are:

1) Tobit, 2) Judith, 3&4) 1 and 2 Maccabees, 5) Wisdom, 6) Sirach, 7) Baruch.

When looking at a Bible, an easy test would be to look quickly at the table of contents and look for 1 and 2 Maccabees.  If it is there, then it is a Catholic Bible.

 

2) Get a RSV or a NAB translation

All people should be aware of the type of translation of your Bible.  The translation of the Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew language into English can be done in two different ways, either Literal or Dynamic.  Literal translations are translated “word for word” from the original language into English.  Dynamic translations are translated “thought for thought” from the original language into English. 

 

Literal is positive because it is more precise to the original, but negative because it might be harder to understand (i.e. ancient terminologies and phrases).  Dynamic is positive because it is easier to read, but negative because it can be translated with a theological bias (i.e. slanted towards Protestant or Catholic views).  As a result, it is best to stay away from the more dynamic and paraphrased Bibles, because those are less of what was really written down in scripture.  For myself, I use a Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version when I am in discussions with Protestants, because this is a translation that is acceptable by both sides.  But for personal reading, I read the New American Bible, because it has great footnotes and it is used by the lectionary for Mass.   Here is where some translations fall. I also put in well known Protestant translations, too.

 

1)      Literal – Douay-Rheims, King James Version (KJV)

2)      Little Less Literal – Confraternity Version, Revised Standard Version (RSV)

3)      Dynamic – New American Bible (NAB), Jerusalem Bible (JB), New International Version (NIV)

4)      More Dynamic – New Jerusalem Bible (NJB), Good News Bible also called Today’s English Bible (TEV)

5)      Paraphrase – The Living Bible (TLB)

* New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is literal (level 2), but uses inclusive language.

posted by: muniz at 10:55 | link | comments (1) |
bible study

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST COMMERCIAL (PART I) - 12/05/04

A new national ad program has been started by the United Church of Christ. In the commercial, two bouncers stand outside an unidentified church denying access to some people, while allowing others inside. The scene stops with a black screen and the printed words “Jesus didn’t turn people away. Neither do we.” Then the next scene is shots of a group of people and pairs of people while a voice over say “United Church of Christ. No matter who you are or where you are in life’s journey. You are always welcome here.”

 

Question: Do you feel churches turn people away?

Scripture: Matthew 19: 16 – 22. Does Jesus turn this man away?

posted by: muniz at 17:03 | link | comments |
commentary

NEWS AND NOTES

·        Haiti: From June 17-24, I will be heading off to Haiti for a mission trip.  When people ask, why do you spend the money to go there, when you can do more good by giving them money?  I reply with “you can say that they are poor, don’t have clean water, lack electricity, kids are starving, but until you see it for yourself, it won’t make any difference to you.  I know that I will gain from them more than I give to them.

·        CLI: From June 25-30, I will be helping lead a Catholic Leadership Institute for the youth of our diocese.  This is always a great experience and great opportunity to meet the future of our Church.  By the way, this means that I will not be posting from June 17-30. 

·        Turning the Chalice: When I distribute the precious Blood at Mass, I always rotate the chalice in order to keep people from drinking from the same spot.  There are times that the recipient will also rotate the chalice in order to not drink from a used spot.  The most humorous thing to me about this is the fact that I am left handed. Because when the recipient rotates the chalice on their own, they end up rotating it back to a used spot on the chalice due to me being left handed.  I always have to laugh when people do that.  I hope that made sense.

·        Cars: Last Friday, I saw the new movie “Cars” with a family.  No that’s it; my life is so uneventful that watching a movie is news in my life.

·        Golf: I also played golf for the second time in 3 years and I played like it.  But don’t you worry, my temper and language was in mid-season form (haha).

·        Next Sunday’s scripture.  Just click it.

What else?  Any questions or comments?

posted by: muniz at 15:47 | link | comments (1) |
news and notes

NEWS AND NOTES

·        Fr. Jeff Long: On May 27, 2006, Fr. Jeff Long became a newly ordained priest for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.  On deck is Deacon Tyler Miller, then yours truly in the hole. Congratulations Fr. Jeff!!!

·        Special Godfather/Goddaughter Day: Last Friday, My Goddaughter, Maddy, and I went to the Sts. Peter & Paul Church Picnic/Carnival/Homecoming (whatever they wish to call it now).  On one side, it was great spending time with Madelyn because I never seem to be able to spend enough time with her, and we had a great time.  But on the other hand, I hated the fact that 20 bucks could only last her 30 minutes.  A ride ticket was a $1.25 and each ride took 2 or 3 tickets.   To throw a single dart at a balloon cost $2.  It was ridiculous.  I would rather go and spend money more effectively elsewhere and just give a donation to the church.  I don’t know if I would take anyone there again.  I know that it was to raise money for the church and that is great, but I personally don’t want to go to a place where it is bound to disappoint a child in a very short period of time.  What are your thoughts?

·        Next Sunday’s scripture.  Just click it.

What else?  Any questions or comments?

posted by: muniz at 07:30 | link | comments |
news and notes

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