The Catholic Studies Collection

THE CATHOLIC STUDIES COLLECTION

Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest” (PDF)
Down To Earth Answers To Virtually All Your Heavenly Questions.
English – On the Web
Spanish – On the Web

How To Pray the holy Rosary (PDF)
Which Mysteries to pray on what day – “Handy Cheat Sheet” (PDF)
The Rosary and the Scapular are inseparable
Key Components of Catholic Doctrine and Prayer

Overcoming the World, the Flesh and the Devil,
In and Through Our Lord Jesus Christ (PDF)
A beautifully illustrated “basic primer” on Christianity
that explains what Christians believe, how they practice, and why.

Living the Catholic Life (PDF)
The Keys To Personal Holiness and Peace. Fully Illustrated.

The “Peculiar” Theology of Our Redemption in Jesus Christ (PDF)
How the death of Christ at the hands of man
served to reconcile sinful man with God. Fully illustrated.

A Basic Course In Catholic Apologetics (PDF)
The theological art and science of presenting, explaining and justifying
the Catholic faith to atheists, agnostics, deists, skeptics, critics, pagans,
believers, unbelievers, politicians, judges, the ignorant,
the arrogant, and the confused.

The Supernatural Relationship
Between Christ’s Passion, the Mass and Holy Communion (PDF)
A Profound Study of the Source and Summit of Our Catholic Faith.
Fully illustrated.

How I obtained a Plenary Indulgence,
freeing my friend’s soul from Purgatory,
while fulfilling my Sunday Mass obligation
– all in about two hours

All About Sin, Death, Purgatory and Indulgences (PDF)

Anointing of the Sick, Last Sacraments, and the Apostolic Pardon

To Tell You the Whole Truth (PDF)
A Complete, Concise and Understandable
Basic and Advanced Course In Catholicism.

Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma (PDF)
The Scholarly Collection and Explanation
of Virtually All Authentic Catholic Truths.

The Sources of Catholic Dogma by Denzinger (PDF)
A great work which traces the development of doctrine and Dogma
in the Catholic Church from its earliest times.
On-line version

A Thoroughly Catholic Bible Study Course For You and Yours (FREE)
From Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest”

e-Sword Electronic Bible Study Software
Download powerful Bible study software,
along with your choice of a number of different Bibles,
commentaries, dictionaries and other helpful resources.
All at no charge.

The “Classic” Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible(PDF)
The Traditional, Original, English Language Catholic Bible .

The Venerable Haydock Bible Commentary (PDF)
Because the Plain Text of the Bible Does Not Always Mean
What People Might Think it Means.

The Ignatius Study Bible and Commentary (PDF)
A More Modern “Take” On the Holy Spirit Inspired,
Written Word of God.

The Catholic Bible Dictionary (PDF)
A Comprehensive Guide To All Those Strange,
Biblical Places, Names and Terms.

The CIS Faith Formation Course (Interactive)
by The Knights of Columbus – On the Web
A comprehensive, interactive, free of charge, Catholic course
utilizing condensed study lessons and test-taking, resulting in
an overall achievement score and printed, course completion certificate.

*** All the resources shown are available without cost ***

The CIS Course and e-Sword are Web based.
The Catholic Treasure Chest is available
in both PDF and Web formats.
All the others utilize the industry standard PDF file format.

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Download the Adobe PDF File Reader Software here, for free

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Beware of translation errors or shortcuts in your favorite version of the Bible, which might change the true meaning of the written Word of God.

Bob Stanley explains…

Wording problems arise when translating from one language to another:

Not often enough do words in one language have the same exact meaning as a complimentary word in a second language. Saint Jerome recognized this problem when he translated Greek and Hebrew Biblical texts into Latin and produced the first Christian Bible, the Latin Vulgate.

Hebrew is a comparatively simple language with few words. But the words can have different meanings depending on the context in which they are used.

Koine Greek (Greek used at the time of Christ) however, is a complex language where several words could have a similar meaning. Now when Greek is translated into English, we run into several problems. Here are two examples:

1. “all have sinned” (Rom 3:23). The Greek word ‘pas’ used here could mean all, or a great many, or any. The translators chose the English word ‘all’, when clearly that verse does not mean every single person, as there are exceptions as shown in the link ‘all’.
2. “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and Simon?” (Mark 6:3). In Greek, in which the Gospel of Mark was written, the word ‘brother’ used here is ‘adelphos’, meaning a blood brother, or belonging to the same people, or a countryman, or a fellow believer. Even today, the word is used in a larger meaning, so that friends, allies, fellow believers, and fellow citizens can be included in the same brotherhood. It was no different in the time of Christ.

In both of these examples, if we assume that the Bible was originally written in English, as many people seem to believe, then the meanings are taken at face value. However when we go to the original Greek, the English translation falls apart.

An even worse translation problem arose when we read a verse that was translated from its original Aramaic, to Greek, and finally to English.

Here is an example of accurate wording, versus an inaccurate nuance:

It cannot be stressed enough that His undefiled word must be preserved in all of its purity. A slight change in one word can change the true meaning of a Scripture verse or even an entire passage.
For example:
2Thess 2:15 reads,
“So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.”

Since 2Thess was originally written in Greek we can go to the Greek and find which word was used by St. Paul for the word ‘traditions’:
That Greek word is ‘paradosis’, and it means, “that which is handed down,
tradition, giving over which is done by word of mouth or in writing.”
Some Bibles have substituted the word ‘teachings’ for traditions. Now by doing this can you see the subtle change in the meaning of that verse?

1. ‘Tradition’, something which is handed down from generation to generation, clearly brings time into the equation.
2. ‘Teachings’ could bring to mind contemporary teaching and with no sense of time.
3. The leaders of the reformation, in separating themselves from the Catholic Church, knew that they could not claim Apostolic Tradition, so some of their leaders simply lumped together all tradition, Apostolic Tradition, and man-made tradition, and denied both.
4. Consequently, by that one word change of some Bible translations, Apostolic Tradition whether by word or by letter was denied by some non-Catholic sects.

Read more

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A simple formula for effective, personal prayer

1. Give God thanks and praise.
2. Sincerely apologize to God for any sins you have committed, asking for forgiveness and promising to do better, in the future. Mortal/grave sins should first, be sacramentally absolved by a priest, in the confessional.
3. Make your case/present your petitions, explaining to God in great detail, precisely what you need and why you need it. Take as long as necessary to plead/explain.
4. Believe that you will receive.
5. Repeat, as necessary.

Editor’s note: The Lord’s Prayer (Our Father) contains 7 distinct petitions. Some people record their prayer requests in a journal/diary, in order to help to correlate how and when their prayers are answered. Sometimes, the answer is “no”, but positive responses are by far, the most common. Married couples/families are encouraged to maintain a common prayer list, so that all might pray for each others’ needs. A daily, family Rosary devotion is also highly recommended, requiring only about 20 minutes to complete.

What speaks for the Tridentine Mass is its character of most authentic, most deeply Catholic expression of the Liturgy, deprived of the protestantised deformations of the Novus Ordo; deformations which, unavoidably, end up deforming the faith.

Read more on this subject from Mundabor

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s homily on the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Today’s feast was dedicated, up until the reform of 1962, to the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, and it was therefore a Marian recurrence of a penitential nature, as evidenced by violet-colored vestments; just as the rite of Purification which all Jewish mothers had to undergo forty days after giving birth was penitential (Lev 12:2). Holy Church also preserves in the Rituale Romanum the special Blessing for Mothers who have given birth, which has now fallen into disuse but which it would be a pious practice to restore in its spiritual significance. Just as for the rite of the Baptism of Our Lord in the Jordan, so also the rite of Purification did not strictly have sense or utility for Mary Most Holy, since she is Most Pure and without sin in virtue of her Immaculate Conception. By her submission to the Law then in force, Our Lady gives us an example of obedience to religious precepts, so that we may not forget that we are children of wrath and that we merit Grace only because of the infinite merits that Our Savior acquired for us through His Passion and Death on the Cross.

The reform of Roncalli – which was worked on by many of the same experts who worked on the reform of Holy Week under Pius XII and then on the entire corpus liturgicum with the Montinian rite – changed the name of the feast from the Purification of the Blessed Virgin to the Presentation in the Temple of Our Lord. The motivation was to set the celebration in a Christocentric light – something in itself licit and which was therefore welcomed by parish priests. In reality, the purpose of the authors of the 1962 reform was to open the conciliar Overton window, inaugurated with the Ordo Hebdomadæ Sanctæ instauratus. The unmentionable purpose, which for this reason was to be kept strictly concealed so as not to compromise future developments, consisted in weakening the cult of the Virgin and the Saints – as can be seen, for example, from the reclassification of the feasts of the Sanctoral Cycle – in a pro-Protestant mode. We understand then how, under the guise of a harmless and doctrinally acceptable change, the desire was not so much to emphasize the centrality of Our Lord in the liturgical cycle as to use it as a pretext to exclude the Mother of God, who was considered an obstacle to ecumenical dialogue. Thus, by small steps, the innovators succeeded in making the doctrine of the Mediation and Co-redemption of Mary Most Holy be forgotten, without explicitly denying it.

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Rabbi Cahn: The gods or evil spirits that have returned to America and Western civilization are the same gods that seduced ancient Israel.

There is more to human events, to world history, and even to our own lives than we can imagine. “We are largely unaware of how the other realm is affecting our world and lives,” Cahn reveals. “The disturbing transformations taking place in American culture and Western civilization reveal that something has possessed it or taken over it.”

He says, “Modern culture, having turned away from God and to “the gods” is now marked by the same signs that once marked the ancient pagan world: purposelessness, emptiness, and hopelessness.”

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Msgr. Charles Pope: Our loyalty must always be with the Lord and the teachings of the Church, which do not change or reflect the times.

Go with me to the year 1969. We are on the Texas border with Mexico not far from El Paso. Three men are leading a protest march arguing that the U.S. Government is not protecting the U.S. border and is allowing illegal immigration to occur is large numbers. The three men are Cesar Chavez, Walter Mondale and Ralph Abernathy Jr. They and the protesters with them argue that illegal immigration in such large numbers is driving down wages and making it nearly impossible to organize migrant workers.

Yes, three prominent Democrats demanding that the Federal Government enforce our borders. Today of course, things are largely reversed and most on the left support practically open borders.

Politics change like that.

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“New” is not a meaningful category for discernment in either a positive or negative sense, and neither is “old.”

Amy Welborn: So this is going to reflect McElroy’s essay as well as the latest news on the synod.

Read more

Why Netherlands leads the world in woke Catholic apostasy

The latest reports and statistics from the Netherlands concerning religious practice leave little room for optimism.

Indeed, data published ahead of the Dutch bishops’ ad limina visit in November estimated the number of practicing Catholics in the country at only 2.7% for 2022.

And, according to data from the “World Values Survey” analyzed in January by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Mass attendance in the Netherlands ranks the lowest among 36 countries with large Catholic populations, with only 7% of self-identified Catholics attending Mass weekly.

Read more

So many have embraced pagan practices, earth worshipping, Wiccan, and the occult.

They seem more exciting to them, home to some deep dark mystery that’s fun and exciting to explore. It also has the sniff of being judged as dangerous which for teens can be exhilarating.

Go into your local bookstore. The Wiccan section is growing. The Christian section is shrinking.

Watered down Catholicism doesn’t help. The call to be Catholic is a radical, wild choice that believes in miracles, signs, and prophecies. It is a call to love. We believe that God is not only watching us but loving us, guiding us. Every instance of our life is a call to salvation. And we believe in the highest stakes of all. Salvation or damnation.

I don’t think the “just be nice” Catholicism where everyone goes to Heaven has the same appeal. Flattening out Catholicism or making it less “weird” or less crucial has the appeal of making it less interesting to many. Explaining away Jesus’ miracles doesn’t help. Saying that the miracle was all those people sharing their loaves and fishes misses the point that a real physical miracle took place.

More from Creative Minority Report

Coping with Chinese persecution via memory battle, cultural resistance, conscience revolution.

Cardinal Zen has condemned the silence, in the world and the Church, surrounding religious persecution “not just against Catholics, but Protestants, Muslims, Tibetans” in China. At a time when the voices of the most powerful moral authorities are needed, Rome and Chinese Catholics are silent.

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The sad, sad story behind canceled, faithful priests and widely promoted, damnable and faithless heretics

More and more priests are suspended, some for celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass, others for refusing the COVID jab, and still others for standing against abortion, homosexuality, and contraception. We are seeing this all over the world.

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Priest Exorcist shares details of his latest encounter with evil

The woman’s face was covered in blood, as the priest prayed alongside her, in the presence of the woman’s husband.

“She started to spit and swear at me,” he recalled. “Or better, it was the bad spirit that had possessed her that was spitting at us. She became more aggressive when I started sprinkling holy water on her, but she later calmed down.”

Full story

Editor’s note: Any resemblance to a particular person or event is purely coincidental.

Is the green comet the “pale horse” of the apocalypse?

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) last passed by Earth around 50,000 years ago, during a time when Neanderthals were still extant and wooly mammoths still roamed the planet.

It will pass within about 26 million miles of our planet’s surface on Wednesday night, offering potential naked-eye viewing opportunities under optimal conditions.

The comet is observable as a green smudge with a long tail in the air, astronomers say. The object was first spotted in March of last year.

Revelation 6:8  And behold a pale (putrid green) horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death. And hell followed him. And power was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to kill with sword, with famine and with death and with the beasts of the earth. 

Link to story about the comet

Much like Bill Clinton, Pope Francis “feels the pain” of African people.

In Wednesday’s speech, the pope said that not only Goma, but other eastern cities in Congo such as Masisi, Rutshuru, Bukavu, and Uvira, rarely make headlines, but are “held hostage to the whims of the powerful, those with the most potent weapons, weapons that continue to circulate.”

To those suffering as a result of the war, Francis said, “I am close to you. Your tears are my tears; your pain is my pain…I am with you; I want to bring you God’s caress…While the violent treat you as pawns, our heavenly Father sees your dignity.”

Link to full article

Some questions exist about the Bidens’ 1977 “Catholic” wedding

Link to full article

Pearce: the Qur’an is not one of the foundational pillars of wisdom on which the West is built.

What exactly is Western Civilization? If it is anything at all, it must be something rooted in a cohesive and coherent set of common values, which are themselves the fruit of cohesive and coherent theological and philosophical principles.

In brief and in sum, Western Civilization in its fullness and fruitfulness is a synonym for Christendom.

It is the consummation of the mythological and philosophical musings of the Greeks and the fulfilment of the theological covenant of the Jews in the Person of Jesus Christ as made manifest in the Church He founded throughout the centuries since His Incarnation.

The quest and questions of Athens and Jerusalem are fulfilled and answered in the Gospel as enunciated by the One who proclaims Himself to be the Way, the Truth and the Life. Christ incarnates the transcendental trinity of the Good, the True and the Beautiful in who He is.

If this is so, the Qur’an is not one of the foundational pillars of wisdom on which the West is built but is a subversive text which undermines those very foundations. If Christ is who He says He is, Muhammed is a false prophet. This is as logically inescapable as it is theologically obvious.

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Women’s religious orders “just ain’t what they used to be.”

The number of sisters in the United States peaked in 1965 at 181,421, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, and has declined dramatically to 39,452 sisters in 2021. Researchers at CARA expect the number of sisters will stabilize at more than 10,000, but whatever the number, the days of convents housing hundreds of sisters functioning as a church workforce are not coming back.

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Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition … or (it would seem) the Synod of Synodality

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, the general relator of the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality, also issued other bold statements this week including asserting that the idea of a Christian Europe is a “thing of the past,” that people should be accepted and not judged, and that Benedict XVI’s former personal secretary Archbishop Georg Gänswein had betrayed the former pope by not staying in Benedict’s “shadow.”

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Is the Biblical “Eye of the Needle” merely a gate-within-a-gate?

Full article

Today’s “Gem” from Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest”: Widely accepted Christian terms not to be found in the Holy Bible.

Show me in Scripture?

The word trinity.

The definition of the trinity.

The word incarnation.

The Nicene Creed.

The Hypostatic Union.

That Jesus Christ is one person with two natures.

The Holy Spirit is consubstantial with the Father and the Son.

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

The marriage ceremony.

The Canon of the Old Testament.

The Canon of the New Testament.

Your Bible.

What? You can’t find the answers to these twelve examples in Scripture?
But many of the non Catholic ecclesial communities teach these same doctrines. How could they do this if the answers are not to be found in the Bible?

Read more

Go To Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest”

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