Hi everyone. Welcome to this.
Bonus episode of Daily Gospel exegesis.
In this episode, I just want to go through some of the feedback
that has come in recently. There's been a heap of new
feedback from you guys as listeners expressing your
appreciation for this ministry. And for me as the podcast
creator, it's really quite overwhelming.
I set out to do this because I saw that there was kind of a gap
in the Catholic media space where no one was really doing an
exegesis of the literal sense of Scripture, and it's something
that I was interested in. And it turns out that many of
you are interested in the same thing, and often that's how it
works. So I guess firstly, my
encouragement to all of you listeners would be.
If you feel like. God is encouraging you to do
something in the Catholic world, and you really feel that you're
being drawn to do something. It may be because no one else is
doing it and God wants you to step into that space, but many,
many other people are going to benefit from it, and that's
certainly been the case with this ministry.
Thank you to all those who support this ministry in various
ways, through prayer, through donations.
It really does make a difference.
As I said, this episode is just going to be going through some
of the positive comments that have come in.
So you can see that even a small grassroots ministry can actually
have a big impact for the Kingdom of God and can really
help people grow deeper in their faith.
Recently in one of the episodes on the podcast, I encouraged US
listeners to reach out and tell me a bit about themselves
because most of the listeners of this, of this podcast are from
the US and as a result, many, many people have written in.
We can't possibly go through all of the comments this time, but
we'll include a whole lot of them in this episode and we'll
do some more in the future. So firstly, I just wanted to
start with some reviews from Apple Podcasts.
So this person has called this a re enchantment with scripture.
They said, I heard about this podcast almost offhandedly on an
episode of Pints with Aquinas. And this person is referring to
a comment that Matt Fred the the host of Pints with Aquinas, made
towards the end of 2023, where Matt, Fred indicated that he's
actually really benefiting from this particular podcast on
Hello. And he encouraged his listeners
to give it a go, which is quite an honour really.
And many listeners did hear about Daily Gospel exegesis
through that one off comment from Matt Fred.
So the reviewer goes on. This podcast is now an integral
part of my life and encourages me to daily read scripture.
For my part, I am grateful because I am able to engage the
Bible without fear. Many years before, during my
undergraduate degree, several of my Biblical studies professors
seemed to indicate that one could only understand the Bible
after receiving a PhD. This left me with not a small
sense of fear, but a book I had grown up loving was no longer
accessible to me, at least beyond merely devotional
literature. Now I am able to meditate and
contemplate Scripture with both greater knowledge and
confidence. I highly recommend listening to
this podcast and incorporating it into your daily walk of
faith. Thank you so much for this
wonderful review. And this is from Matt, and what
you've said there about some people can give you the
impression that only true biblical PhD scholars can
understand scripture is very true.
I've found a lot of people use that kind of language, and
they'll often say they'll often sort of make you feel like
unless you've got a very special key that only they have, you
can't understand scripture. And that's in this podcast.
We want to show you that's not the case.
If you've got some decent commentaries at hand and you're
willing to spend a bit of time going through the text as we
help you do in this podcast, you will be able to understand at
least our best guess at what the literal sense of the text might
be. And hopefully there's going to
be a bit of a turn around in Catholic scholarship that will
enable more and more people to really dig into commentaries and
learn the literal sense of scripture.
A comment here from Anne, she says.
I think you are. Class.
I love being able to follow along with the daily reading in
line with our holy church. Often I would read the
scriptures and think, what does that mean?
Not anymore. Thanks to you.
When I have understood the literal sense, Jesus then jumps
off the page in this spiritual sense.
Thank you so much for that comment.
And Ann is from Ireland. And what she says there is very
true. We have to have both the literal
sense and the spiritual sense. But we always, the Church says
we always have to start with the literal sense of scripture
before moving on to the spiritual sense of Scripture.
And hopefully studying the literal sense of scripture will
move you into a space where you can appreciate the spiritual
sense of scripture even more. Many of you have written in with
comments like that. Next I wanted to share some
comments that have come in from Hello in particular.
So this is feedback that Hello listeners, people who use the
Hello app have sent in to Hello about the Daily Gospel Exegesis
Podcast. I just want to say how much I.
Really appreciate. The Daily Exegesis Episodes This
daily Catholic Bible study on the app is rich and deep.
Ever since these episodes have started, I've learned something
that affects my life directly and another user here says I
just noticed the daily exegesis and want to say thank you.
I've been so badly wanting a simple fact based explanation of
the Daily Gospel. So thank you.
Also to Hello who's been very generous in partnering with the
ministry here and hosting the Daily Gospel Exegesis episodes
on their own app. And certainly I would absolutely
encourage you to get the Hello app.
They have some amazing audio resources on there that help you
go deeper in your faith. This is a comment from Robert.
Who's a Patreon supporter? And he's been a big help to the
ministry. So thank you so much for your
support, Robert, he says. I found your podcast via Hello a
few months ago, and it has been important part of my daily
prayer life since. Understanding the literal sense
of Scripture was something I was seeking in many other places
because I had not found the Catholic approach in audio video
form other than occasional exegesis on Catholic Answers or
Word on Fire or sometimes on Formed.
I would do my own deep dive exegesis using the Verbum
software with way too many resources and rabbit holes.
I listened or read Daily Reflections, but no one else
looks at the literal meaning and context like this.
And he goes on to share about how he's shared it with his
kids, who always want to know the why behind everything.
And he even uses it in some of his confirmation classes.
And actually Robert goes on to make a really interesting point
here, which is that often kids, particularly younger primary
school children, can often get the literal sense better than
the spiritual sense. Often we over complicate
scripture and try and put in these fancy spiritual
interpretations and younger kids don't really buy that, they just
want to know what does what does it mean.
And so actually, this podcast, although it's not primarily for
children, can actually be quite helpful for those of you who are
involved in teaching children, getting them ready for the
sacraments, getting them to do a deep dive into the literal sense
of scripture, perhaps the parables or some of the
teachings of Jesus, perhaps this podcast can help you in that
endeavour. And thank you so much for your
support. Robert Dale says thank you so
much for making this podcast. I'm most thankful for the
increased confidence I have now when I'm reading the scriptures
in seeing the text more as the inspired word of God.
So that is a great point. And thank you for writing in
Dale. Often we might be afraid that if
we do a bit more of an academic study of scripture, it might
lead us to deny the inspired character of the word of God.
But I have found myself, and I know many of you as as listeners
have found that when you're willing to sit down and do a
proper, serious study of the text of Scripture, it actually
boosts your faith and makes you more confident that it is the
word of God. It's also great to hear from
many of you who have been Protestants in the past and
either have become Catholic recently and have benefited from
this approach to Scripture because it's so rooted in the
Bible, which Protestant churches are great at doing.
And sometimes when you come to the Catholic Church after being
a Protestant or an Evangelical, you kind of miss the focus on
Scripture. So it's great to hear many of
you kind of recovering your love of Scripture through this.
And also many people are considering, I know many
listeners are actually taking another look at Catholicism
because of this podcast, which to me is really amazing.
That is incredible that God can use this small grassroots
ministry to bring people closer to the Catholic Church.
So Leonard here is one of these people.
He says. I was born in 1948 into a
faithful evangelical Protestant family in the US and went to a
conservative Christian Bible college.
But I have learned more on your podcast than in all the
preaching and teaching I was exposed to for the first half of
my life. I've now been a Catholic for 35
years. So isn't that incredible that
when we're just willing to sit down, take the time to study
verse by verse, get into Scripture, we can really
understand the Bible in a much richer way?
Thank you so much for your comments, Leonard, one of our
Patreon supporters, God First has written in and he's been a
big supporter of the ministry and he says this podcast has
played a big role in his conversion from Protestantism to
Catholicism. And thank you for your ongoing
support and great questions that you often send in.
God first. I pray that this podcast
continues to bless you. Another review on Apple podcast
says. This podcast has become part of
my daily routine. It is pitched at a good level
that is easy to. Grasp your reviews.
The Catholic daily liturgy from a literal perspective.
No need to be a Catholic to get a lot from it.
Another Apple podcast review here from Silly Billy who says I
became interested to learn specifically the words that
Jesus spoke. I came across this podcast
accidentally and it was exactly what I was looking for and more.
No drama and no. Fluff the words.
The context is so valuable and then the possible explanations,
but no hard sell or push to get you to see it in a certain way.
The words, context and possibilities are laid out for
you to make your own discovery. So thank you so much for leaving
this review Silly Billy, and I'm glad that this is meeting the
need you're looking for. And indeed that's the approach I
try and take where there's a difference of opinion about how
to interpret a verse. And that's often the case
because the Church has not dogmatically defined most verses
of of Scripture. So we're free as Catholics to
come to our own conclusions and I want to try and present you
with different views where there are quite different views
amongst scholars. Another user has left a review
saying I was introduced to this podcast via the Halo app and was
immediately drawn to it. It has been challenging for me
to fully understand what I was reading when it came to the
Bible, and this podcast has truly made my Bible reading
relatable, understandable and more profound.
Thank you for this. Thank you so much for the person
who left this review and all of those who are leaving reviews on
Apple. Podcasts.
It really. Does make a difference if you're
willing to leave a positive review on the platform that
you're listing on, Catherine on Patreon says.
I've always been so sceptical about Bible study because people
say the strangest things that go against church teaching.
Your podcast is so logical. So thank you for that comment,
Catherine. Yeah, unfortunately,
particularly in recent decades, a lot of the common Catholic
Bible teachers of the type that will come into parishes and
diocese and give seminars on things, Often they're just
progressive scholars or ones that aren't even faithful to the
teachings of the Church, and they'll just present their
opinions without any regard for the teaching of the Church.
And as Catholics, we always have to start within with what the
Church says as the guidelines and work within those
guidelines, fully believing what the Church says and then being
willing to explore the Scripture within that perspective.
Next, I wanted to share this feedback that's coming from
Doctor. Jean.
And it's a bit longer, but she manages to pack in a whole lot
about her own spiritual journey and how our podcast has helped
with that. I grew up a faithful Lutheran,
hearing all these Bible stories over and over and loving Jesus.
I married a Catholic and joined the Church after my first child
was born. We were always a faithful, mass
going family participating in our parish life.
However, I started watching The Chosen in January 2023 and I
felt. The Holy Spirit pulling me into
a. Deep well of love for our Lord.
I started listening to Jonathan Rumi's Instagram prayer sessions
and he talked about hello. I joined hello.
Oh my goodness. I stopped listening to anything
else in the car and faithfully followed my.
New hello routine every day. Then in August 2023, on a solo
vacation, I discovered your exegesis on Hello.
It moved me to find a daily mass where I was and I went that
afternoon. I have not missed one of your
daily exegesis since I finally joined Patreon today, and I just
want you to know how much you have added to my relationship
with Jesus. After listening to the Daily
Gospel exegesis, I usually spend time in contemplative prayer.
Your work puts me right there. Ready to talk with?
Jesus, it's amazing how the Holy Spirit works in our lives.
Thank you so much for sharing that personal story, Doctor Jan
and I agree. It's amazing.
The way the Holy Spirit leads us and arranges these little
circumstances, helps us find new resources that really get us
into a deeper relationship with our Lord.
And the Holy Spirit works like that behind the scenes, often
but always prompting us to to go in the direction that will lead
us closer to God some. Feedback here from Nikki via
e-mail. She says I found you through the
Hello app and have recently started making your podcast part
of my daily prayers. I wanted to delve deeper into
Bible study. And your podcast.
Is really helping me to do that. I appreciate your links to the
Catechism to connect my thinking and I know it will help my role
as a catechist in my local church.
And she says I'm in England and love your accent by the way.
It's really clear and easy to understand for me.
I'm glad to hear that. I've had quite a few comments
saying, particularly from listeners in the.
US that they actually. Appreciate hearing an Australian
accent. Other parts of the.
World have written in to say that sometimes the Australian
accent. Is actually hard to.
Understand. And then a few other people have
been confused because they thought that it was an English
accent. So.
Yes, I am in Australia and I'm glad to hear that for most of
you the accent is is not putting you off too much.
And Nikki, thank you for your. Role as a catechist to keep up
the. Great work, Jenny from Canada
said. I just wanted to reach out and
say thank you for the new routine for 2024 in the Halo
app. We've previously done the Bible
in a year and Catechism in a year, and now we're really
enjoying this. Exegesis of the text.
So thank you Jenny for that comment.
And indeed, I do think this. Approach to the daily.
Readings is a great way to complement.
Your previous. Studies in the Bible in a year.
If you've already done those, we have a very grateful e-mail here
from Mary. Who says the daily exegesis has?
Changed my spiritual life by bringing the events in Jesus.
Christ's life alive. Previously.
The Bible verses were. Theoretical and abstract, making
it vague. I previously didn't know what
the. Exegesis was, but I liked your.
Voice and I love the way you explain Jesus life to make
sense. I've grown.
Closer to Jesus because. You've made the events real.
Please know that your ministry is invaluable.
I've been wanting something like this all my life.
Thank you so much Mary. And that is amazing, the number
one thing we want to do in any Catholic.
Podcast, particularly a Biblical.
Podcast is we want to bring you. Closer to Jesus.
And if this podcast is helping you do that, then that is
fantastic. All the glory goes to God.
Anne, who's also from the United.
States says. I just discovered your podcast
on the Halo app. I love it.
This is exactly what. I've been looking.
For a better literal. Understanding of the scriptures.
Thank you so much for writing in and I'm glad this podcast is
helping you. We've had a few other people
write in from the. USA expressing.
Their thanks for the ministry, but also wanting to know a bit
more about the ministry, particularly in terms of the
lectionary readings and. Why the ones?
In the podcast are sometimes different from the ones in the
USA. That's.
Because the USA uses. A slightly different calendar on
some face days compared to the general Roman lectionary.
So in our podcast we use the universal lectionary which is
called the General Roman lectionary.
But some countries do occasionally have variations,
which means what you hear in the US or maybe other countries
might sometimes be different. To what's on the podcast?
Also a few. People wanting to know more
about myself and the background of the Ministry.
You can get access to information about that through
the Patreon page. If you're willing to support the
Ministry even a small amount, you can get access to A and
bonus recording where we talk about the history of the
Ministry. A bit about myself.
And my background, So if that's something that interests you,
the link for that is in the episode description.
There's a great e-mail here from Kelly.
She says this podcast. Has been an absolute gift to me.
As although I'm. Basically a lifelong nominal
Catholic. I've never read the Bible
before. I've only had my own personal
encounter. With Jesus about a year ago.
On the razor's. Edge of 40 years old.
So hearing what Jesus did in the context.
Of the world he. Lived In has been vital to my
understanding of his life and how he wants us to live.
I'll say it again, this podcast is an absolute.
Gift. Especially in a world that reads
what it wants from the Bible in whatever context proves the
point they want to make. Thank you so much for that
honest, open e-mail. Kelly And I particularly agree
with your last point there, where it is very easy in any
denomination to just take a verse out of context and use it
to make whatever point we want to make.
But if we want to be serious about it and do it properly, we
have to read verses in context. And that's one of the things.
This podcast wants to. Help you do.
Kathy has written in and she says it's so refreshing to have
a daily. Exegesis of the.
Gospel that is in line with the Catholic Church.
I've been to many different studies that always stumbled
over things like. Jesus brothers, the literal.
Interpretation is so enlightening.
Especially as you put. The readings in the context of
what happened. Before how the?
Jews would have understood what Jesus is saying.
I start my morning everyday listening to you and recommend
the podcast to everyone. And I love the accent.
Thank you so much for writing in Kathy and for your support of
the Ministry. Chris has sent through a
wonderful e-mail about how they're using this podcast in
the family. Thank you for your podcast and
your understanding and interpretation of the.
Gospel The biggest take away. That, I have learned, is that
I'd love to hear the gospel and make it of routine in my life.
The breaking down of line by line helps to clarify the intent
of the gospel because we know that it can be pretty hard to
interpret if it's just said one time and that was it.
I listened to the exegesis on my way to drop my 14 year old son
to school at dinner. We talk as a family when we can
about the gospel or when we were reading daily during Advent.
My son was able to explain the gospel to the family my younger.
Kids ages 8/6. Four and Two were able to
understand the message from your exegesis, relayed by my son.
Everyone has a sphere of influence and you reached out to
me. I passed it on to my son and he
passed it on to his siblings all the way from Australia to the
United States east and coast. Now thank you so much for riding
in, Chris, and that really is incredible when you put it that
way. And again, I want to encourage.
Each of you if. You think you've got a gift in a
particular area, the media world.
Allows you to get. Thoughts and ideas out?
There. That really do inspire people
and then they share it with other.
People So. If you've always wanted to get a
podcast. Or some sort of.
Video channel going where you feel like there's a gap in the
Catholic or Christian media world.
Just give it a go and you'll be surprised at how much influence
you have and how much impact that can have for the Kingdom of
God. We have a message sent through
from Alice Ann, she said. This podcast is the.
Highlight of my day after I read the scripture from the day's
Mass, I listen to your comments. In my youth we didn't read the
Bible much, just the epistle and gospel of Mass.
I have spent the last few years trying to catch up between
listening to you and re watching the Chosen.
Christ's ministry is made very real and very personal.
When I first started listening, I would see the length of the
show and be a. Bit put off, however.
Now I rejoice when I see a longer program.
I'm very grateful for your wonderful.
Podcast it has greatly. Enriched my spiritual life.
Thank you for that, Alice Ann. And yeah, I understand your
comment there about the length of each episode.
Most audio resources on Halo are about 10 minutes long, whereas a
standard episode in our podcast is about 20 minutes long.
But I'm glad you've come around to enjoying longer.
Episodes as well. Andy sent.
Through this wonderful. Personal message, he said.
I've been enjoying your podcast through the Halo app, and I'm
grateful that it brings new depth to my thinking about the
daily verses. I grew up.
Protestant and never really had any true understanding of the
Bible. My pastor pulled individual
verses from the Bible and preached on what he thought it
meant without any context from the time or.
Culture the verse. Comes from or in context of the
verses surrounding it. Learning what was going on and
what the cultural norms were has made all the difference in
seeing what God and His Word has to tell me about my own faith
journey. I adore the Catholic.
Faith that it has truths, discipline and boundaries
concerning understanding the mysteries and what they mean to
us. Individually and as a church, I
love that. I finally understand that God
wants us to trust Him and conform ourselves to His vision
for us, not make up a God in our head that.
Agrees with all our bad. Attitudes and ideas I have
family finally found peace and joy, and your efforts continue
to fortify that in me. I'm grateful for the.
Gifts that our God. Has given you and that you were
gracious enough to share them. Thank you so much for that
wonderful personal message. Andy.
I'm. So glad this.
Podcast is helping you reclaim a good way of interpreting the
Bible rather than picking things out of context, and that is
helping you see the whole beauty of the Catholic faith in its
guidance to us, Mary. Who assists with?
Giving our communion to those who are unable to attend Mass,
says. Because of your podcast.
My remarks after reading the day's Gospel at communion
services in assistant assisted living facilities are richer,
more interesting, and useful for the residents who come to.
Receive the Eucharist. The incredible amount of work
and dedication you devote. To this.
Podcast is evident and admirable.
I've grown very fond of listening to your explanations
and clarifications. I listen every day whether I
take communion to. Others or not?
Thank you so much for those kind words, Mary, and I'm glad that
this podcast is helping you in that.
Under appreciated. But really important Ministry of
bringing the word of God and communion to people who can't
attend Mass. Melody also sent through a
message about her own background and how this.
Podcast has helped her. Within that message.
She said there are. So many things I.
Like about your podcasts? The most important being that
you are obviously knowledgeable about the subject you are
teaching, and by the way, just on that point.
A lot of people. Do think that what I'm saying is
it comes from my own knowledge, but I.
Do want to stress that a lot of what I.
Learn comes through the preparation I do for each
episode in reading what. Other scholars have said.
About the literal sense of scripture, there's some great
commentaries out there and really.
What this podcast is. Doing is popularizing the great.
Catholic faithful scholarship that's already out there.
She says. The second thing I like is that
you aren't afraid of the. Hard stuff.
During the homily so many of our priests are afraid to.
Tackle the difficult passages. And to show.
What the text is? Clearly saying the first.
Time, I heard you say that faith requires that we put.
God ahead of everything, including our family if
necessary. I rejoice because no one has
been saying this for a long time.
We can't get. Life.
Life, right? If we don't have the basics in
the right order, thank you so much for your e-mail there and
telling us a bit about your history.
Melody, I'm glad this podcast is helping.
You grapple. With some of the harder
teachings in the Gospels, indeed in this podcast, we don't want
to shy away from the harder teachings of Jesus and she goes
on to say this is. Obviously what you were.
Put on the planet to do well, I don't know about that, but I I
think I would certainly say. I felt God's.
Leading to do something like this and I've tried to cooperate
with God and then he has taken the.
Results of this work. And multiplied it for the good
of his Kingdom, which? Is how God works if we're
faithful to. Him He will take our small
efforts and do something great with them.
She also asks. Whether there's future plans to
do more books of the Bible. Particularly the old.
Testament, which is a question that.
We do get pretty regularly. And the answer is, hopefully in
the long term we can get to that point, but for now we're just
focusing on the Gospels. Carol has.
Written in to say how she's using the podcast in a prayer
group that she started, an online pro group where people
pray for each other and study the Gospels together.
And this podcast has been really helpful.
Thank you so much for starting a group like that, Carol, and
hopefully this podcast continues to be helpful.
Rebecca has written in to say your podcast has been such a
blessing in my life and I'm so grateful for your explanations.
Each day you've become a favorite part of my daily
routine and an integral part of my faith journey.
I'm learning so much, and God is using your words to lead me
further into contemplating and living out the Gospels.
Thank you so much, Rebecca. I'm glad to hear that it's
helping you in your walk. Of faith, that is.
The goal of this podcast, ultimately, Stephanie, who is a
Catholic author from Canada, said.
I just wanted to encourage you and express my gratitude.
What you were doing is very important for many.
You're helping to connect a lot of dots for me.
I have especially appreciated learning about why some of the.
Gospel stories are. Different from one another,
which was always a mystery to me, as well as who they were
writing for, etcetera. Thank you so much, Stephanie.
I'm glad we could. Provide a bit of.
Clarity on that. There's always going to be a bit
of a mystery there about. Why the Gospel Authors?
Each chose to include certain stories we can.
Have educated guesses. But doing an.
Exegesis of the literal. Sense can certainly help us get
at maybe. What the author was.
Attempting to communicate by including a certain story.
About Jesus. And the very last bit of
feedback I want to share today from Susan, she says.
It is hard to. Express how important your work
has been in my life. I'm in the process of converting
to Catholic after a long time as a Protestant.
Through your podcast, I feel that I.
Have come to know the real Jesus, and my relationship with
him has deepened as a result. It is extremely helpful to hear
how the readings relate to the Catechism since I'm in the
process of learning the Catholic faith in tradition.
Even if I were not being called to the Catholic Church, I would
find the podcast. Just as valuable.
I wish more of my Protestant friends would TuneIn, but sadly
they have been indoctrinated with anti Catholic rhetoric,
something that I think would change if they would only
listen. So thank you for that.
Heartfelt. Comment.
Susan, I'm so glad that this is helping you in your conversion
of Catholicism. I've had a similar story to you
and the Bible. Actually played a key.
Role in my own conversion of Catholicism.
So I'm glad that through this podcast I'm able to help other
people do the same thing. Thank you for sticking with this
bonus episode where we listen to some positive feedback that's
come in. There has been quite a lot
that's come in lately, which is why I wanted to do this bonus
episode. There's been many, many more
comments that have been sent in than what I can read out today.
Many of. You have shared quite.
Personal. Stories about how the podcast
has helped you. And a bit about your own lives
and backgrounds. Can't possibly cover.
All of them in an episode like this, but please know that I do.
Read all of that. Feedback that comes in and all
of your prayer and support for this ministry.
Is so appreciated. Thank you once again for tuning
into. The Daily Gospel Exegesis.
Podcast and we'll continue with a normal episode next time.