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What's New
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July 2026
New article: “The Book of Revelation” (Revelation).
New article: “The Letters to the Seven Churches” (Revelation).
New article: “The Liturgy of Heaven” (Revelation).
New article: “The Woman, the Dragon, and the Lamb” (Revelation).
New article: “Babylon and the Judgment” (Revelation).
New article: “The New Jerusalem” (Revelation).
New article: “The Catholic Letters” (Catholic Letters).
New article: “The Letter of James” (Catholic Letters).
New article: “The Letters of Peter” (Catholic Letters).
New article: “The Letters of John” (Catholic Letters).
New article: “The Letter of Jude” (Catholic Letters).
New article: “The Book of Acts” (Acts).
New article: “Pentecost” (Acts).
New article: “The Church of the First Days” (Acts).
New article: “The Gospel to the Nations” (Acts).
New article: “To the Ends of the Earth” (Acts).
New article: “The Book of Hosea” (Hosea).
New article: “The Book of Micah” (Micah).
New article: “The Book of Jonah” (Jonah).
New article: “The Book of Habakkuk” (Habakkuk).
New article: “The Book of Zephaniah” (Zephaniah).
New article: “The Book of Malachi” (Malachi).
New article: “The Book of Daniel” (Daniel).
New article: “Faith in the Trial” (Daniel).
New article: “The Kingdoms That Pass” (Daniel).
New article: “The Son of Man and the Resurrection” (Daniel).
New article: “Susanna and the Wisdom of God” (Daniel).
New article: “The Book of Jeremiah” (Jeremiah).
New article: “Jeremiah, the Tested Prophet” (Jeremiah).
New article: “The New Covenant” (Jeremiah).
New article: “The Fall of Jerusalem and the Lamentations” (Jeremiah).
New article: “Baruch and the Hope of Exile” (Jeremiah).
New article: “The Song of Songs” (Song of Songs).
New article: “The Movement of Love” (Song of Songs).
New article: “The Garden of Symbols” (Song of Songs).
New article: “Love Strong as Death” (Song of Songs).
New article: “The Senses of the Song” (Song of Songs).
New article: “The Book of Job” (Job).
New article: “The Prologue and the Trial” (Job).
New article: “Job and His Friends” (Job).
New article: “God’s Answer” (Job).
New article: “My Eyes Have Seen You” (Job).
New article: “The Book of Ecclesiastes” (Ecclesiastes).
New article: “The Quest for Happiness” (Ecclesiastes).
New article: “A Time for Everything” (Ecclesiastes).
New article: “The Joy That Is God’s Gift” (Ecclesiastes).
New article: “Remember Your Creator” (Ecclesiastes).
New article: “The Book of Wisdom” (Wisdom).
New article: “The Righteous, the Wicked, and Immortality” (Wisdom).
New article: “Wisdom, the Breath of God” (Wisdom).
New article: “Wisdom, Guide of History” (Wisdom).
New article: “Knowing God and the Folly of Idols” (Wisdom).
New article: “The Book of Sirach” (Sirach).
New article: “The Fear of the Lord, Source of Wisdom” (Sirach).
New article: “Wisdom and the Law” (Sirach).
New article: “The Choice of Life and Everyday Wisdom” (Sirach).
New article: “The Praise of the Ancestors” (Sirach).
New article: “The Book of Proverbs” (Proverbs).
New article: “The Fear of the Lord and the Two Ways” (Proverbs).
New article: “Personified Wisdom” (Proverbs).
New article: “Wisdom for Daily Life” (Proverbs).
New article: “The Valiant Woman” (Proverbs).
New article: “The Psalter, Prayer of Israel” (Psalms).
New article: “The Psalms of Praise and Thanksgiving” (Psalms).
New article: “The Psalms of Supplication and Trust” (Psalms).
New article: “The Royal and Messianic Psalms” (Psalms).
New article: “The Psalms of Ascents and Wisdom” (Psalms).
New article: “The Psalms on the Lips of Christ” (Psalms).
New article: “The Crisis and the Profanation of the Temple” (1 Maccabees).
New article: “Eleazar and the Seven Brothers” (2 Maccabees).
New article: “Judas Maccabeus and the Dedication of the Temple” (1-2 Maccabees).
New article: “Jewish Independence” (1 Maccabees).
New article: “Tobit” (Tobit).
New article: “Judith” (Judith).
New article: “Esther” (Esther).
New article: “The Return and the House of God” (Ezra).
New article: “Ezra and the Return to the Law” (Ezra, Nehemiah).
New article: “Nehemiah and the Rebuilt City” (Nehemiah).
New article: “Samuel and the Rise of Kingship” (1-2 Samuel).
New article: “Saul and the Rise of David” (1 Samuel).
New article: “David, the Covenant, and the Promise” (2 Samuel).
New article: “Solomon and the Temple” (1 Kings).
New article: “The Schism and the Northern Kingdom” (1-2 Kings).
New article: “Judah until the Exile” (2 Kings, 2 Chronicles).
New article: “The Entry into the Promised Land” (Joshua).
New article: “The Division of the Land and the Covenant at Shechem” (Joshua).
New article: “The Time of the Judges” (Judges).
New article: “In Those Days There Was No King” (Judges).
New article: “Ruth the Moabite” (Ruth).
New article: “Abraham, Father of Believers” (Genesis).
New article: “Isaac and Jacob” (Genesis).
New article: “Joseph” (Genesis).
New article: “The Creation and the Rest” (Genesis).
New article: “The Garden and the Fall” (Genesis).
New article: “From Cain to Babel” (Genesis).
New article: “Personal Responsibility” (Ezekiel).
New article: “The Ministry of the New Covenant” (2 Corinthians).
New article: “The Collection for the Saints” (2 Corinthians).
New article: “Strength in Weakness” (2 Corinthians).
New article: “The Decalogue.”
New article: “The Law of the Neighbor.”
New article: “The Law of Worship and Holiness.”
New article: “The Law and Christ.”
New article: “The Law, Gift of the Covenant.”
New article: “Freedom and idols” (1 Corinthians 8-10).
New article: “The charisms and the assembly” (1 Corinthians 12 and 14).
New article: “The Cardinal Virtues”.
New article: “Prudence”.
New article: “Temperance”.
The French Bible of the site is now the Chérubin translation, with section headings in the reader.
New article: “Resentment and Forgiveness”.
New article: “Judging One’s Neighbour”.
New article: “The New Temple and the River of Life” (Ezekiel).
New article: “The Restoration of Israel” (Ezekiel).
New article: “The Oracles Against the Nations” (Ezekiel).
New article: “The Symbolic Actions and the Judgment of Jerusalem”.
New article: “Ezekiel, the Prophet of the Exile”.
New article: “Anger and Meekness”.
New article: “Love”.
New article: “The Desire to Feel the Spirit”.
New article: “The Dark Night of the Soul”.
June 2026
New article: “Consolation and Desolation”.
New article: “Discerning the Movements of the Heart”.
New article: “The Fall of Nineveh”.
New article: “The God Who Judges and Who Saves”.
New article: “Nahum and the Assyrian Empire”.
New article: “Justice, the Day of the Lord, and Hope”.
New article: “The Visions and the Rejected Worship”.
New article: “The Judgment of the Nations and of Israel”.
New article: “Amos, the Shepherd Prophet”.
New article: “The Glory of the Second Temple”.
New article: “The Four Oracles”.
New article: “Haggai and the Rebuilding of the Temple”.
New article: “The Expansion of Christianity”.
New article: “All Under Sin”.
New article: “The Epistle to the Romans”.
New article: “Sinai and the covenant”.
New article: “The deliverance”.
New article: “The bondage and the call”.
New article: “The oracles against the nations”.
New article: “Sadness”.
New article: “Fear”.
New article: “The finger of God”.
New article: “The baptism of Christ”.
New article: “The Resurrection and the Glorification”.
New article: “Holy Week”.
New article: “The third year: the opposition”.
New article: “The second year: popularity”.
New article: “The first year: the inauguration”.
New article: “The preparation for the ministry”.
New article: “The prologues and the coming of Christ”.
New: the “Memorise” tool.
New article: “The Real Presence.”
New article: “The four Servant Songs”.
New article: “Trito-Isaiah”.
New article: “Deutero-Isaiah”.
New article: “Proto-Isaiah”.
New article: “Predestination”.
New article: “The Angel of the Lord”.
New article: “Wars of Extermination in the Bible”.
New article: “Slavery in the Bible”.
New article: “The Nature of God”.
New article: “The Age of the Martyrs”.
New article: “The Abode of the Dead”.
New article: “The Canon and the Deuterocanonical Books”.
New article: “The Deacon”.
New article: “The Priest”.
New article: “Sola Scriptura”.
New article: “The Angels”.
New article: “Sola Fide”.
New article: “Once Saved, Always Saved”.
New article: “Elijah at Horeb”.
New article: “Turning the Other Cheek”.
New article: “Buy a Sword”.
New article: “Let the Dead Bury Their Dead”.
New article: “Jesus before Pilate”.
New article: “Jesus and Nicodemus”.
New article: “Invincible Ignorance”.
New article: “The Prophet and His Time”.
New article: “The Eight Night Visions”.
New article: “Joshua, the Branch and the Crown”.
New article: “Fasting and Restoration”.
New article: “First Oracle: The King Who Comes”.
New article: “The Book of Obadiah”.
New article: “Second Oracle: The Pierced One”.
New article: “The Day of the Lord”.
New article: “The Plague and the Day of the Lord”.
New article: “Conversion and the Spirit Poured Out”.
New article: “The Judgment of the Nations and the Salvation of Zion”.
New article: “The Three Ways of the Interior Life”.
New article: “Freedom and Responsibility”.
New article: “The Moral Conscience”.
New article: “Doubt and the Moral Systems”.
New article: “Doing Evil for a Good”.
New article: “Adoration and Praise”.
New article: “Why God Asks for Adoration”.
New article: “Faith and Science”.
New article: “The Theory of Evolution”.
New article: “The Woes of Isaiah”.
New article: “The Dwelling, the Priesthood and the Sacrifices”.
New article: “The Forty Years in the Desert”.
New article: "The Discourses of Moses".
New article: "The Death of Moses".
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Freedom and idols

Among the questions the Corinthians had put to Paul by letter, one touched daily life: may one eat meat offered to idols? In a pagan city, almost all the meat sold at the market came from temple sacrifices, and invitations from relatives or friends were often held in a hall adjoining the sanctuary. For a Christian converted from paganism, the question arose at every meal: to eat this meat, was it to return to the idols? Paul answers in three chapters that unfold far more than a set of food rules: a complete doctrine of Christian freedom, governed by love of the brother and ordered to the glory of God.

Knowledge puffs up, love builds up

Paul begins by granting, on the substance, that the enlightened were right. “Now for meat offered to idols. We know that we all have knowledge. But knowledge puffs up with pride, while charity builds up.” 1 Corinthians 8:1 The knowledge in question is sound: “we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one.” 1 Corinthians 8:4 Meat is not defiled by a god who does not exist. But not all carry this light with the same assurance: brothers recently converted, marked by years of pagan worship, eat this meat with the feeling of falling back into idolatry, and their conscience comes out wounded. It is for them that Paul turns the question around. “But take care that this liberty of yours does not become an occasion of stumbling for the weak.” 1 Corinthians 8:9 To scandalise a brother for a mouthful of meat is to sin against one for whom Christ died, and to sin against Christ himself. The measure of what is permitted shifts: the true measure of freedom is the good of the brother.

Paul’s renunciation

To show that this renunciation can be lived, Paul offers himself as an example on other ground. As an apostle, he had the right to live from the Gospel, as the Lord ordained for those who proclaim it; he renounced it, working with his hands so as to burden no one and to put no obstacle in the way of the Gospel. The highest freedom consists in making oneself a servant. “With the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all, so as to save at least some by every means.” 1 Corinthians 9:22 And he gives this self-mastery the image of the games held near Corinth, at the Isthmian contests: “Every athlete submits to complete discipline; they do it for a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable one.” 1 Corinthians 9:25 The crown of the Isthmian victors was of woven pine; the crown the Christian seeks does not wither.

The warning of the desert

Freedom held with too much confidence can also be lost. Paul shows it by rereading the Exodus: the fathers were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all ate the manna and drank the water from the rock; and almost all fell in the desert. He reads these gifts as figures of the sacraments, a baptism in the cloud and in the sea, a spiritual food and drink, “and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4 Christ already accompanied Israel in the desert; and the graces received did not preserve those who desired evil, worshipped the calf and put the Lord to the test. The warning is aimed at those who think they stand: let him who thinks he is strong take care lest he fall. Yet it closes on an assurance to hold on to in every trial: “God is faithful: he will not let you be tried beyond your strength, but with the trial he will also provide the way out and the strength to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

The table of the Lord and the table of demons

Then comes the absolute limit. If the idol is nothing, the worship paid to it is real: what the pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, according to the word of the canticle of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:17). To take part in the sacrificial banquet of a temple is therefore to enter into communion with the altar, and no longer to eat a neutral meat. Paul proves it by the Eucharist itself: the cup we bless is a communion in the blood of Christ, the bread we break is a communion in his body; the sacred meal truly unites to the one it joins us to. “You cannot drink both the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot share in the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:21 The argument sheds light on both realities at once: if communion with Christ in the Eucharist were only a symbol, the prohibition would lose its force; it is because the table of the Lord truly unites to him that the table of idols is incompatible with it.

Everything for the glory of God

For meat sold at the market or served by a host, Paul rules with breadth: eat without raising questions, the earth and all it contains belong to the Lord; but if someone points out that the meat comes from a sacrifice, abstain for the sake of his conscience. All things are lawful, but all things do not build up: Christian freedom is governed by what it builds. The conclusion gathers the three chapters into a rule that overflows the question of meat and covers the whole of life: “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 And Paul can offer himself as a model, as he himself seeks his own higher still: be imitators of me, as I am of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

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