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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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Invincible Ignorance

Invincible ignorance is the ignorance a man cannot overcome, whatever sincere effort he makes to reach the truth. He does not know it through no fault of his own, because nothing made it known to him and nothing in him refused it. Before God, no one is held guilty of what he could not know.

Two ignorances

Ignorance takes two forms, and everything depends on which. The first could be overcome: the man had the means to know the truth, and he neglected to seek it, or turned away so as not to see. It is called vincible, because one could have done away with it; it does not excuse, for the fault lies not in being ignorant but in having willed to be. The second could not be overcome: no path brought the truth to that man, or all were closed to him through no doing of his own. It is called invincible, because no effort would have lifted it; this one God does not impute.

Ignorance lightens the fault

The gravity of a fault is measured by what the man knew in committing it. To do wrong while knowing the good weighs heavier than to do wrong without knowing it, and Christ himself sets out this difference. “The servant who knew his master’s will and did not prepare… will receive a great many blows. But the one who did not know it…, will receive few.” Luke 12:47-48 The punishment follows the measure of knowledge. This is why, from the height of the Cross, Christ can ask grace for those who put him to death, pleading precisely their blindness. “Father, forgive them: they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 Conversely, to claim sight while refusing to see makes the fault worse. “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But you say: We see; so your sin remains.” John 9:41

The law written in hearts

Even one who has never received revelation carries a law within him. God has engraved in the conscience of every man the discernment of good and evil, and it is by this inward law that he judges those whom the Gospel has not reached. “When pagans, who do not have the Law, do by nature what the Law prescribes… are a law to themselves; they show that the work required by the Law is written on their hearts, their conscience bearing witness.” Romans 2:14-15 This light comes from the Word: “the Word was the true light, which enlightens every man as it comes into the world.” John 1:9 God welcomes whoever follows it with an upright heart, as he welcomed the centurion Cornelius: “God shows no partiality among people; rather, in every nation, whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Acts 10:34-35 The one who honestly follows this voice, having known no more, is judged on what he received, not on what he could not know.

Cornelius shows it well: God accepts his prayer, then sends Peter to bring him the Gospel and to baptise him. “he will speak to you words by which you and your whole household will be saved.” Acts 11:14 The uprightness of the seeker is not a terminus where one stops; it draws the fullness toward him, for God does not leave in ignorance the soul that truly seeks him.

The limits of the excuse

The excuse has its limit. The one who could reach the truth and shut his eyes remains responsible for his ignorance, since he chose it. Creation itself makes God accessible to reason, and whoever refuses this light condemns himself. “what can be known of God is plain to them: God has made it plain to them… his invisible perfections… have been perceived by the mind through the things he has made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:19-20 And where the Gospel has been proclaimed, the ignorance of former times no longer holds: the truth offered binds the one who hears it. “Now, overlooking the times of that ignorance, God commands all people everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30

There is worse: the ignorance one deliberately keeps up, to secure an excuse or to sin more freely. Far from lightening the fault, it aggravates it, for one willed not to know the better to do wrong; ignorance then becomes itself an instrument of sin.

Saved by Christ, not by ignorance

Invincible ignorance sets aside the fault, it does not save. No one is saved because he is ignorant, but because Christ saves, and he is the sole source of salvation. “In no one else is there salvation; for under heaven no other name has been given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 He alone is the way: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 This salvation, however, God destines for all men, and he accomplishes it fully in those who believe. “we have set our hope on the living God, the Savior of all, especially of believers.” 1 Timothy 4:10 Saviour of all, because his grace is offered to every man and he redeems every man by his Son alone; of believers above all, because they receive it in fullness, in the faith and the sacraments where it is given. For grace does not dispense with faith: “without faith it is impossible to please God; for whoever draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

Salvation and the Church

God has bound salvation to his Church, the sacrament of salvation; he himself remains free in it, and he can reach by ways known to him alone the soul that seeks him without yet knowing him. The Second Vatican Council teaches it: those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ and his Church, but seek God with a sincere heart and strive, under the action of grace, to fulfil his will known through the voice of conscience, can obtain eternal salvation. Tradition names this way the baptism of desire: the one who would embrace the faith if he knew it receives it already by the desire that grace awakens in him. Thus his ignorance lifts the obstacle of the fault, and it is the grace of Christ, received in a faith at least implicit, that works the salvation. This mediation remains unique: “there is one God, and one mediator between God and mankind: a man, Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5 So Pius IX held two truths together: no one is guilty before God of a truly invincible ignorance, and yet it would be false to claim that one can be saved in any religion whatever. To carry the Gospel to the world therefore remains a duty, for faith is born of preaching: “How are they to believe in him without having heard of him? How are they to hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14-15 Invincible ignorance is a misfortune that God, in his mercy, does not hold against the one who suffers it, never a shelter one would choose.

From this the ancient axiom “Outside the Church there is no salvation” is understood. It does not condemn the one who is ignorant of the Church through no fault, but the one who, knowing her to be necessary, refuses to enter. The Church has recalled this clearly in setting aside the rigorist reading that damned every non-Catholic: salvation always passes through the Church, and yet God can join to her, by desire and grace, the soul that seeks her without knowing her. The necessity of means and the necessity of precept thus stand together.

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