St. Irenaeus Ministries

Patrick Brennan was born and raised in suburban Rochester, NY by his faithful Catholic parents. The oldest male in a homeschooling family of five children, Patrick often volunteered as an altar server and lector at his parish. As he matured, however, his engineering mind found it increasingly difficult to believe in something he could not understand. Unsatisfied with the lack of fellowship at his...

Many have some familiarity with the apparitions at Fatima. In this talk from the Men's Breakfast of January 2008, Gene Michael surveys Our Lady's apparitions to the three Portuguese children from an intriguing vantage point: Mary's message to men. Devoted husband and father of two, this former Battalion Chief within Rochester's Fire Department currently leads Credo, a Pro-Life apostolate, and dire...

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 describes a stubborn and rebellious son who, despite chastisements, will not obey his father and mother. The Law allows the parents of such a child to present him to the elders at their town's gate and "say to the elders, 'this son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. Yo...

Deuteronomy chapters 12-26 contain the exposition of God's law. At the onset, He demands that His people purge their land of all false religion (Deut. 12). The Lord of all will not tolerate being worshiped at shrines to pagan idols. Further, He abhors any relativistic attitudes where men do whatever seems right in their eyes (v 8). His people are to wholeheartedly resist the devil in all his forms...

Because Jesus' teachings build upon the Law which God revealed through Moses, Christians must take care not to overlook the Old Testament. The fourth chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy contains God's demand that we heed all of His statutes and ordinances and that we "do them that [we] may live" (v 1). One brings judgment upon himself if he decides to add or subtract any of the Lord's commands. Ack...

Deuteronomy is a keystone in the arch of Biblical theology. Literally meaning a "second recitation of the law," to understand this book is to understand the standards Christ sought to raise. Jesus said "think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets, I have come to fulfill them; not one jot or tittle will pass away until all is fulfilled. Anyone who relaxes on the least of these co...

God gives a central decree when He says "Now, therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation" (Ex 19:5-6). The Apostle Peter expounds on this in the second chapter of his First Epistle, confirming that the entire people of God is a holy priesthood offe...

Numbers clearly shows how terror strikes when the people of God will not maintain sustained worship of the God who is in their midst; in the absence of disciplined devotion, they simply lost hold of Him and turned to murmuring and to other gods. Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers all center on the holiness of God and what it means to be a people consecrated to Him. Christians are consecrated to God thr...

The initial three chapters of the Book of Numbers showcase that the whole people belongs to God, the Tabernacle has a central place amidst the people, and that the Levites have a unique and extremely important duties. Throughout this time of encampment, the Levites punctiliously guard and maintain the Tabernacle, guard people against the wrath of God, and are continuously pastoring the people. The...

The modern Christian may be somewhat unfamiliar with the specifics of Israel's 40-year desert experience. Their sojourn begins in Exodus and the early sections of the Book of Numbers, ever guided by the teachings of Leviticus. Although the Israelites gained physical freedom after crossing the Red Sea, they ceaselessly complained and rebelled throughout their journey despite witnessing many miracle...

Returning to our study in Exodus 3:4-22, the call of Moses on at Sinai showcases a veritable theology of God. The God of the Hebrews is not a mere tribal God, for He is "I Am Who Am." Egypt is the classical Biblical metaphor for oppression and worldliness. In our modern context, we, too, need to escape from the "bondage of Egypt." Christ has broken the shackles of our slavery to sin, the world, th...

Despite the popularity of Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 movie The Ten Commandments, modern Christians tend not to study the Book of Exodus. Its name taken from the Hebrew for "the way out," this second book of the Bible speaks of the quintessential human desire to depart from misery and begin rejoicing. The well-known tale of Moses' birth and the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt only account for...

Paul's argument in Romans uses forensic logic and a precise application of key verses from Genesis to stress that Abraham did not earn the righteousness that was credited to him by faith (cf. Gen 15:6). Our faith must be an obedient faith and our obedience must be in faith; believing for decades and learning from his prior failures, Abraham's faith grew to a point that he was willing to sacrifice...

The first masterful 11 Chapters of Genesis set the stage for a drama between God and man peerless among all other written literature. One must not overlook the importance of God's covenant in Genesis. A covenant has two parts: it establishes a deeply personal relationship and defines the specific points on which that relationship depends. The personal name of God, Yahweh, appears throughout Torah...

What denotes a proper interpretation of the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis? When one begins to discusses Biblical interpretation, the terms "fundamentalist" and "literalist" quickly emerge. We derive the first of these two terms from a group of late-19th Century Christians who adhered to a set of fundamental beliefs. Earnest Christians who adhere to the Church's core teachings may be...

Way back in September of 2006 we posted a preview of "The Foundations of Biblical Thinking." This study of Torah has remained one of our most downloaded episodes, so by popular demand here it is in its entirety! So crucial to the Christian life, we will enter into Pentateuch's time-tested wisdom and find that the more we understand these first five books of the Bible, the more rest will come to ou...

While every Gospel contains a Resurrection account, Luke makes certain key insights. "At dawn [having departed while it was still dark], women travel to Jesus' tomb bringing the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled back" (24:1-2). Perplexed at the absence of Jesus' body, their confusion changed to fear when they saw two men in "dazzling garments" come to them. In an age before ble...

Although Chapter 22 depicts Jesus' final Passover beginning with Him blessing a cup, let us not be confused that this is the Institution of the Eucharist; he reveals Himself to us in bread and wine at the climax of the meal. Instead of following the order of the Passover meal to say "this is the Passover," upon the revelation of the hidden piece of unleavened bread, when Christ brings forth this b...

Luke's depiction of the Olivet Discourse is a wonderful, powerful message. Verse 5 begins with the warning, "the day will come when not one stone [of the Temple] will be left on another, but it will all be torn down" and "take care not to be misled. Many will come in my name saying, 'I am he' [...] do not follow them." He assures us, "the end will not be at once," meaning to state the various stag...

Starting in Luke 19:28, we join Jesus in his final pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover. From the time of Christ until the destruction of the Temple, the Passover reaches its highest point of prominence in the Jewish liturgical calendar. Swelling three-times its size, the crooked, oriental streets of Jerusalem are crowded with pilgrims and lambs to be slaughtered. Juxtaposing the violent end that...

Our study in Chapter 18 begins with two classic parables that urge religious individuals to go substantially deeper in their faith: The Corrupt Judge and the Pharisee and the Publican. In the first, Jesus again (cf. 11:5-10) teaches His disciples to persist in prayer, "you ought always to pray and not lose heart." In the second, He exhorts His disciples to humility and upbraids the haughty and sel...

Chapter 15 contains three classic parables, each targeting the self-righteous and speaking of the need to rejoice and repent. Jesus likens his close contact with sinners to that of a shepherd who risks death to save his lost sheep. Unlike the murmuring Pharisees, we must seek the lost, encourage our pastors to seek out the lost and then rejoice when sinners repent. The parable of the woman who fin...

Timeless Parables and True Discipleship Beginning in Luke 12:13, we see that Jesus' teachings sharply contrast worldly notions of fiscal prudence and advocate extreme trust in God's provisions. Speaking tenderly to his disciples, Jesus is serious when he says "do not live in fear, little flock ... sell what you have and give alms." Jesus gives an unprecedented promise to those who live justly and...

At the start of Chapter 10, Jesus sends out 70 missionaries to minister to the towns of Galilee. He sends them in pairs in order that they may be a microcosm of the Church, and also because Torah establishes the validity of a claim by the testimony of two witnesses. Making no specific provisions for the lambs that He "sends among wolves," these missionaries are radically dependent upon their Heave...

Beginning in Chapter 8, our study continues Luke's account of Jesus' active ministry. Accompanied by "the twelve [...], some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities; Mary, called Magdalene [...] and many others," Jesus draws large crowds when he preaches (v. 2-3). To one great crowd, Jesus delivers the parable of the Sower and the Seed, or what we might more aptly call the Parabl...