Bible Rebind by AA Leather: Top Grain Cowhide. New Testament and Psalms, RSV Catholic Edition (by my friend Paul)

Knox Contest

As we are about to enter the season of Advent, now is a good time as any to have a contest.  This one, which will likely be the last one for 2014, is focused around the great Cathoic convert, translator, detective novelist, and apologist Msgr. Ronald A. Knox.  I have made no secret on this blog my admiration for this man.  I find his writings to be both enriching and entertaining, which I think is a truly rare thing.  Although he may not receive the same attention as some of his other more famous contemporaries, I actually prefer his writings to those of Chesterton, Belloc, and Lewis.  (Please don't throw any stones!)

So, what will the winning entry receive in this Knox Contest?  The following brand new books and CD will prove a wonderful introduction to this great man:

1) The Wine of Certitude: A Literary Biography of Ronald Knox by David Rooney (Ignatius Press)

2) On Englishing the Bible by Ronald Knox (Baronius Press).  The winner will receive two brand new copies, one for themselves and another to give to a friend.  Thank you to the fine people at Baronius Press for providing this amazing book for this contest.  I "literally" read this all the time.

3) Ronald Knox Collection CD from Old Time Radio Catalogue.  This contains four presentations by Knox, himself, with a run time of one hour and eleven minutes.  Included in this collection are reflections by Knox on Christmas, Chesterton, Newman, and translating the Bible.  Hear the man in his own voice.


Rules for the contest:
 1) If you have a website or blog or are active on Facebook, please announce this contest. If you don't, that is OK. You can still enter the contest.

 2) Please enter your name in the comment section of this blog post. I (or my wife) will randomly draw one winner at the conclusion of the contest, which will be on Sunday November 30th at 11:59 PM.

3) I will announce the winner on Monday December 1st. The winners must contact me, via email, within a week with their full name and address.

 4) One entry per person.

 5) Contest is only available to those who live in North America.

Knox vs. The Message: Christ the King (Matthew 25:31-46)

I am going to do a comparison of one of the Sunday readings from the lectionary, using the Knox Bible and The Message.  If you think this might be of some interest (or at least amusing) let me know.  While done in different ways, I think both Knox and Peterson desired to make the Bible more accessible to the average reader.  Let's see if they were successful.  

Knox:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit down upon the throne of his glory,  and all nations will be gathered in his presence, where he will divide men one from the other, as the shepherd divides the sheep from the goats;  he will set the sheep on his right, and the goats on his left.  Then the King will say to those who are on his right hand, Come, you that have received a blessing from my Father, take possession of the kingdom which has been prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food, thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you brought me home,  naked, and you clothed me, sick, and you cared for me, a prisoner, and you came to me.  Whereupon the just will answer, Lord, when was it that we saw thee hungry, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink?  When was it that we saw thee a stranger, and brought thee home, or naked, and clothed thee?  When was it that we saw thee sick or in prison and came to thee?  And the King will answer them, Believe me, when you did it to one of the least of my brethren here, you did it to me.  Then he will say to those who are on his left hand, in their turn, Go far from me, you that are accursed, into that eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry, and you never gave me food, I was thirsty, and you never gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you did not bring me home, I was naked, and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.  Whereupon they, in their turn, will answer, Lord, when was it that we saw thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee?  And he will answer them, Believe me, when you refused it to one of the least of my brethren here, you refused it to me.  And these shall pass on to eternal punishment, and the just to eternal life.

The Message:

“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

I was sick and you stopped to visit,

I was in prison and you came to me.’

“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

“Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

I was homeless and you gave me no bed,

I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,

Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’

“Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

“He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

“Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”

Archbishop Gomez Homily on Christ the King (2011)

Pontifical Biblical Commission: The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture

The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture

This book is the contribution of the Pontifical Biblical Commission toward a more adequate understanding of the concepts of inspiration and truth that respects both the nature of the Bible and its significance for the life of the Church. 

From the Foreword—
I thank the members of the Biblical Commission for their patient and competent effort, and I express my desire that their work may contribute to a more attentive, grateful, and joyful listening to Sacred Scripture in the Church as the Word coming from God and speaking of God for the life of the world. 
His Eminence, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller

Paperback Price: $19.95
eBook Price: $17.99
Print and eBook Price: $24.49

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Offer ends December 8, 2014

Favorite Catholic Bible Publisher

In regards to fine quality Bibles, which is your favorite Catholic publisher?

Ignatius Press

Baronius Press

Catholic Book Publishing

OSV

Fireside Catholic Publishing

Oxford University Press

Saint Mary's Press

Saint Benedict Press

Other?

Poll Maker

Knox vs. The Message: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

This might be fun.  I am going to do a comparison of one of the Sunday readings from the lectionary, using the Knox Bible and The Message.  If you think this might be of some interest (or at least amusing) let me know.  While done in different ways, I think both Knox and Peterson desired to make the Bible more accessible to the average reader.  Let's see if they were successful.  


Knox Bible:
There is no need, brethren, to write to you about the times and the seasons of all this;  you are keeping it clearly in mind, without being told, that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  It is just when men are saying, All quiet, all safe, that doom will fall upon them suddenly, like the pangs that come to a woman in travail, and there will be no escape from it.  Whereas you, brethren, are not living in the darkness, for the day to take you by surprise, like a thief;  no, you are all born to the light, born to the day; we do not belong to the night and its darkness.  We must not sleep on, then, like the rest of the world, we must watch and keep sober.


The Message:

I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking around complacently, congratulating each other—“We’ve sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!”—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.  But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart.