The Catholic Epistles of the New Testament

The Catholic Epistles

• The Epistle of St. James, along with 2 epistles of St. Peter, 3 of St. John, and 1 by St. Jude, constitute the 7 Catholic epistles of the New Testament.
• They are called Catholic because they were not written to specific people or churches like the Pauline epistles, but rather to all Christians.

The Epistle of St. James

• Written by St. James, the cousin of the Lord Jesus Christ and the bishop of Jerusalem.
• Addresses issues faced by early Christians, including persecution, economic injustice, poverty, apostasy, and fragmentations within the Church.
• Teaches the harmony of both faith and works, emphasizing that works are a natural result of faith and encourages repentance, patience, and self-control.

Trials

• Outward circumstances faced by all believers, including conflicts, sufferings, and troubles.
• Improve and purify our faith, producing patience and endurance.
• Godly reactions to trials are joy and perseverance.

Wisdom for Trials

• Encourages finding faith in a relationship with God through prayer.
• Requests knowledge, understanding, and correct judgment to deal with life's trials.
• Firm loyalty to God and confidence in Him are essential elements of faithful prayer.

Temptations

• God does not tempt us or cause us to fall into temptations.
• We are tempted when we are drawn away from God by our desires, our own sinful passions that attract us until we sin.
• Temptations come in three ways: by persuasion, by attraction, and by consent.

The Corrective: Hear and Do

• We must be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
• Uproot the seeds of evil and plant the seeds of the Word of God.
• Restrain our tongues, be merciful to others, and be unspotted from the world.

The Relationship between Faith and Works

• Examples of the essential relationship between faith and works:
  • Mastery over speech: What proceeds out of the mouth flows from the heart.
  • Ministry to the needy: Faithful Christians must be the guardians of the poor.
  • Moral purity in thought and deed: A traditional indicator of a working faith.

The Law of Love

• Warns against judging others by earthly standards of rank, wealth, achievements, and appearance.
• A person's dignity and worth come from God, not from fellow humans.
• Favoring the rich over the poor is an example of fainthearted faith that comes from unjustly judging and showing partiality.

Faith that Works

• Faith that saves is a "complete" faith, one that trusts and lives with God.
• Complete faith is both faith and works.
• Faith produces works and works make faith perfect and complete.

The Work of Faith: Controlling What We Say

• What we say reveals who and what we are.
• If we can control what we say, we can control what we do.
• Only by the work of the Holy Spirit within us can the tongue be brought under control.

Godly Counsel

• Warns against counseling others with our "wisdom" that can be rooted in pride and sinful passions.
• We should refrain from counseling others with our "wisdom" that can drive us to appear in the form of a teacher who talks and rebukes others without any inner remorse.

Lack of Faith and Works: Quarrels in the Church

• Wars and fights in the Church are another example of the result of faith without works.
• These disputes come from worldly desires and passions, like pride, that cause disruption in the body of Christ.

Conquering Pride and Self-Seeking Pleasures

• Stop praying for self-centered pleasures.
• Renounce the world and build a friendship with God.
• Yield to the Holy Spirit who dwells in us through Chrismation.

The Warning to Rich Oppressors

• Describes the fate that awaits the unjust rich and how their wealth will condemn them.
• Refers to those who have become rich unfairly by stealing, cheating, and taking advantage of others.

Encouragement to the Oppressed

• We should stop grumbling at each other, and we must not demand that life be "fair."
• We must be patient and wait on the Lord, realizing that plants do not produce fruit overnight.

The Work of Faith: Healing

• Salvation involves the whole person, body and soul.
• The Sacrament of the Unction of the Sick has a double purpose, the healing of the body and forgiveness of sins.

Restoration

• The importance of the work of faith in bringing back a fellow Christian who turns away from Christ.

The Catholic Epistles

• The Epistle of St. James, along with 2 epistles of St. Peter, 3 of St. John, and 1 by St. Jude, constitute the 7 Catholic epistles of the New Testament.
• They are called Catholic because they were not written to specific people or churches like the Pauline epistles, but rather to all Christians.

The Epistle of St. James

• Written by St. James, the cousin of the Lord Jesus Christ and the bishop of Jerusalem.
• Addresses issues faced by early Christians, including persecution, economic injustice, poverty, apostasy, and fragmentations within the Church.
• Teaches the harmony of both faith and works, emphasizing that works are a natural result of faith and encourages repentance, patience, and self-control.

Trials

• Outward circumstances faced by all believers, including conflicts, sufferings, and troubles.
• Improve and purify our faith, producing patience and endurance.
• Godly reactions to trials are joy and perseverance.

Wisdom for Trials

• Encourages finding faith in a relationship with God through prayer.
• Requests knowledge, understanding, and correct judgment to deal with life's trials.
• Firm loyalty to God and confidence in Him are essential elements of faithful prayer.

Temptations

• God does not tempt us or cause us to fall into temptations.
• We are tempted when we are drawn away from God by our desires, our own sinful passions that attract us until we sin.
• Temptations come in three ways: by persuasion, by attraction, and by consent.

The Corrective: Hear and Do

• We must be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
• Uproot the seeds of evil and plant the seeds of the Word of God.
• Restrain our tongues, be merciful to others, and be unspotted from the world.

The Relationship between Faith and Works

• Examples of the essential relationship between faith and works:
  • Mastery over speech: What proceeds out of the mouth flows from the heart.
  • Ministry to the needy: Faithful Christians must be the guardians of the poor.
  • Moral purity in thought and deed: A traditional indicator of a working faith.

The Law of Love

• Warns against judging others by earthly standards of rank, wealth, achievements, and appearance.
• A person's dignity and worth come from God, not from fellow humans.
• Favoring the rich over the poor is an example of fainthearted faith that comes from unjustly judging and showing partiality.

Faith that Works

• Faith that saves is a "complete" faith, one that trusts and lives with God.
• Complete faith is both faith and works.
• Faith produces works and works make faith perfect and complete.

The Work of Faith: Controlling What We Say

• What we say reveals who and what we are.
• If we can control what we say, we can control what we do.
• Only by the work of the Holy Spirit within us can the tongue be brought under control.

Godly Counsel

• Warns against counseling others with our "wisdom" that can be rooted in pride and sinful passions.
• We should refrain from counseling others with our "wisdom" that can drive us to appear in the form of a teacher who talks and rebukes others without any inner remorse.

Lack of Faith and Works: Quarrels in the Church

• Wars and fights in the Church are another example of the result of faith without works.
• These disputes come from worldly desires and passions, like pride, that cause disruption in the body of Christ.

Conquering Pride and Self-Seeking Pleasures

• Stop praying for self-centered pleasures.
• Renounce the world and build a friendship with God.
• Yield to the Holy Spirit who dwells in us through Chrismation.

The Warning to Rich Oppressors

• Describes the fate that awaits the unjust rich and how their wealth will condemn them.
• Refers to those who have become rich unfairly by stealing, cheating, and taking advantage of others.

Encouragement to the Oppressed

• We should stop grumbling at each other, and we must not demand that life be "fair."
• We must be patient and wait on the Lord, realizing that plants do not produce fruit overnight.

The Work of Faith: Healing

• Salvation involves the whole person, body and soul.
• The Sacrament of the Unction of the Sick has a double purpose, the healing of the body and forgiveness of sins.

Restoration

• The importance of the work of faith in bringing back a fellow Christian who turns away from Christ.