Build on Rock - Page 3 of 9 - Sharing the faith in God's beloved Son, Jesus Christ

Jesus is the Good Samaritan (Luke 10)

April 10, 2024 / Michael Haverkamp

If you want to know Jesus, you need to know that He is the Good Samaritan. Read chapter 10 of the gospel according to Saint Luke here. The Good Samaritan may be the most famous of Jesus’ parables. It begins with the lawyer asking Jesus what one must do to

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The Messiah of God, the Son of Man (Luke 9)

March 29, 2024 / Michael Haverkamp

If you want to know Jesus, you need to know that He is the Messiah of God, and the Son of Man. Read chapter 9 of the gospel according to Saint Luke here. Jesus asks His disciples who the crowds say He is. The disciples respond that the crowds liken

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Jesus is unsettling (Luke 8)

March 6, 2024 / Michael Haverkamp

If you want to know Jesus, you need to know that He is unsettling. Read chapter 8 of the gospel according to Saint Luke here. One of the strangest stories in the gospel of Luke is the visit of Jesus to the territory of the Gerasenes. Gerasa was a prosperous city east

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Authority and Compassion (Luke 7)

February 20, 2024 / Michael Haverkamp

If you want to know Jesus, you need to know that He is a man with authority, and a man of compassion. Read chapter 7 of the gospel according to Saint Luke here. The centurion understands authority. He commands soldiers and slaves, and he in turn reports to a superior

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Jesus turns everything upside down (Luke 6)

February 7, 2024 / Michael Haverkamp

If you want to know Jesus, you need to know that He turns everything upside down. Read Chapter 6 of the Gospel according to Saint Luke here. Jesus says blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who are weeping, and those who are hated on His account. He proclaims woe

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Jesus is calling you (Luke 5)

January 24, 2024 / Michael Haverkamp

If you want to know Jesus, you need to know He is calling you. Read Chapter 5 of the Gospel according to Saint Luke here. In chapter five, we see three principal elements of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He calls people, he heals people, he forgives sins. These three are intimately

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The Temptation of Jesus (Luke 4)

January 11, 2024 / Michael Haverkamp

If you want to know Jesus, you need to know that He was tempted by the devil. Read Chapter 4 of the Gospel according to Saint Luke here. What brings two people close together? One of the best things to bring people close together are shared experiences, especially if those

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The Family of Jesus (Luke 3)

December 19, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

If you want to know Jesus, you need to know His family. Read Chapter 3 of the Gospel according to Saint Luke here. Luke and Matthew include a genealogy of Jesus in their gospel narratives. Why did they do this? In these short accounts of Jesus’ life, why was this

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The Infant Jesus (Luke 2)

December 6, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

If you want to know Jesus, you need to know Him as an infant. Read Chapter 2 of the Gospel according to Saint Luke here. The incarnation of Jesus is an awesome mystery. The angel Gabriel tells Mary that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God. Saint John

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The Wisdom of the Little Flower

October 4, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

The Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of the Little Flower, Saint Therese of Lisieux, on October 1. Therese Martin was born in Alencon, France, in 1873, the youngest of nine children of Saints Louis and Zelie Martin. She entered a Carmelite convent at the age of 15, and died of

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The Mother of Jesus (Luke 1)

September 20, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

If you want to know Jesus, you need to know Mary. If you want to know the Son, you need to know His mother. Read chapter 1 of the Gospel according to Saint Luke here. Luke (like all of the evangelists) gives us only the essential information we need about

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The Gospel of Mercy

September 6, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

Everyone should read the Gospel of Luke. Why should everyone read the Gospel of Luke? For starters, a strong case can be made that Jesus is the most significant person who ever lived. (Time magazine ranked him #1 among the most significant people in history, back in 2013. I cite

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The End of Families?

August 22, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

I’ve been reading Peter Kreeft’s four-volume work, Socrates’ Children: The 100 Greatest Philosophers. It’s an interesting review of the history of philosophy, and while Kreeft is thoughtful about presenting each philosopher in their own words as much as possible, he is not shy about critiquing dangerous and self-contradictory ideas in

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Why God Hides

August 9, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

Our guest blogger today is Blaise Pascal, the 17th Century French Catholic, philosopher, mathematician, scientist and all-around genius. He will be speaking on the subject of Why God Hides, or put another way, why He doesn’t reveal Himself plainly to all people so that no one could doubt His being.

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“In a world without God…”

July 26, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

“In a world without God, everything is permitted.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a 19th Century Russian novelist, best known for Crime and Punishment. His final novel was The Brothers Karamazov, which tells the story of Fyodor Karamazov and his three sons, Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha. Fyodor is a thoroughly selfish man, a sensualist openly

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A Matter of Faith

July 12, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

A few years ago I wrote a post entitled “Evidence for a Creator,” in which I argued that science demonstrates that the probability of our universe existing in its present form is astronomically small; and if the the odds of the universe “just happening” are exceptionally small, there is a

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Indulgences 101

June 20, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

Q. What is an indulgence? A. “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of

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“With One Voice Glorify God” (Romans 15)

June 1, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves; let each of us please our neighbor for the good, for building up. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you fall upon me.” For

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“Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14)

May 18, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

Chapter 14 of Paul’s epistle to the Romans isn’t easy to understand. It’s not a passage that comes up frequently in the cycle of Church readings. What is Paul saying to his audience? And what is the Holy Spirit telling us today? Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but not

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“Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13)

May 2, 2023 / Michael Haverkamp

Paul concludes chapter 13 of his letter to the Romans by making two points that are essential to a virtuous Christian life: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not

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