Brandon Vogt's Blog, page 9

[Video] The 2 Reasons You Don’t Read More Books

Did you know that last year, a quarter of American adults did not finish a SINGLE book??

The average adult finished just 10 books in 2015.

That means most of us struggle to squeeze out just ONE book per month.

And it’s getting worse.

Thanks to Netflix and Facebook and phones and TV, there are just SO many distractions to keep us from reading books.

This is not good.

We all know books can change our lives. They help us discover new things and enter new worlds. We all remember books that have shaped us over the years.

That’s why most people wish they read MORE books.

Nobody says, “You know, this year I just read wayyyy too many books. I wish I had read fewer!”

We all want to read more.

And that’s why I created a short new video series showing you how to DOUBLE the number of books you read this year.

In the first video, I look at the two main reasons you have trouble reading. I’ve talked with hundreds of people about this problem and these were the two big obstacles that came up, again and again:

Sign up for free video series → The 2 Reasons You Don’t Read More Books

Why should you listen to me?

Well, for starters I finish between 75-100 books EVERY year.

For years, friends always begged me to to share my reading secrets with them. They constantly asked, “HOW do you do that?? I wish I could read that much!”

So one day I finally decided to just create a short video series that ANYONE could watch.

These videos are packed with powerful tips that all great readers use. And the best part is…they’re FREE!

Just click here to watch Video #1:

Sign up for free video series → Watch Video #1

In a couple days, I’ll send you the next video in the training series. Video #2 will explain how to increase your reading, even if you don’t have tons of time to read.

But today, your only job is to watch Video #1 and understand the major obstacles that keep you from reading more books (rule one in any battle is to “know thy enemy”):

Sign up for free video series → The 2 Reasons You Don’t Read More Books

After you watch the short video, be sure to leave a comment answering the question in the video. We want to know what you think!

Enjoy Video #1, Ad, and I’ll send you the next one in a couple days…

Yours,

Brandon

PS. I’d love for you to share this free video series with friends to help them read more, too! Just share this link on Facebook or email it to friends: http://ReadMoreBooksNow.com

The post [Video] The 2 Reasons You Don’t Read More Books appeared first on Brandon Vogt.

Learning from a Spirit-led Preacher and Evangelist

Today we continue our regular series called “Learning from the Saints.” Our guide is expert Bert Ghezzi, a dear friend of mine and the author of numerous books including Voices of the Saints, Saints at Heart, and Discover Christ: Developing a Personal Relationship with Jesus.

His more recent books are The Power of Daily Mass and The Heart of Catholicism. You can learn more about Bert and his work at BertGhezzi.com.

Today, Bert profiles St. John of Avila, whose feast we celebrate tomorrow.

 

 

“Come here, then, my soul, and tell me—in God’s name, I ask you—what hinders you from following wholly after God with all your strength? What do you love if not God, your spouse? Why don’t you have great love for him who has so greatly loved you? Had he nothing else to do on earth except to give himself up for you? And seek your benefit even to his own hurt?

 

“What is there for you to do on earth except to love the King of Heaven? Don’t you see that all these things must come to an end? What do you see? What do you hear? What do you touch? Taste? Handle? Don’t you see that all these things are but a spider’s web that can never clothe you or keep you from the cold?

 

“Where are you when you are not in Jesus Christ? What do you think about? What do you value? What do you seek beyond the one perfect good?

 

“Let us rise, my soul, and put an end to this evil dream. Let us awaken, for it is day, and Jesus Christ, who is the light, has come.”

 

— John of Avila

A young priest once asked John of Avila how to become a good preacher. John, perhaps the most charismatic preacher of sixteenth-century Spain, said the only way he knew was by loving God above all.

After studying theology at Alcalà, John was ordained in 1525. Already recognized as a gifted preacher, he aspired to go as a missionary to Mexico. But the bishop of Seville commissioned him to evangelize Andalusia, Spain’s southernmost province, that had been dominated by the Moors. For nine years John proclaimed the gospel there with great success. Thousands flocked to hear him. People of every rank turned their lives around and John set them on the path to holiness. With a vast correspondence, he kept in touch with his converts. The letters, many of which survive, contain much practical wisdom and have established John of Avila as a significant spiritual writer.

John made powerful enemies by denouncing wickedness in high places. In 1531, they reported him to the Inquisition, charging him with teaching that the rich could not be saved. Imprisoned for a short time, he was completely cleared in 1533.

Then John conducted missions in various cities including Seville and Córdoba. At Granada, he was instrumental in the conversion and spiritual healing of John of God. Among his friends were Francis Borgia, whom he had converted, Teresa of Avila, Louis of Granada and Ignatius Loyola.

For his last fifteen years John of Avila was in constant pain, but his illness did not keep him from his evangelistic work. Always enamored of the Jesuits, at age 59 he decided to enter the community. But the rigorism of the provincial at Andalusia dissuaded him. The Jesuits, however, have always honored him as one of their own. After his death in 1569 he was buried in the Jesuit church at Montilla. Pope Benedict XVI named him a Doctor of the Church in 2012.

“Love him who loved you when he was a child and who suffered cold for you and wept in the manger for you. Love him who loved you. He was only eight days old when he first shed blood for you. He could not speak then, but he could love. And as he grew older, his love grew too and was shown in the works which he did among us. As his body grew, his trials grew, his pains and tortures and crosses. Love, then, him who first loved you and loves you now in heaven.”

 

— John of Avila

 

 

 

Read more from Bert at his website www.BertGhezzi.com, or check out his many books on Amazon.

The post Learning from a Spirit-led Preacher and Evangelist appeared first on Brandon Vogt.

Learning from a Grandmotherly Missionary and Mystic

Today we continue our regular series called “Learning from the Saints.” Our guide is expert Bert Ghezzi, a dear friend of mine and the author of numerous books including Voices of the Saints, Saints at Heart, and Discover Christ: Developing a Personal Relationship with Jesus.

His more recent books are The Power of Daily Mass and The Heart of Catholicism. You can learn more about Bert and his work at BertGhezzi.com.

Today, Bert profiles St. Marie of the Incarnation, whose feast we celebrate on April 30.

 

 

Visualize a grandmotherly French woman cuddling an Algonquin child and you have a picture of Mother Marie of the Incarnation, the missionary. Envision the same woman snuggled in God’s lap and you have an image of Mother Marie, the mystic. For like Teresa of Avila, this multi-gifted woman was both a mystic and a missionary.

But Marie enjoyed a more diverse worldly experience than Teresa. At 17, she married Claude Martin, a merchant of Tours, France, and bore him a son. Claude died before their third anniversary, but Marie continued to competently manage his business.

All the while, however, God seems to have made gentle assaults on Marie’s soul. In this passage from her Autobiography she told how God startled her with his mercy:

“Suddenly I was stopped in my tracks, both interiorly and exteriorly. In a flash the eyes of my mind were opened and all the faults, sins, imperfections I had ever committed were represented to me both in general and in particular. I saw them with a distinction and clarity more certain than any human effort could produce. At the same moment I saw myself completely immersed in blood. And I was convinced that it was the blood of the son of God and that this precious blood had been shed for my salvation.

 

“If the goodness of God had not sustained me, I believe I would have died of fright. No human tongue can express how horrible and shocking is the sight of sin, however small it may be. Rather, to see a God of infinite goodness and purity offended by a worm of the earth surpasses horror itself. And especially to see a God-made-man die to expiate sin and shed all his precious blood to appease his Father and in this way to reconcile sinners to him!

 

“Finally, it is impossible to tell what the soul comprehends during this prodigy. But to see not only the fact of one’s own personal culpability but also the fact that, even if one were the only one guilty of sin, the Son of God would have done for him what he has done for all—this it is that consumes and seems to annihilate the soul.”

The saint swiftly ascended in prayer, so that by age 28 she says she experienced a complete, inexpressible union with God.

In 1629, Marie made the painful decision to leave her son with her sister and joined the Ursulines at Tours. A hunger to save souls and a strange vision of a foreign landscape beckoned her to the Jesuit missions in Canada in 1639. For the next thirty-two years she evangelized and instructed native converts in Quebec. For the work she learned several difficult languages and wrote four catechisms, three for the Algonquins and one for the Iroquois.

During this time she progressed in the course of her mystical union with God, charting it in 1654 in a very readable Autobiography. Claude Martin, her son, became a famous Benedictine priest and honored his mother by writing her life story. Blessed Marie of the Incarnation died in 1672 at age 73.

“Visitors at the mission school could not understand how we could dandle on our laps the little orphans, smeared with grease against the cold and covered only by a small, oily rag. But for us all this was unimaginable joy. Thanks to God’s goodness, our vocation and love for the natives never diminished. I carry them all in my heart and try very gently through my prayers to win them for heaven.”

 

— St. Marie of the Incarnation

 

 

(Image Credit: Our Sunday Visitor)

 

 

Read more from Bert at his website www.BertGhezzi.com, or check out his many books on Amazon.

The post Learning from a Grandmotherly Missionary and Mystic appeared first on Brandon Vogt.

3 Secrets to Sharing the Faith (so powerful!)

A few weeks ago I surveyed my 40k+ other email followers. And when I asked about people’s #1 biggest struggle, I heard one answer again and again:

“I find it hard to share my faith.”

Most Catholics want to tell others about their faith, but they don’t know where to start. They’re afraid they’re not smart enough, knowledgeable enough, or outgoing enough.

I know what that feels like.

You get worried that you’ll offend someone. You’re hesitant to damage a relationship. Or you’re just afraid you’ll say the wrong thing in the wrong way.

That’s why I’m so thrilled about a new DVD resource from my friend Trent Horn.

It’s called “The Three Secrets to Sharing the Faith: How to Talk About Catholicism with Anyone” and is produced by Catholic Answers.

(For a limited time, you can save 30% when ordering with the special code 3secrets . I don’t get any cut or commission when you do—it’s just a special discount code I convinced Catholic Answers to give my readers…because I love you guys!)

I’ve known Trent for a while and I can’t praise him enough. He’s young, smart, and impressive. He’s one of the most effective evangelists I’ve ever met.

Trent has a gift for dialoguing about hot-button issues, from religion to pro-life to same-sex marriage. He’s debated atheist leaders and pro-abortion professors. He’s spent hundreds of hours talking on streets and college campuses, evangelizing people who at first strongly disagree with him.

When you watch Trent having these conversations, as I’ve done, you just marvel at how he’s masterfully able to steer the dialogue, ask the right questions, and inevitably cause people to reexamine their beliefs…..and often give the Catholic Church a second look.

Now Trent wants to teach you how to do the same thing.

Trent Horn’s New DVD → “The Three Secrets to Sharing the Faith”

(use code 3secrets to save 30%)

Trent’s tips are engaging and very practical. My wife and I watched the DVD together in one night, and we loved it (it’s a great film to watch with your family or show at your parish.)

What I love about “The Three Secrets to Sharing the Faith” is that it’s not just Trent lecturing in front of a blackboard.

The camera follows him on the street as he meets and engages real people, talking with them about the Catholic faith. He shows you the tactics in action. Then he pauses, rewinds, and walks you through every word and gesture.

He explains why he said what he did and teaches you the same strategies so you can use them when talking with your own friends and family.

And you know what? They really work. I’ve used them time and again.

To get a taste for the DVD, watch this sample clip:

In “The Three Secrets to Sharing the Faith”, you’ll learn:

Why you don’t need to know all the right answers—just how to ask the right questions
How to control the direction of an argument when you get stumped
Keys to finding and building common ground with even the most argumentative opponent
How to keep discussions civil and positive—whether they’re with family at the dinner table or strangers on Facebook

So if you want to be more confident and effective at sharing your faith–if you never want to be tongue-tied again!–then check out Trent’s new DVD. I highly, highly recommend it!

Click here to learn more:

“The Three Secrets to Sharing the Faith”

(use code 3secrets to save 30%)

Enjoy!

 

PS. This DVD would be the perfect gift for a graduating senior or any young person in college. Make sure they have the skills they need to keep their faith when meeting skeptical professors or friends! Click here to get your copy (and don’t forget the discount code: 3secrets)

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[Photos] Our new baby, Zelie Catherine Vogt!

Praise God! My wife, Kathleen, and I are thrilled to announce the birth of our fifth child, little Zelie Catherine Vogt.

She was born on Thursday, April 14 at 3:35pm at 7 lbs, 11 oz to a heroic momma and a proud papa. Everyone is healthy and happy!

Zelie is named after St. Zelie, the mother of St. Thérèse of Lisieux who was canonized last year by Pope Francis, and St. Catherine of Siena, the great mystic and reformer.

PS. We got to the hospital at 3:20pm—that’s right, just 15 minutes before birth—and the nurses said if we had been delayed only a few minutes, I would have had to deliver the baby myself on the side of the road ‪#‎worstnightmare‬

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The Best Translation of St. Augustine’s “Confessions”

In his book Three Philosophies of Life, Dr. Peter Kreeft explains how he rediscovered St. Augustine’s Confessions:

“Only once have I ever encountered a translation that made such a difference, that so opened up for me a previously closed book. That was Frank Sheed’s translation of Augustine’s Confessions, which I found to be as living as molten lava. The most widely used translation of the Confessions is the one by a Mr. Pine-Coffin, and it is worthy of his name. It is a dead translation. Sheed’s is living.”

Poor Mr. Pine-Coffin.

Witty jabs aside, I completely agree with Kreeft. Sheed’s translation captures Augustine’s poetic verve better than any other. I’ve read it twice now. If you’re starting The Confessions for the first time, or perhaps restarting after a failed attempt, check out the Sheed version.

Beyond Sheed, I’ve heard great things about Maria Boulding’s translation. Elizabeth Scalia raved about the book. Likewise, Fr. Z described it as “[t]he best translation for most people.” And Rowan Williams, the former Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, claimed, “[Boulding] has perfected an elegant and flowing style.”

If you’re interested in Boulding’s translation, I highly recommend the Ignatius Press Critical Edition which pairs Boulding’s text with extensive notes and commentary by top Augustine scholars.

The post The Best Translation of St. Augustine’s “Confessions” appeared first on Brandon Vogt.

[Video] My 3-Year-Old Son Saying Mass on Easter

When our family arrived home after Mass on Easter Sunday, our three-year-old son Augustine announced that he wanted to say Mass himself.

(Partly because he’s pious, partly because he just wanted the free graham cracker used to say Mass.)

So we got out the kids’ Mass kit—the same one that his older brother, Isaiah, began using when he was three years old—and let Augustine celebrate his own Easter liturgy.

Before he started I took out my iPhone so we record the Mass and share it with a few friends and family. Later, I posted the video on Facebook. I was stunned the next day when I logged in and saw that the video had already been watched over 20,000 times (!!).

Several people mentioned how it brought them joy, or reminded them of when they “said” Mass as children.

We’ve even had priests encourage us, affirming that saying Mass as a child was the seed of their vocation!

So if you need a little pick-me-up today, click below to watch the full video:

And here are videos of his brother Isaiah, now seven years old, saying Mass in the same spot with the same Mass kit. The first is when he was three and the next is when he was five:

Many people have asked about the Mass kit used by the boys. It’s sold by “Our Father’s House” and is called “Miniature Mass Kit”. You can purchase it here.

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Book Giveaway (3 copies): “Evangelical Exodus”

“Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others.” — St. Augustine

Since I’ve built up a large collection of extra books and resources, every week I give some away absolutely free, no strings attached. Each giveaway lasts seven days with a new one beginning every Friday. You can enter any time during the week. Check out my past giveaways here.

Thanks to Ignatius Press, today I’m giving away THREE copies of a great new book, Evangelical Exodus: Evangelical Seminarians and Their Paths to Rome. Learn more and enter below!

 

 
Evangelical Exodus: Evangelical Seminarians and Their Paths to Rome

Edited by Douglas Beaumont

Ignatius Press, 286 pages, paperback

Over the course a single decade, dozens of students, alumni, and professors from a conservative, Evangelical seminary in North Carolina (Southern Evangelical Seminary) converted to Catholicism. These conversions were notable as they occurred among people with varied backgrounds and motivations—many of whom did not share their thoughts with one another until this book was produced. Even more striking is that the seminary’s founder, long-time president, and popular professor, Dr. Norman Geisler, had written two full-length books and several scholarly articles criticizing Catholicism from an Evangelical point of view.

What could have led these seminary students, and even some of their professors, to walk away from their Evangelical education and risk losing their jobs, ministries, and even family and friends, to embrace the teachings they once rejected as false or even heretical? Speculation over this phenomenon has been rampant and often dismissive and misguided—leading to more confusion than understanding. The stories of these converts are now being told by those who know them best—the converts themselves.

They discuss the primary issues they had to face: the nature of the biblical canon, the identification of Christian orthodoxy, and the problems with the Protestant doctrines of sola scriptura (“scripture alone”) and sola fide (“faith alone”)

 

 

I’m using Gleam to help with the giveaway, which is cool because it allows you multiple entries for posting on Facebook, sharing on Twitter, etc. Click below to enter:

(If you’re reading this through email or RSS and don’t see the giveaway widget, .)

By entering this giveaway you agree to occasionally receive email updates from me—no spam, just updates about free books, cool links, and exciting news.

 

 

The winner(s) will be randomly selected next Friday and the books will be sent out, free of charge, shortly thereafter.

In the future I’ll be giving away more books and resources, sometimes multiple items per giveaway! So subscribe via feed reader or email to ensure you never miss your chance to win.

(Since I’m covering the shipping costs, only residents within the continental United States are eligible to win.)

The post Book Giveaway (3 copies): “Evangelical Exodus” appeared first on Brandon Vogt.

7 Steps to Bring Any Young Person Back to the Church

Over the last several years, I’ve spoken with thousands of Catholics around the country at large conferences, small parish groups and everything in between. After each talk I give, there’s usually a time for questions and answers, and inevitably, no matter the topic of my talk, the most common question I hear is some version of “My child has left the Faith, and I’m devastated. What should I do?”

The Catholic Church is hemorrhaging young people.

A recent Pew Research Center study found that half of young Americans (50 percent exactly) who were raised Catholic no longer identify as Catholic today. Think about what that means: Over the last 20-30 years, half of the babies you’ve seen baptized, half of the children you’ve seen confirmed and half of the young people you’ve seen married have probably left the Church.

The Pew study also found that four out of five Catholics who left the Church did so before age 23. These aren’t disgruntled middle-aged adults, fed up with the changes of Vatican II. These are our own sons and daughters, and they’re leaving the Church in high school, college or as young adults.

Most of us know this from experience. We know parents in our parish who grieve their fallen-away children. Maybe our own sons or daughters have drifted away.

Whenever I talk to parents facing this problem, they often use the words “helpless” and “hopeless.” They feel helpless because their children tune them out or ignore them whenever they bring up religious topics, and they feel hopeless because they think it’s impossible their children would ever come back. These parents are desperate to do something — they just don’t know what to do.

I’m convinced what they most need is a plan, for as the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” It’s not enough to just sit back and hope our children will return. We need a proven road map.

That’s why I spent several months researching the problem, talking with experts and those who have left and returned, all to determine what really works to draw young people back. The result was a 16-part video course and book that pulls together the best tips, tools and strategies, titled RETURN: How to Draw Your Child Back to the Church.

FREE BOOK! For a limited time, you can claim a FREE copy of the paperback edition of RETURN (you just cover the $4.99 shipping + handling). Click here to get your copy!

But here are seven simple strategies you can use right now to draw your child back. This isn’t a “convert your child quick” scheme, because these steps can take months or years to complete. But they are proven signposts on the road back to faith.

1. Pray, fast and sacrifice

If you aren’t doing these three things, the other steps won’t matter. Commit right now to praying 5-10 minutes each day for your child’s return. Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow (Lk 18:1-8) confirms that God loves tireless prayer — even if you pray for the same need every day. Don’t give up, and don’t think your prayer is unheeded or pointless. Look at what St. Monica’s prayers did for St. Augustine.

Also, fast and sacrifice for your child. Skip a meal, give up Facebook or Netflix for a week or willingly bear a small pain. Then offer your sufferings to God on behalf of your child. Unite them to the cross and ask that he send new grace into your child’s life.

2. Equip yourself

You can’t give what you don’t have. You may be excited about sharing the Faith, but enthusiasm and goodwill won’t get you far. You need to know your faith. The two go-to sources are the Bible and the catechism. Become familiar with them and read them each day, in small doses.

Then find good Catholic books that will help you explain and defend the Faith so you’re ready when your child reveals his main hang-ups with the Church.

3. Plant the seeds

You should also begin planting “seed gifts” in his life. These are DVDs, books or CDs that can lead him to reconsider the Church. Many people who come back to the Church point to a resource like this that sparked their return. Leave a booklet on his desk, mail him a DVD or drop a CD in his car.Even before you start discussing God or the Church with your child, you need to plant small seeds of faith and trust in his life. One seed is unconditional love. Your child needs to know that you’ll love him no matter what — no matter his moral choices or whether he stays away from the Church. He must know that you totally will his good. Only then will he listen to you.

BONUS: Want the 12 best seed gifts? The 12 best books, DVDs, and CDs to give a fallen-away young person? I’ve pulled them all together for you in the RETURN Complete Game Plan.

4. Start the conversation

At some point, you need to open a dialogue about God and the Church. You might say, “Can I ask you something? I wonder if you’d be up for talking about spiritual things some time. I know you have a mixed relationship with the Church, but would you be open to chatting about it with me? I just want to listen.”

Then do just that: listen. Your goal is to detect why your child has drifted from the Church. Note that the reasons he gives may be different than what you expect. Ask him what he believes and why, and what pushed or pulled him away.

Don’t respond to the objections or criticisms just yet — just absorb them. This may involve biting your tongue, but the scar tissue will be worth it!

5. Move the dialogue forward

You’ve now identified why your child left the Church. Maybe he drifted away unintentionally. Maybe he switched religions. Maybe he disagrees with the Church’s moral teachings. Or maybe he no longer believes in God. Whatever the case, now’s the time to start discussing those factors.

Speaking with joy and positivity, clear up any misconceptions he has. For example, if he says, “I was never spiritually fed as a Catholic,” it’s likely he never fully understood the Eucharist or was exposed to the great spiritual masters of our tradition. Gently propose those to him and encourage him to reconsider.

6. Invite and connect

Once your child expresses curiosity and openness to returning, invite him to a parish event. This might be a weekend retreat, such as Christ Renews His Parish or Cursillo, or perhaps a parish small-group study or community event. Your goal is to usher him into the life of the parish, which will re-establish the communal bonds of faith.

If your child is in college, connect him with the local Catholic campus ministry, such as FOCUS or the Newman Center. Leaders there will be thrilled to talk with him and help him on his journey.

Don’t move too fast, though. Only extend these invitations after he’s expressed openness to returning, otherwise you may push him away.

7. Close the loop

Finally, you need to help your child formally reconcile with the Church. Lots of people get stuck here. A priest once told me about a lady who left the Church as a teenager and stayed away for over 30 years. Her reason? She simply didn’t know how to come back.

Don’t let that happen. Once your child is ready to return, talk with your pastor and determine the right steps to close the loop. Maybe he just needs a good confession, or perhaps the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is more appropriate. A good priest will assess the situation and determine the best next steps.

Obviously, we’ve only scratched the surface of this road map. To go much deeper, check out the tips and strategies in the RETURN Video Course and book.

The key is to never give up hope. Hopelessness is not a word in God’s vocabulary. As long as your child still has breath, there is always hope. God loves your child even more than you do. As much as you yearn for your child to come home, God desires his return infinitely more and is continually working to make that happen, even when things appear dire.

So trust God, beg him to keep moving in your child’s life, and be confident that he will bring your child home.

 

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Christ Came to Stir the Waters

Below is a reflection I wrote on yesterday’s Gospel reading, John 5:1-16, for uCatholic.com.

Today’s Gospel offers a strange and enchanting story, one that reads almost like a fairy tale. It begins with a man laying near a large pool called Bethesda. The pool is surrounded by five porticoes (i.e., porches) each filled with ill, blind, lame, and crippled sufferers.

Jesus arrives at the pool and approaches one of them, a man who had been ill for 38 years. He asks, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man responds, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” The man was referring to the daily stirring of the water, which some believed was caused by an invisible angel dipping into the pool. Custom held that the first person who entered the stirring water would be healed of disease, but nobody after him.

Jesus has little time for those games. He simply says, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” He doesn’t wait and order the man to enter the water at precisely the right moment, so he can be first one in, beating everyone else. He just tells him to rise. Immediately the man becomes well. He takes up his mat and walks away healed.

What can we learn from this strange encounter? Well, here’s how St. Augustine read it. The large group of sick people signify the Jews, who were “shut in” by the five books of Moses, represented by the five porticoes around the pool. The porticoes kept people sick and away from the healing waters. Similarly, the Old Law convicted sinners yet it didn’t absolve them. It diagnosed their sickness but offered no cure.

Until, that is, there arrived one who “stirred the waters.” Like the angel who stirred the Bethesda pool, Jesus comes to “stir sinners”—to comfort the afflicted, but also to afflict the comfortable, to stir them in preparation for what he would do on Good Friday.

But there’s another layer to the story. The “stirring waters” ultimately point ahead toward baptism. In fact, in early Christian art, a man was often depicted as rising from the baptismal waters carrying a bed upon his back. The bed first carried the man, but then after baptism, the man carried the bed.

In this colorful encounter, Jesus seems to be saying this: “Don’t jump into that pool and hope for the best. Jump into my pool. My water is not reserved only for the swift and timely. It’s not only for ones who jump in quick, at the right moment, and beat everyone else. My healing waters are for all people. You can leap in any time, even now.”

We can swim in his mercy whether we’ve been sick for minutes or decades. It doesn’t matter if we’re crippled or addicted, defeated or shamed, lost or helpless. The pool is always open, the waters are always stirred.

You don’t have to be fast. You don’t have to be punctual. You don’t have to beat others to the draw.

You only have to choose the right pool and swim.

 

“That water [at the pool of Bethesda] was moved once a year; this water of the Church’s baptism is always ready to be moved. That water was moved only in one place; this water is moved throughout the entire world. Then an angel descended; now it is the Holy Spirit. Then it was the grace of the angel; now it is the mystery of the Trinity. That water cured only once in a year; this water saves people every day. That water healed the body; this water heals both body and soul. That water healed a person’s health; this heals from sin. There, the body was only healed of its infirmities; here, body and soul are freed from sin. There, many who were weary lay sick at that water because it only cured one person a year. No one will be left lying sick here where the waters of baptism are, if they resolve to come and be healed.”

 

— Chromatius of Aquileia, 4th century

 

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