Breaking the Bread: A Biblical Devotional for Catholics Year C - Scott Hahn and Ken Ogorek

Breaking the Bread: A Biblical Devotional for Catholics Year C

Scott Hahn

Ken Ogorek

Emmaus Road Publishing

St Paul Center

ISBN 9781645854135

eISBN 9781645854159

ASIN 

Wow! This is an incredible volume. I somehow missed Year B when it came out last year. But I will not make that mistake next year. This volume does not start for a few weeks now but I read the introduction and randomly flipped through and read about a dozen of the reflections. I can easily state this and the two companions would be excellent resources for any Catholic!

The description of this volume states:

“As Catholics, we draw meaning and purpose from the celebration of the Mass each Sunday. But what if we could enhance our experience of the Mass with a better grasp on the readings we hear?

In Breaking the Bread, a beautiful, full-color, clothbound companion for the Sunday Mass, beloved Scripture scholar Scott Hahn reflects on the Sunday Mass readings, providing insightful context for all Catholics to better understand what we hear—and why we hear it—on any given Sunday.

This easy-to-use devotional also includes carefully selected passages by Ken Ogorek from the Catechism that provide an overview of the Church's basic doctrinal and moral teaching and challenge each of us to greater fidelity to Christ.

Breaking the Bread will help all Catholics make the most of Sunday Mass through reflections on Scripture, the Catechism, and short prayers to help one deepen their personal relationship with the living Word of God: Jesus Christ.

This edition of Breaking the Bread highlights the lectionary readings for Year C. An additional volume for Year A is forthcoming.”

Over the last three years I have worked through volume from the Catholic Truth Society by Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB, Companion to the Sunday Gospels Year C, which are based on the Lectionary and scriptures used in England and Wales. I was just finishing up the third volume when I was offered a review copy of this volume. And it was an easy choice to try a new volume from Scott Hahn. And this volume does not disappoint. A sample reflection is:

“First Sunday of Lent

DEUTERONOMY 26:4–10

PSALM 91:1–2, 10–11, 12–13, 14–15

ROMANS 10:8–13

LUKE 4:1–13

Forty Days

In today’s epic Gospel scene, Jesus relives in His flesh the history of Israel. We’ve already seen that, like Israel, Jesus has passed through water and been called God’s beloved Son (see Luke 3:22; Exodus 4:22). Now, just as Israel was tested for forty years in the wilderness, Jesus is led into the desert to be tested for forty days and nights (see Exodus 15:25). He faces the same temptations put to Israel: Hungry, He’s tempted to grumble against God for food (see Exodus 16:1–13). As Israel quarreled at Massah, He’s tempted to doubt God’s care (see Exodus 17:1–6). When the devil asks for His homage, He’s tempted to do what Israel did in creating the golden calf (see Exodus 32).

Jesus fights the devil with the Word of God, three times quoting from Moses’ lecture about the lessons Israel was supposed to learn from its wilderness wanderings (see

Deuteronomy 8:3; 6:16; 6:12–15).

Why do we read this story on the first Sunday of Lent? Because, like the biblical sign of forty (see Genesis 7:12; Exodus 24:18; 34:28; 1 Kings 19:8; Jonah 3:4), the forty days of Lent are a time of trial and purification. Lent is meant to teach us what we hear over and over in today’s readings. “Call upon me, and I will answer,” the Lord promises in today’s Psalm. Paul promises the same thing in today’s Epistle (quoting Deuteronomy 30:14; Isaiah 28:16; Joel 3:5).

This was Israel’s experience, as Moses reminds his people in today’s First Reading: “We cried to the Lord . . . and he heard our cry.” But each of us is tempted, as Israel was, to forget the great deeds He works in our lives, to neglect our birthright as His beloved sons and daughters. Like the litany of remembrance Moses prescribes for Israel, we should see in the Mass a memorial of our salvation, and “bow down in his presence,” offering ourselves in thanksgiving for all He has given us.

~

Ironically, the devil believes in God. He even has the Scriptures at his disposal. Those who have reasonable access to the Good News may have a hard time justifying unbelief if and when the time comes to do so. Even those with no substantial resources other than the natural light of human reason, though, can come to know God—largely by observing His creation.

The Church teaches that the one true God,

our Creator and Lord, can be known with

certainty from his works, by the natural light

of human reason (cf. Vatican Council I, can. 2,

 1: DS 3026). (CCC 47)

Jesus’ Jewish upbringing sensitizes Him in a specific way to this second temptation. Above all else, God is the One to be worshiped. More than kingdoms, more than all principalities and powers, we are to worship the Lord our God, and Him

alone are we to serve.

The first commandment summons man to

believe in God, to hope in him, and to love

him above all else. (CCC 2134)

~

How do I usually handle temptation? What might enhance my ability to handle it?

In my own way do I seek kingdoms, power, and glory? What is my response to the second temptation?

St. Michael, glorious archangel, you know well the wiles of the tempter. Defend me, protect me, and pray for me, O prince of the heavenly host, that my faith in God remains strong , my hope in Him provides comfort, and my love for the Almighty leads me to salvation. Amen.

ONE DOES NOT LIVE

ON BREAD ALONE,

BUT ON EVERY WORD

THAT COMES FORTH

FROM THE MOUTH of GOD.

MATTHEW 4:4B”

I hope that sample reflection give you a feel for this volume. Each reflection is between four and 5 pages. Spread throughout the volume are full page prints or artwork. Also occasionally there are full page quotes to highlight specific passages on a coloured background. This is a well-made hardcover book. The cloth covers match the covers for the lectionary for that year. Its compact size 5x7 inches makes it perfect for desk, prayer corner or bedside table. The pages are high quality semi glossy paper and will last for years to come. The only thing missing is a cloth bookmark to keep your place. 

I am typically an eBook guy, in part because of my dual form of dyslexia. But I plan to acquire both the physical and eBooks for this series and See myself using them year after year. 

This volume and set is one I can easily recommend. It will be a great addition to any Catholic’s prayer corner. It is a volume every home would be blessed by having a copy and reading it before attending church on Sunday. This is a great resource, I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy! 

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2024 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books by Scott Hahn click here.

Books by Scott Hahn:
A Father Who Keeps His Promises
A Pocket Guide to Saint Paul
A Pocket Guide to the Bible
Angels and Saints: A Biblical Friendship with God's Holy Ones
Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins's Case Against God
Catholic for a Reason
Consuming the Word: The New Testament and The Eucharist in the Early Church
Covenant and Communion
Evangelizing Catholics: A Mission Manual for the New Evangelization
First Comes Love: Finding Your Family in the Church and the TrinityHail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God

Holy Is His Name
Hope for Hard Times
Joy to the World: How Christ's Coming Changed Everything and Still Does
Kinship by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to the Fulfillment of God's Saving Promises

Letter and Spirit : From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy
Living the Mysteries - A Guide for Unfinished Christians
Lord Have Mercy: The Healing Power of Confession
Many Are Called: Rediscovering the Glory of the Priesthood
Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace
Politicizing the Bible: The Roots of Historical Criticism and the Secularization of Scripture 1300-1700
Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith
Rome Sweet Home
Scripture Matters
Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots
Swear to God : The Promise and Power of the Sacraments
The Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages
The Fourth Cup
The First Society
The Kingdom of God As Liturgical Empire
The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth
Understanding "Our Father"

Mary Mother of All

Breaking the Bread: A Biblical Devotional for Catholics Year B

Breaking the Bread: A Biblical Devotional for Catholics Year C

Breaking the Bread: A Biblical Devotional for Catholics Year A

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