Council of Catholic Men Catechism and Bible Study 2025 November 5

In today’s Council of Catholic Men, we continue our catechism and Bible study with a prayerful reading of Ephesians 4–6, exploring St. Paul’s call to unity, truth in charity, putting on the new man, and living a virtuous life. We reflect on practical holiness: honesty, righteous speech, righteous labor, reconciling anger, and generosity. In Ephesians 5, we consider walking as children of light, the call to purity, and the sacrificial love and mutual duties within Christian marriage, modeled on Christ and the Church. Chapter 6 brings us to the armor of God—truth, justice, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word—preparing us for spiritual warfare against unseen powers through constant prayer. We then open Philippians 1, where Paul’s affection for the Philippians shines through, highlighting joy amid suffering and the tension between “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” From the catechism of St. Peter Canisius, we meditate on the evangelical counsels—obedience, chastity, and poverty—as helps toward charity and conformity to Christ’s humility and cross. We introduce the Four Last Things (death, judgment, hell, and heaven), urging watchfulness and perseverance, and conclude with the inspiring martyrdoms of Saints Agricola and Vitalis of Bologna, whose courageous witness calls us to faithfulness to the end.