In my post earlier today, we spoke of our response to Divine Revelation, which is faith. We spoke of the different aspects of faith, one of them being that faith is assent not just to God, but to all that He has revealed. There are many things He has revealed, but besides the Trinity, I would propose the following is the most important, and it is spelled out in paragraph 423 of the Catechism.
We believe and confess that Jesus of Nazareth, born a Jew of a daughter of Israel at Bethlehem at the time of King Herod the Great and the emperor Caesar Augustus, a carpenter by trade, who died crucified in Jerusalem under the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of the emperor Tiberius, is the eternal Son of God made man.
In simpler terms, the historical person Jesus of Nazareth is God.
Wow.
It is such a profound statement to make. To call someone who walked the face of the earth "God" seems a little strange when you honestly think about it. It seems a rational person could not ever make such a statement and still be called sane. Yet, it is exactly what we do as Catholics do because that is what the Church teaches. The person of Jesus Christ is the heart and soul of our faith.
Who is Jesus Christ? The Catechism speaks of several titles which highlight different aspects to his rich personhood.
1) Jesus Christ is Savior. The name Jesus in Hebrew means "God saves."
2) Jesus Christ is the anointed One. The word Christ comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word "messiah" which means "anointed". Jesus is consecrated for a mission, namely to save us.
3) Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is the Second Person of the Trinity. In the Old Testament, and even in Jesus' time, "Son of God" could simply mean one who has a special relationship with God, but not necessarily be God Himself. However, beginning with Peter's confession of faith in Matthew 16:16-17, when Jesus says only the Father could have revealed the correct answer to Peter, it takes on its fuller meaning.
4) Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus demonstrates power over nature, illness, demons, and even death. He has lordship over the world, and all the powers in it.
5) Jesus Christ is the Word of God. (See the prologue to the Gospel of John). The Word is the Wisdom of God, present from the beginning. As we have alluded to earlier when we spoke of Divine Revelation, when God speaks, he speaks, in the end, one Word, and that Word is Jesus.
Those, I think, are the most important titles of Jesus. There are others, but those are the ones the Catechism gives prominence. As part of our response of faith, we call Jesus all those titles, and more.
Yes, Jesus is God, but he is also man. The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Jesus is true God and true Man. Throughout the history of the Church, there have been different heresies that sought to deny one or both of these realities. This has led the Church to make different statements about Jesus to clarify for the faithful and for the world the substance of Jesus. He is fully man, and fully God. He has two natures, a human one, and a divine one, that are united in one person. He likewise has two wills, human and divine, but they never are in conflict. The human submits to the divine.
He is not two people.
He is not God some of the time, and man some of the time.
He did not cease to be God when He became Incarnate of the Virgin Mary.
He is forever united to us in His humanity and divinity.
This is what makes Jesus so special, and why I love Him. He is God and man.
As a man, He knows what we go through. He understands our conditions. We can speak to him as a brother.
At the same time, as God, He is also our Lord and Savior, the one who opened the door for us to become His adopted children, and be able to live in the Blessed Trinity, our ultimate destiny. The Trinity is a family, and the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, is one of the family members. He is the one who left the family home to rescue us, the lost sheep, and enable us to become members of this family.
Wow.
What a man, what a destiny.
We will speak more about the life of Jesus and its significance for us in future posts. We will also speak about the other aspects of our faith besides the historical person of Jesus Christ. But nothing, besides the Blessed Trinity, is more central to our faith than this Divine Person, so we definitely started in the right place.
In closing, let us recall how Joseph, and the world, first heard of the sweet name of Jesus, as we read in the first chapter of the first Gospel, the Gospel of Matthew.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Joseph, foster father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Faith
In the last several posts, we have spoken of Divine Revelation, which is God's revealing of Himself to us. There are two sources of Revelation; Sacred Scripture, and Sacred Tradition. We devoted the last several posts to Sacred Scripture, and we may speak more of Tradition in future posts. Tradition is basically the apostolic tradition of transmitting the faith via Christ's apostles and their successors, the Bishops, in their teaching, and in the life and worship of the Church that they preside over.
Now we have to discuss our response to that Revelation, which is called faith. The Catechism lists several distinguishing features of faith.
1) Faith is a submission of intellect and will to God (p.143), and to all God has revealed (p.150). It is not just belief in God, but belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit as the Third Person of the Trinity.
2) Faith is a grace (p.153). We referred to this before when we spoke of the theological virtue of faith. It is an infused supernatural virtue.
3) At the same time, faith is a human act (p.154). We have to cooperate with the grace of faith for it to have effect.
4) Faith is certain (p.157). It is founded on God, who cannot lie.
5) Faith seeks understanding (p.158). This is the motto of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, the patron of the college I went to. Faith leads us to want to know God better. One way of coming to know God better is through study and learning (which we alluded to when we spoke of ways of coming to know God in a previous post.)
6) Faith cannot contradict science (p.159). God created the natural world, and all her systems, and also is the source and object of Divine Revelation. It would go against His nature to contradict Himself between the two systems.
7) Faith must be free, it cannot be forced (p.160). Faith is a free gift, thus it must be freely received. God does not force us to believe, nor should we force others to believe. We should invite them to believe, and show reasons by logic and the way we live our lives, but it cannot be forced. Some adherers of other religions in the world today should heed this point a lot better.
8) Faith is necessary (p.161). One must believe in Jesus in order to be saved. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them." (John 3:36) What if one dies without believing in Jesus? Is he or she definitely lost? Well, we do need to pray for them hard, absolutely, but (and these are my thoughts only) perhaps the person never heard the Gospel, or was given a bad example of what being Christian is, and so that person would have believed were circumstances different, and now that he or she sees Jesus in all His truth, love, and beauty, now accepts Him, and is saved. Having said this, however, we should never presume we will have time to accept Jesus "later", and/or that because one or more Christians we know failed to live up to the ideal, Jesus is not real, and therefore, we do not have to believe in Him. I'll just say this; if we make it to heaven, we will believe in Jesus, and we will believe in what the Catholic Church teaches.
9) We must persevere in faith (p.162). We can lose the gift of faith, contrary to what some Christian denominations teach. We have to nourish the gift with prayer, the Sacraments, and living a good moral life.
10) Faith is the beginning of eternal life (p.163). Through faith, we begin and grow in our relationship with the Triune God, and thus, we get a small taste of what the beatific vision is like. In heaven, we see God "face to face". Faith will turn to sight at that point. Until then, though, we have the promises and blessings of that relationship, even if we cannot see or understand Him fully.
11) Faith is not an isolated act, we cannot believe alone (p.166). We receive the gift of faith from God, but through other people. We should hand it on and support others in their faith journey. The Church, founded by Our Lord, believed before we did, and so the Church (the Magisterium and all her faithful) helps nourish and sustain our faith.
12) Faith is beyond formulations, but we can use them to help approach the realities they signify (p.170). For example, the object of our faith is not the Doctrine of the Trinity, but the reality the Doctrine points to. The Trinity is ultimately beyond human words, but the words used in the formulation of the Doctrine help us to understand, live, and celebrate it better.
13) There is only one faith (p.172). Over the many centuries, there have been many different languages, cultures, and peoples that have confessed the faith, and there have been different ways of expressing it, as a result. However, what is confessed is the same. There is one Lord, one faith, and one Baptism.
In future posts, we will speak more about the rich content of the faith, expressed in its fullness in the Creed that we profess at Mass every Sunday. For now, let us simply thank God for this gift. God, who reveals to us things we could never know, and invites us to a destiny we could never dream of, invites us to relationship first through this gift of faith, and then opens it up more and more throughout our lives not just with this gift, but with the other infused virtues of hope and charity.
Joseph exercised the gift of faith when he believed the prophetic message of the angel, even though she was pregnant with a child not his own. This act of faith, and others after it, led to the survival of Jesus, which led to the Paschal Mystery, which became the source of our salvation. Let us, like Joseph and Mary, exercise this wonderful, precious gift, and become all we are destined to be in God's eyes.
And let us share it with others!
Joseph, most faithful, pray for us.
Now we have to discuss our response to that Revelation, which is called faith. The Catechism lists several distinguishing features of faith.
1) Faith is a submission of intellect and will to God (p.143), and to all God has revealed (p.150). It is not just belief in God, but belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit as the Third Person of the Trinity.
2) Faith is a grace (p.153). We referred to this before when we spoke of the theological virtue of faith. It is an infused supernatural virtue.
3) At the same time, faith is a human act (p.154). We have to cooperate with the grace of faith for it to have effect.
4) Faith is certain (p.157). It is founded on God, who cannot lie.
5) Faith seeks understanding (p.158). This is the motto of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, the patron of the college I went to. Faith leads us to want to know God better. One way of coming to know God better is through study and learning (which we alluded to when we spoke of ways of coming to know God in a previous post.)
6) Faith cannot contradict science (p.159). God created the natural world, and all her systems, and also is the source and object of Divine Revelation. It would go against His nature to contradict Himself between the two systems.
7) Faith must be free, it cannot be forced (p.160). Faith is a free gift, thus it must be freely received. God does not force us to believe, nor should we force others to believe. We should invite them to believe, and show reasons by logic and the way we live our lives, but it cannot be forced. Some adherers of other religions in the world today should heed this point a lot better.
8) Faith is necessary (p.161). One must believe in Jesus in order to be saved. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them." (John 3:36) What if one dies without believing in Jesus? Is he or she definitely lost? Well, we do need to pray for them hard, absolutely, but (and these are my thoughts only) perhaps the person never heard the Gospel, or was given a bad example of what being Christian is, and so that person would have believed were circumstances different, and now that he or she sees Jesus in all His truth, love, and beauty, now accepts Him, and is saved. Having said this, however, we should never presume we will have time to accept Jesus "later", and/or that because one or more Christians we know failed to live up to the ideal, Jesus is not real, and therefore, we do not have to believe in Him. I'll just say this; if we make it to heaven, we will believe in Jesus, and we will believe in what the Catholic Church teaches.
9) We must persevere in faith (p.162). We can lose the gift of faith, contrary to what some Christian denominations teach. We have to nourish the gift with prayer, the Sacraments, and living a good moral life.
10) Faith is the beginning of eternal life (p.163). Through faith, we begin and grow in our relationship with the Triune God, and thus, we get a small taste of what the beatific vision is like. In heaven, we see God "face to face". Faith will turn to sight at that point. Until then, though, we have the promises and blessings of that relationship, even if we cannot see or understand Him fully.
11) Faith is not an isolated act, we cannot believe alone (p.166). We receive the gift of faith from God, but through other people. We should hand it on and support others in their faith journey. The Church, founded by Our Lord, believed before we did, and so the Church (the Magisterium and all her faithful) helps nourish and sustain our faith.
12) Faith is beyond formulations, but we can use them to help approach the realities they signify (p.170). For example, the object of our faith is not the Doctrine of the Trinity, but the reality the Doctrine points to. The Trinity is ultimately beyond human words, but the words used in the formulation of the Doctrine help us to understand, live, and celebrate it better.
13) There is only one faith (p.172). Over the many centuries, there have been many different languages, cultures, and peoples that have confessed the faith, and there have been different ways of expressing it, as a result. However, what is confessed is the same. There is one Lord, one faith, and one Baptism.
In future posts, we will speak more about the rich content of the faith, expressed in its fullness in the Creed that we profess at Mass every Sunday. For now, let us simply thank God for this gift. God, who reveals to us things we could never know, and invites us to a destiny we could never dream of, invites us to relationship first through this gift of faith, and then opens it up more and more throughout our lives not just with this gift, but with the other infused virtues of hope and charity.
Joseph exercised the gift of faith when he believed the prophetic message of the angel, even though she was pregnant with a child not his own. This act of faith, and others after it, led to the survival of Jesus, which led to the Paschal Mystery, which became the source of our salvation. Let us, like Joseph and Mary, exercise this wonderful, precious gift, and become all we are destined to be in God's eyes.
And let us share it with others!
Joseph, most faithful, pray for us.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Sacred Scripture Part Three
We will close our reflections on Sacred Scripture by speaking about the canon of Sacred Scripture. The definition of canon is a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine. In the early days of the Church, the Church Fathers had to decide which writings taught false or incomplete ideas of God, which taught good or noble ideas, but were not necessarily inspired, and finally, which books were inspired by God, the speech of God.
It is important to note that the final canon was not determined until four centuries after the death of Our Lord. It is not just like a book dropped out of the sky right at the beginning of the Church. There was time in the Church without the Bible as we know it. There was Tradition, and there was Scripture, but there was not a canon of Scripture, or what we now call the Bible. The inspired works , however, were being read at liturgy. This is critically important. The first use of Scripture was not for private meditation, but for use at public liturgy. We must realize that anew today. There is nothing wrong with private mediation and prayer with the Bible, but the primary forum in which we engage, and get the most out of the written Word of God, is at liturgy, in the public worship of the Church. The words of Scripture are meant to be lived at the heart of the Church, which means they have their most power when they are read and heard at her celebration of the liturgy, where She is most Herself, because only there, does She celebrate and makes present the events of our salvation. Catholic biblical authors such as Scott Hahn have written beautifully on the connection between Scripture and the liturgy, and I encourage you to read them. We have spoken about liturgy in a previous post or two, and may speak about it more.
The complete list, or canon, includes 46 books in what is called the Old Testament, and 27 in what is called the New Testament.
The Old Testament is the gradual revelation of God before He revealed Himself fully in the person of Jesus Christ in the New. Through the trials, tribulations, victories, and defeats of God's chosen people Israel, whom he selected to begin his Revelation through, God gradually revealed Himself.
The New Testament reveals the full revelation of God in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. At this chosen time in history, God fully revealed Himself. Why this time, and not another time? Perhaps we will only know in heaven why 2000 years ago in the Middle East was the perfect time for God to become man. The bottom line, for us, now, though, is that He did.
The New Testament's center object is Jesus Christ, and the beginnings of His Church. It is my contention if the New Testament was simply about Jesus, it would only have included the 4 Gospels, and not the Acts of the Apostles, and the various letters that follow.
Speaking of the Gospels, they are considered the heart of the Scriptures, because it is from them that we learn and hear the most about Jesus, who is the full revelation of the Father. The Gospels did not come at the same time as Jesus, but were written several decades after His Resurrection. They were written based on the life of Jesus, but also based on the experience of his first followers, empowered by the Holy Spirit, who began an oral tradition.
Despite the fact that the New Testament contains the fullness of God's self-revelation, and the Old Testament does not, it is important to note that the Church still considers the books of the Old Testament as inspired by God because in them, the realities of the New Testament are preconfigured. If one reads the Old Testament with the allegorical sense (one of the "senses" we spoke of several posts ago.) For examples, Adam preconfigures Christ. Eve preconfigures Mary. Noah's ark preconfigures the Church. The serpent tied to the staff preconfigures the Cross.
Having said that, the books of the Old Testament have their own intrinsic value as it tells the love story of God for His people, and gives us many valuable life lessons today (i.e. the 10 Commandments). Also, the New Testament really cannot be understood in its fullness without the light of the Old.
Because of this, at Sunday Mass, we usually see the First Reading from the Old Testament tie somehow into the Gospel reading; if you pay attention you will see the connection. For example, this past Sunday, the 1st Reading from the Prophet Zechariah speaks of the house of David looking "on him whom they have pierced" , and in the Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus says he must be "killed". The prophet's words preconfigure what would happen to Jesus many years later.
There is a unity to the Old and New Testament. There is a unity to Scripture. There is a Magisterium who can faithfully give interpretation to Scripture, based on the Holy Spirit, who is the authentic interpreter of Scripture. Scripture is primarily for use at liturgy, but it can also be read on an individual level for personal spiritual nourishment, as long as the person reading asks the same Holy Spirit for wisdom and understanding. This is all the beautiful Catholic vision of Scripture.
If Scripture does not mean much to you now, or overwhelms you, then ask the Holy Spirit for inspiration to help you be able to engage it more fully. Do not go at it alone. Hear and listen to God's Word with fellow believers at liturgy. Seek the wisdom of the Church for questions on interpretation of this or that passage. At the same time, however, do not get bogged down in one or two specific lines of Scripture. The totality and unity of the entire book is more important.
Joseph, one could say, was born and raised in the Old Testament, but became fully a man only in the New. Let's be like Joseph and treasure and value our roots in whatever the past of our lives may be, and continue to carry on the valuable lessons it gives us, while recognizing our true home is what is "new". Let's realize that just as there is unity in Scripture between the Old and the New Testaments, so in our lives there needs to be unity, at least in soul and spirit, between the past, the present, and the new, by seeing how God has been at work throughout. May we grow in love for the written Word of God, the Sacred Scriptures, and in seeing the love and unity of God revealed in those pages, may there be love and unity in our lives, as well.
Joseph, light of patriarchs, pray for us.
It is important to note that the final canon was not determined until four centuries after the death of Our Lord. It is not just like a book dropped out of the sky right at the beginning of the Church. There was time in the Church without the Bible as we know it. There was Tradition, and there was Scripture, but there was not a canon of Scripture, or what we now call the Bible. The inspired works , however, were being read at liturgy. This is critically important. The first use of Scripture was not for private meditation, but for use at public liturgy. We must realize that anew today. There is nothing wrong with private mediation and prayer with the Bible, but the primary forum in which we engage, and get the most out of the written Word of God, is at liturgy, in the public worship of the Church. The words of Scripture are meant to be lived at the heart of the Church, which means they have their most power when they are read and heard at her celebration of the liturgy, where She is most Herself, because only there, does She celebrate and makes present the events of our salvation. Catholic biblical authors such as Scott Hahn have written beautifully on the connection between Scripture and the liturgy, and I encourage you to read them. We have spoken about liturgy in a previous post or two, and may speak about it more.
The complete list, or canon, includes 46 books in what is called the Old Testament, and 27 in what is called the New Testament.
The Old Testament is the gradual revelation of God before He revealed Himself fully in the person of Jesus Christ in the New. Through the trials, tribulations, victories, and defeats of God's chosen people Israel, whom he selected to begin his Revelation through, God gradually revealed Himself.
The New Testament reveals the full revelation of God in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. At this chosen time in history, God fully revealed Himself. Why this time, and not another time? Perhaps we will only know in heaven why 2000 years ago in the Middle East was the perfect time for God to become man. The bottom line, for us, now, though, is that He did.
The New Testament's center object is Jesus Christ, and the beginnings of His Church. It is my contention if the New Testament was simply about Jesus, it would only have included the 4 Gospels, and not the Acts of the Apostles, and the various letters that follow.
Speaking of the Gospels, they are considered the heart of the Scriptures, because it is from them that we learn and hear the most about Jesus, who is the full revelation of the Father. The Gospels did not come at the same time as Jesus, but were written several decades after His Resurrection. They were written based on the life of Jesus, but also based on the experience of his first followers, empowered by the Holy Spirit, who began an oral tradition.
Despite the fact that the New Testament contains the fullness of God's self-revelation, and the Old Testament does not, it is important to note that the Church still considers the books of the Old Testament as inspired by God because in them, the realities of the New Testament are preconfigured. If one reads the Old Testament with the allegorical sense (one of the "senses" we spoke of several posts ago.) For examples, Adam preconfigures Christ. Eve preconfigures Mary. Noah's ark preconfigures the Church. The serpent tied to the staff preconfigures the Cross.
Having said that, the books of the Old Testament have their own intrinsic value as it tells the love story of God for His people, and gives us many valuable life lessons today (i.e. the 10 Commandments). Also, the New Testament really cannot be understood in its fullness without the light of the Old.
Because of this, at Sunday Mass, we usually see the First Reading from the Old Testament tie somehow into the Gospel reading; if you pay attention you will see the connection. For example, this past Sunday, the 1st Reading from the Prophet Zechariah speaks of the house of David looking "on him whom they have pierced" , and in the Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus says he must be "killed". The prophet's words preconfigure what would happen to Jesus many years later.
There is a unity to the Old and New Testament. There is a unity to Scripture. There is a Magisterium who can faithfully give interpretation to Scripture, based on the Holy Spirit, who is the authentic interpreter of Scripture. Scripture is primarily for use at liturgy, but it can also be read on an individual level for personal spiritual nourishment, as long as the person reading asks the same Holy Spirit for wisdom and understanding. This is all the beautiful Catholic vision of Scripture.
If Scripture does not mean much to you now, or overwhelms you, then ask the Holy Spirit for inspiration to help you be able to engage it more fully. Do not go at it alone. Hear and listen to God's Word with fellow believers at liturgy. Seek the wisdom of the Church for questions on interpretation of this or that passage. At the same time, however, do not get bogged down in one or two specific lines of Scripture. The totality and unity of the entire book is more important.
Joseph, one could say, was born and raised in the Old Testament, but became fully a man only in the New. Let's be like Joseph and treasure and value our roots in whatever the past of our lives may be, and continue to carry on the valuable lessons it gives us, while recognizing our true home is what is "new". Let's realize that just as there is unity in Scripture between the Old and the New Testaments, so in our lives there needs to be unity, at least in soul and spirit, between the past, the present, and the new, by seeing how God has been at work throughout. May we grow in love for the written Word of God, the Sacred Scriptures, and in seeing the love and unity of God revealed in those pages, may there be love and unity in our lives, as well.
Joseph, light of patriarchs, pray for us.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Sacred Scripture Part Two
A couple of posts ago, in Part One of our reflections on Sacred Scripture, we spoke of Scripture as "the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit." (Catechism, p.81) God speaks to us in Scripture in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the inspiration and interpreter of Sacred Scripture. In order to understand Scripture in accordance with that Spirit, we spoke of different criteria that must be followed, and different "senses" of Scripture. I encourage you to read that post again if need be, to refresh your memory, as it was made over a week ago.
The tragedy in Orlando forced me to interrupt my reflections on Scripture, and in the last post, we spoke about Islam versus Christianity. Saying one religion is superior to another is something not popular in our modern times, but it has to be said, especially under the circumstances when we try to discern what is wrong in the world, why these awful tragedies are happening.
However, actually, I can make a connection between the topic of Sacred Scripture, and the topic I discussed in my last post regarding differences in religion. Here, I will focus specifically on a contrast in one area between specifically Catholicism, which is the fullness of Christianity, and all other religions, including Protestantism. This deals with how their sacred texts are interpreted.
Does Islam have a body that claims to be an authentic interpreter of the Quran? Do Buddhists have an authority to interpret their holy books? Do Protestants have a reference point to interpret the Bible outside of the Bible? The answer to all these is no. Every follower of these religions is empowered to interpret their sacred texts on their own. When everyone is free to interpret things as they deem fit, what happens? We see chaos, disunity, disorder, pride, vanity, and
confusion, just to name a few undesirable things.
Only in the Holy Roman Catholic Church, in which subsists the One True Church founded by Jesus Christ, is there a teaching office that is charged with giving an authentic interpretation of Sacred Scripture. This office is called the Magisterium. The magisterium is the teaching office of the Church, which is the bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. We will probably speak more about the Magisterium in a future post, as interpretation of Scripture is not its only function. However, it is an important one, and how so glad I am for this gift, that I don't have to interpret Scripture for myself. Especially considering the times we live in, I am so grateful for the gift of the Magisterium, and I find myself thanking God for it almost daily now.
Our Lord says to his apostles in Luke 10:16, "He who hears you, hears me." The apostolic teaching tradition lives in the Magisterium of the Church.
You may be thinking now, "Well, didn't we just say the Holy Spirit is the interpreter of Scripture?" Yes, we did. However, one person could easily say well the Spirit says this, and another could say the Spirit says that. Yes, the Spirit is the interpreter of Scripture, but who gives the interpretation? Who is the voice of the Holy Spirit? If there is a dispute, where do we turn to? Protestants have nowhere to turn to. Other religions have nowhere to turn to. Only Catholics do. Catholics have the Magisterium, who the Catechism says has "the task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition." (paragraph 85)
A Catholic in joyful humility will defer to the teaching authority of the Church to help him or herself better understand those difficult passages in Scripture, or seeming contradictions within the words of Scripture. The Magisterium, rather than being a burden, is a tremendous liberator for us, and safeguard, to keep us all united, and centered, in our never ending desire to drink deeply of the words of Sacred Scripture. Only the Magisterium can prevent us from going to extremes or off into our world of private interpretation, of which we can see throughout history the devastating results of. Let us thank God daily for this gift, and know, as we read Scripture, that the Church is always there as a caring mother, helping us to understand what is being spoken to us. Like our mothers helped us learn to read, Holy Mother Church helps us learn to read Scripture, but not just to read it, but to hear what God speaks to us through the pages of the Bible.
In the final part of our reflections on Scripture, we will discuss the Canon of Scripture, how it was determined what was, and what was not, part of Scripture.
Joseph was a student of the Hebrew Scriptures. As he raised Our Lord, though, and learned from Him, I would imagine he was challenged to think of the Scriptures in a new way. Likewise, we must be in our understanding of Scripture. Are we open, as Joseph was, to reading and understanding Scriptures with the mind of Christ, carried on today by the teaching authority He established to act in His name? Can we swallow our pride, and allow Christ to speak to us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who interprets Scripture, and whose voice is the Magisterium?
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
The tragedy in Orlando forced me to interrupt my reflections on Scripture, and in the last post, we spoke about Islam versus Christianity. Saying one religion is superior to another is something not popular in our modern times, but it has to be said, especially under the circumstances when we try to discern what is wrong in the world, why these awful tragedies are happening.
However, actually, I can make a connection between the topic of Sacred Scripture, and the topic I discussed in my last post regarding differences in religion. Here, I will focus specifically on a contrast in one area between specifically Catholicism, which is the fullness of Christianity, and all other religions, including Protestantism. This deals with how their sacred texts are interpreted.
Does Islam have a body that claims to be an authentic interpreter of the Quran? Do Buddhists have an authority to interpret their holy books? Do Protestants have a reference point to interpret the Bible outside of the Bible? The answer to all these is no. Every follower of these religions is empowered to interpret their sacred texts on their own. When everyone is free to interpret things as they deem fit, what happens? We see chaos, disunity, disorder, pride, vanity, and
confusion, just to name a few undesirable things.
Only in the Holy Roman Catholic Church, in which subsists the One True Church founded by Jesus Christ, is there a teaching office that is charged with giving an authentic interpretation of Sacred Scripture. This office is called the Magisterium. The magisterium is the teaching office of the Church, which is the bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. We will probably speak more about the Magisterium in a future post, as interpretation of Scripture is not its only function. However, it is an important one, and how so glad I am for this gift, that I don't have to interpret Scripture for myself. Especially considering the times we live in, I am so grateful for the gift of the Magisterium, and I find myself thanking God for it almost daily now.
Our Lord says to his apostles in Luke 10:16, "He who hears you, hears me." The apostolic teaching tradition lives in the Magisterium of the Church.
You may be thinking now, "Well, didn't we just say the Holy Spirit is the interpreter of Scripture?" Yes, we did. However, one person could easily say well the Spirit says this, and another could say the Spirit says that. Yes, the Spirit is the interpreter of Scripture, but who gives the interpretation? Who is the voice of the Holy Spirit? If there is a dispute, where do we turn to? Protestants have nowhere to turn to. Other religions have nowhere to turn to. Only Catholics do. Catholics have the Magisterium, who the Catechism says has "the task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition." (paragraph 85)
A Catholic in joyful humility will defer to the teaching authority of the Church to help him or herself better understand those difficult passages in Scripture, or seeming contradictions within the words of Scripture. The Magisterium, rather than being a burden, is a tremendous liberator for us, and safeguard, to keep us all united, and centered, in our never ending desire to drink deeply of the words of Sacred Scripture. Only the Magisterium can prevent us from going to extremes or off into our world of private interpretation, of which we can see throughout history the devastating results of. Let us thank God daily for this gift, and know, as we read Scripture, that the Church is always there as a caring mother, helping us to understand what is being spoken to us. Like our mothers helped us learn to read, Holy Mother Church helps us learn to read Scripture, but not just to read it, but to hear what God speaks to us through the pages of the Bible.
In the final part of our reflections on Scripture, we will discuss the Canon of Scripture, how it was determined what was, and what was not, part of Scripture.
Joseph was a student of the Hebrew Scriptures. As he raised Our Lord, though, and learned from Him, I would imagine he was challenged to think of the Scriptures in a new way. Likewise, we must be in our understanding of Scripture. Are we open, as Joseph was, to reading and understanding Scriptures with the mind of Christ, carried on today by the teaching authority He established to act in His name? Can we swallow our pride, and allow Christ to speak to us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who interprets Scripture, and whose voice is the Magisterium?
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
Monday, June 13, 2016
Taking a stand
It is time to take a stand. We need to say things that may not be popular, but we cannot be silent anymore. Indeed, the world, our lives, but more importantly, our eternal salvation may be at risk, if we do not start taking what might be unpopular stands.
Here are my unpopular stands for tonight:
Islam is a false, man-made religion, not from God.
Christianity, with the fullness of it being expressed in the Catholic Church, unlike Islam, is a true religion, because it is from God.
The world is the way it is today, and these tragedies are happening, because false religion is growing, while true religion is receeding.
It is not simply a matter of waging a war against "radical" or "militant" Islam. It is a matter of converting more people, Muslims and everyone else, to the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus Christ, who founded One True Church, for the salvation of mankind.
When we say that, people may try to throw stones at us, and say, "Hey, there are violent passages in the Bible, too." I would respond, "Show me any violent passage in the Bible, and I will show you how it is historically conditioned, and limited to one time and place. Show me any violent passages in the Quran, and/or any other sacred book for Muslims, and for the most part, you will see they are instructions for believers of all times and places."
I will instill terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them.” (Quran 8:12)
Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'" (Bukhari 84:57)
“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are ruthless to the Unbelievers, but merciful to each other.” (Quran 48:29)
These, and many other passages, are in the Quran, and other sacred books of Islam, and they have NO conditions on them in time or place. It is not logically possible for someone to say that believe in the Quran, and that their religion is one of peace.
There are many others, but you get the gist. The Quran and other Islamic texts encourage believers to kill anyone who does not believe in what they do. What we call "militant" or "radical" Islam is actually quite mainstream, if you actually look at the sacred texts of that religion. There is no way such a religion, that goes against all reason, morality, and beauty, could have originated from God.
I hate to write things like this, but I cannot stay silent any more. Saying we have to wage war against "radical" or "militant" Islam sounds like a strong, noble thing to do, to try to save lives. However, I propose that the solution to this problem, if there is one, is not about politics or war, it is about conversion; conversion of ourselves, conversion of our fellow Catholics, conversion of all Christians, conversion of Muslims, conversion of gay people, conversion of straight people, and conversion of people of all religions and no religion, to a deeper relationship, or beginning a new relationship, with Jesus Christ, who founded One True Church, the Catholic Church, for the salvation of all mankind.
When the Church starts growing again, the world will begin to turn around. As long as the Church continues to dwindle in size, and find itself in irrelevancy almost, the world will continue down the spiral it is going, and more events like this will keep happening. We need to redicate ourselves to Christ and His Church, and through our words and deeds, inspire others to return to Him , or perhaps turn to Him for the first time, and come to know Him, whose "yoke is easy and ..burden is light" (Matthew 11:30)
If you are reading this, and are not Catholic, please take a look at the Church. She will point you to the most beautiful man ever walk to the face of the Earth, Jesus Christ, and you will fall in love with Him, as He is with you. Your life will never be the same, those around you will never be the same, and as more and more people do this, eventually, the world will never be the same.
If you are reading this, and are Catholic, please get on your knees, turn to the sweet and gentle Jesus for forgiveness for not living the Faith as fully as you should, and then stand up, begin to live it, be proud of it, and begin to change the world!
One of the titles of Saint Joseph in the litany to him is "Diligent protector of Christ". Joseph took it upon himself to save Our Lord from Herod when Herod massacred so many innocent children out of a paranoid fear of losing his throne. Joseph knew about tragedy. Today, we need him more than ever in his role as protector, to help protect the Body of Christ, which is the Church.
Joseph, diligent protector of Christ, and protector of Holy Church, pray for us.
Here are my unpopular stands for tonight:
Islam is a false, man-made religion, not from God.
Christianity, with the fullness of it being expressed in the Catholic Church, unlike Islam, is a true religion, because it is from God.
The world is the way it is today, and these tragedies are happening, because false religion is growing, while true religion is receeding.
It is not simply a matter of waging a war against "radical" or "militant" Islam. It is a matter of converting more people, Muslims and everyone else, to the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus Christ, who founded One True Church, for the salvation of mankind.
When we say that, people may try to throw stones at us, and say, "Hey, there are violent passages in the Bible, too." I would respond, "Show me any violent passage in the Bible, and I will show you how it is historically conditioned, and limited to one time and place. Show me any violent passages in the Quran, and/or any other sacred book for Muslims, and for the most part, you will see they are instructions for believers of all times and places."
I will instill terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them.” (Quran 8:12)
Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'" (Bukhari 84:57)
“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are ruthless to the Unbelievers, but merciful to each other.” (Quran 48:29)
These, and many other passages, are in the Quran, and other sacred books of Islam, and they have NO conditions on them in time or place. It is not logically possible for someone to say that believe in the Quran, and that their religion is one of peace.
There are many others, but you get the gist. The Quran and other Islamic texts encourage believers to kill anyone who does not believe in what they do. What we call "militant" or "radical" Islam is actually quite mainstream, if you actually look at the sacred texts of that religion. There is no way such a religion, that goes against all reason, morality, and beauty, could have originated from God.
I hate to write things like this, but I cannot stay silent any more. Saying we have to wage war against "radical" or "militant" Islam sounds like a strong, noble thing to do, to try to save lives. However, I propose that the solution to this problem, if there is one, is not about politics or war, it is about conversion; conversion of ourselves, conversion of our fellow Catholics, conversion of all Christians, conversion of Muslims, conversion of gay people, conversion of straight people, and conversion of people of all religions and no religion, to a deeper relationship, or beginning a new relationship, with Jesus Christ, who founded One True Church, the Catholic Church, for the salvation of all mankind.
When the Church starts growing again, the world will begin to turn around. As long as the Church continues to dwindle in size, and find itself in irrelevancy almost, the world will continue down the spiral it is going, and more events like this will keep happening. We need to redicate ourselves to Christ and His Church, and through our words and deeds, inspire others to return to Him , or perhaps turn to Him for the first time, and come to know Him, whose "yoke is easy and ..burden is light" (Matthew 11:30)
If you are reading this, and are not Catholic, please take a look at the Church. She will point you to the most beautiful man ever walk to the face of the Earth, Jesus Christ, and you will fall in love with Him, as He is with you. Your life will never be the same, those around you will never be the same, and as more and more people do this, eventually, the world will never be the same.
If you are reading this, and are Catholic, please get on your knees, turn to the sweet and gentle Jesus for forgiveness for not living the Faith as fully as you should, and then stand up, begin to live it, be proud of it, and begin to change the world!
One of the titles of Saint Joseph in the litany to him is "Diligent protector of Christ". Joseph took it upon himself to save Our Lord from Herod when Herod massacred so many innocent children out of a paranoid fear of losing his throne. Joseph knew about tragedy. Today, we need him more than ever in his role as protector, to help protect the Body of Christ, which is the Church.
Joseph, diligent protector of Christ, and protector of Holy Church, pray for us.
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Sacred Scripture Part One
In this morning's post, we spoke of Divine Revelation. We mentioned Revelation is transmitted, from one source, but in two distinct modes, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. In this post, and in the next, we will speak of Scripture in a bit more detail.
Before we go on, popular language typically refers to the Scriptures as the Bible. Scriptures literally means "the writings". "Bible" is adapted from the Greek word "ta biblia" which means "the books". They are pretty much synonyms. The Catechism uses the collective word "Scripture" instead of "Scriptures".
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Sacred Scripture as "the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit." (paragraph 81). The word "speech" here is important. Revelation is indeed God speaking to us; it is not just showing us, or demonstrating something, but more than that, desiring a connection with us . In order for God to communicate with us, and establish that connection, it would make sense that He would choose to speak human words.
However, God did not choose to just open the skies and speak from the heavens. He chose, rather, to speak through human beings like you and me, in the pages of Sacred Scripture.
Why did He chose to do it this way, and not more openly? This is only my speculation, but I think that it has something to do with the reality that we are more open to hearing something, and comprehending it better, especially when it comes to Divine realities, if it comes in the course of everyday speech, rather than if it was thunderous and loud. We would not be "afraid" of what was said. Furthermore, I think only a select few people, saints, would be able to understand if God spoke as He would normally communicate. By communicating in human words, He can reach more people, who may not be in as tune with heavenly realities. God speaking in human words, the Catechism says beautifully, is the "condescension of his goodness" (p.101).
So Scripture is God speaking in human words. What is he speaking? He is speaking His Word, Jesus. As the Catechism says in paragraph 181, "Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely." Ultimately, everything in Scripture points to Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
But what about the Holy Spirit? Well, we can only be led to Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the inspiration and interpreter of Sacred Scripture.
In order to understand Scripture in accordance with the Spirit, three criteria must be followed:
1) There are different forms of literature in the Bible, from different time periods, but they all form one unity. Any understanding of one particular passage must take into account the unity of the entire book.
2) The Scriptures must be read within the Tradition of the Church. The Church came before the Bible. Yes, some of the books were written before the Church began, but they were not declared to be part of the Canon of Scripture until after the Church was founded by Our Lord. "Canon" means "list of books". In this case, it was which books were inspired, and which were not. (We will speak more about the contents of the Canon in the next post.)
3) When reading Scriptures, we must be attentive to the analogy of the faith. This means we must read the Scriptures in light of what the Church teaches about faith and morals.
The Church teaches there are two "senses" of Scripture, the literal and the spiritual. The literal refers to the literal words on the page. The spiritual sense refers not to the literal text, but to the spiritual realities they point to.
The spiritual sense can be further subdivided into three more types. The first is allegorical. Something can be a figure of something else. Most of the time, when speaking of this sense of Scripture, it means something being a figure of Christ and the Church . For example, the bronze serpent tied to the pole (Numbers 21:8-9) is a symbol of Christ on the Cross. The second is moral. The words in Scripture should lead us to act a certain way. For example, in giving the Ten Commandments to Moses to give to the Israelites, or Paul waxing lyrical on love to the Corinthians, God is also inspiring us to live in moral ways. Finally, there is the anagogical sense. The word means "leading"; Catholic theology takes that to mean here "leading to heaven". Some things in the Scriptures point directly toward heavenly realties; for example, Jerusalem can be viewed as a symbol of the Church triumphant.
Joseph, one could say, has different "senses". There was a literal, historical figure. Anagogically, one could say he was an earthly figure of the heavenly Father. What he taught Our Lord by word and deed can indeed be received by us in the moral sense as instructions for us, too. Like Sacred Scripture, Joseph is a gift to us that can be understood in different ways, but all of them true, and beneficial, for our salvation.
Thank God for His gift of Divine Revelation. Thank God for Sacred Scripture. Thank God for Saint Joseph.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Before we go on, popular language typically refers to the Scriptures as the Bible. Scriptures literally means "the writings". "Bible" is adapted from the Greek word "ta biblia" which means "the books". They are pretty much synonyms. The Catechism uses the collective word "Scripture" instead of "Scriptures".
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Sacred Scripture as "the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit." (paragraph 81). The word "speech" here is important. Revelation is indeed God speaking to us; it is not just showing us, or demonstrating something, but more than that, desiring a connection with us . In order for God to communicate with us, and establish that connection, it would make sense that He would choose to speak human words.
However, God did not choose to just open the skies and speak from the heavens. He chose, rather, to speak through human beings like you and me, in the pages of Sacred Scripture.
Why did He chose to do it this way, and not more openly? This is only my speculation, but I think that it has something to do with the reality that we are more open to hearing something, and comprehending it better, especially when it comes to Divine realities, if it comes in the course of everyday speech, rather than if it was thunderous and loud. We would not be "afraid" of what was said. Furthermore, I think only a select few people, saints, would be able to understand if God spoke as He would normally communicate. By communicating in human words, He can reach more people, who may not be in as tune with heavenly realities. God speaking in human words, the Catechism says beautifully, is the "condescension of his goodness" (p.101).
So Scripture is God speaking in human words. What is he speaking? He is speaking His Word, Jesus. As the Catechism says in paragraph 181, "Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely." Ultimately, everything in Scripture points to Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
But what about the Holy Spirit? Well, we can only be led to Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the inspiration and interpreter of Sacred Scripture.
In order to understand Scripture in accordance with the Spirit, three criteria must be followed:
1) There are different forms of literature in the Bible, from different time periods, but they all form one unity. Any understanding of one particular passage must take into account the unity of the entire book.
2) The Scriptures must be read within the Tradition of the Church. The Church came before the Bible. Yes, some of the books were written before the Church began, but they were not declared to be part of the Canon of Scripture until after the Church was founded by Our Lord. "Canon" means "list of books". In this case, it was which books were inspired, and which were not. (We will speak more about the contents of the Canon in the next post.)
3) When reading Scriptures, we must be attentive to the analogy of the faith. This means we must read the Scriptures in light of what the Church teaches about faith and morals.
The Church teaches there are two "senses" of Scripture, the literal and the spiritual. The literal refers to the literal words on the page. The spiritual sense refers not to the literal text, but to the spiritual realities they point to.
The spiritual sense can be further subdivided into three more types. The first is allegorical. Something can be a figure of something else. Most of the time, when speaking of this sense of Scripture, it means something being a figure of Christ and the Church . For example, the bronze serpent tied to the pole (Numbers 21:8-9) is a symbol of Christ on the Cross. The second is moral. The words in Scripture should lead us to act a certain way. For example, in giving the Ten Commandments to Moses to give to the Israelites, or Paul waxing lyrical on love to the Corinthians, God is also inspiring us to live in moral ways. Finally, there is the anagogical sense. The word means "leading"; Catholic theology takes that to mean here "leading to heaven". Some things in the Scriptures point directly toward heavenly realties; for example, Jerusalem can be viewed as a symbol of the Church triumphant.
Joseph, one could say, has different "senses". There was a literal, historical figure. Anagogically, one could say he was an earthly figure of the heavenly Father. What he taught Our Lord by word and deed can indeed be received by us in the moral sense as instructions for us, too. Like Sacred Scripture, Joseph is a gift to us that can be understood in different ways, but all of them true, and beneficial, for our salvation.
Thank God for His gift of Divine Revelation. Thank God for Sacred Scripture. Thank God for Saint Joseph.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Divine Revelation
In the last post, we listed two ways we can come to know God; natural reason (via the world around us, and looking within ourselves), and Divine Revelation. The things we discover about God via natural reason are things we can discover on our own, although we usually we still need God's help, even with this way of knowing. The truths we discover about God via Divine Revelation, on the other hand, are impossible to discover without the grace of God, and in no way could we discover on our natural abilities alone. In this post, we will speak about Divine Revelation in a bit more detail.
What are the critical elements of Divine Revelation?
1) God reveals Himself as Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and wants us to share in that Divine Life of the Trinity. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, p.51)
2) God wants to not just share in His Divine Life, but do so as "family". He wants to "adopt (us) as his sons in his only-begotten Son." (p.52)
3) God communicates Himself to us gradually. He little by little reveals Himself and his plan for us. He reveals first to our first parents, then Noah, then Abraham, then the chosen people Israel, then finally, fully in the person and mission of Jesus Christ.
4) There will be no further Revelation. God has spoken fully in Jesus Christ, so there will be no more Revelation. Now, even though Divine Revelation is complete, it is not totally explicit yet, meaning we are still growing in our understanding of it. However, the work of Revelation is done, complete, and over with. But we can grow to know and love it more and more each day.
5) The completed Divine Revelation is transmitted via the apostolic tradition. Christ commanded the apostles (apostle means one who is "sent forth") to preach Him and His mission (His death and resurrection) to the ends of the earth, so that all men may be saved, and come to enter into relationship with God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This transmission occurs both orally and in writing.
6) There are two distinct modes of transmission of Revelation; Sacred Scripture, and Sacred Tradition. Sacred Scripture is "the speech of God as it is put down in writing and under the breath of the Holy Spirit." (p.81). Sacred Tradition is the teaching of the apostles and their successors, the Bishops, inspired, just as Sacred Scripture is, by the Holy Spirit.
7) The Magisterium of the Church has the task of giving an authentic interpretation of this Revelation, in both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Magisterium comes from the word "magister" which referred in medieval times to a person entitled to teach. Magisterium refers to the teaching office of the Church, which is the Bishops, in communion with the Pope.
These are the critical elements of Divine Revelation. More detail can be said about the different elements of it, notably Scripture, Tradition, the Magisterium, and even each of the stages of the Revelation in history as outlined above. We will probably get into more detail in future posts about some of them.
What a gift, though, Divine Revelation is! The Catechism calls Revelation "his plan of loving goodness" (p.50). It is wonderful enough to know be able to come to know God naturally; to see him in ourselves, in others, and in the wonder of nature. But then you add this to that! Excuse the pun, but " oh my goodness..." In moments like these, it is right that we should fall on our knees, and declare ourselves unworthy to receive such a gift. Yet, when we do, in that moment, Our Blessed Lord will reach out His hand, with the mark of His glorious wounds still on there from the Crucifixion, and beckon us to rise, and journey to the Father with Him. Let us grasp onto Our Lord, and let Him take us places we could never dream of going!
Joseph was there just as the fullness of Divine Revelation was beginning to be revealed. He was there at the "beginning of the end" so to speak. In that baby he held in his arms, there was God. There was still some more Revelation to come with Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension . However, what Joseph held often during the infancy of Our Lord was still a more fuller Revelation than had come at any point before. The Revelation was nearly complete, but he still had to grow in his understanding of it. May we, like Joseph, grow to understand and love more each day the gift and mystery that is Divine Revelation. May we also like him be one day be able to experience with full knowledge, understanding, and love the mystery revealed, God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Joseph, Foster Father of the Son of God, and Diligent protector of Christ, pray for us.
What are the critical elements of Divine Revelation?
1) God reveals Himself as Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and wants us to share in that Divine Life of the Trinity. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, p.51)
2) God wants to not just share in His Divine Life, but do so as "family". He wants to "adopt (us) as his sons in his only-begotten Son." (p.52)
3) God communicates Himself to us gradually. He little by little reveals Himself and his plan for us. He reveals first to our first parents, then Noah, then Abraham, then the chosen people Israel, then finally, fully in the person and mission of Jesus Christ.
4) There will be no further Revelation. God has spoken fully in Jesus Christ, so there will be no more Revelation. Now, even though Divine Revelation is complete, it is not totally explicit yet, meaning we are still growing in our understanding of it. However, the work of Revelation is done, complete, and over with. But we can grow to know and love it more and more each day.
5) The completed Divine Revelation is transmitted via the apostolic tradition. Christ commanded the apostles (apostle means one who is "sent forth") to preach Him and His mission (His death and resurrection) to the ends of the earth, so that all men may be saved, and come to enter into relationship with God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This transmission occurs both orally and in writing.
6) There are two distinct modes of transmission of Revelation; Sacred Scripture, and Sacred Tradition. Sacred Scripture is "the speech of God as it is put down in writing and under the breath of the Holy Spirit." (p.81). Sacred Tradition is the teaching of the apostles and their successors, the Bishops, inspired, just as Sacred Scripture is, by the Holy Spirit.
7) The Magisterium of the Church has the task of giving an authentic interpretation of this Revelation, in both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Magisterium comes from the word "magister" which referred in medieval times to a person entitled to teach. Magisterium refers to the teaching office of the Church, which is the Bishops, in communion with the Pope.
These are the critical elements of Divine Revelation. More detail can be said about the different elements of it, notably Scripture, Tradition, the Magisterium, and even each of the stages of the Revelation in history as outlined above. We will probably get into more detail in future posts about some of them.
What a gift, though, Divine Revelation is! The Catechism calls Revelation "his plan of loving goodness" (p.50). It is wonderful enough to know be able to come to know God naturally; to see him in ourselves, in others, and in the wonder of nature. But then you add this to that! Excuse the pun, but " oh my goodness..." In moments like these, it is right that we should fall on our knees, and declare ourselves unworthy to receive such a gift. Yet, when we do, in that moment, Our Blessed Lord will reach out His hand, with the mark of His glorious wounds still on there from the Crucifixion, and beckon us to rise, and journey to the Father with Him. Let us grasp onto Our Lord, and let Him take us places we could never dream of going!
Joseph was there just as the fullness of Divine Revelation was beginning to be revealed. He was there at the "beginning of the end" so to speak. In that baby he held in his arms, there was God. There was still some more Revelation to come with Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension . However, what Joseph held often during the infancy of Our Lord was still a more fuller Revelation than had come at any point before. The Revelation was nearly complete, but he still had to grow in his understanding of it. May we, like Joseph, grow to understand and love more each day the gift and mystery that is Divine Revelation. May we also like him be one day be able to experience with full knowledge, understanding, and love the mystery revealed, God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Joseph, Foster Father of the Son of God, and Diligent protector of Christ, pray for us.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Coming to know God
Over the last ten posts or so, we have been going over some deeper spiritual and theological realities that are in the Catholic tradition. We have spoken about various virtues, sins, gifts, charisms, and fruits. All these are realities of the moral and spiritual life that Catholics, and indeed all baptized Christians, should seek and strive for. We also spoke of the beautiful, profound reality of the Real Presence of Our Lord in Holy Communion.
I thought for this post, we could step back, and look at something a little more basic that can apply to all people of good will, not just Christians. It is the general reality of man's search for, and coming to know, God. Before we can come to know God as Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), we need to be able to believe there even is a God, and that we can come to know Him.
The Catechism of the Catholic teaches some basic foundational principles in this regard:
1) Man is created by God, and for God. God is our Creator, and at the same time, our ultimate end. This means we will not be happy until we come to know Him.
2) God can be known. If we are made for God, He has to make himself available for us to know.
3) God can be known by natural reason via "converging and convincing arguments" (p.31) There are logical reasons to believe in God.
4) The world around us points to the reality of God. The order and beauty of it, as well as the philosophical principles of movement and becoming, can help lead us to know something of Him as the origin of the universe.
5) The interior of the human person also points to the reality of God. We long for the infinite, for truth, beauty, goodness, and morality. All this reveals that inside, we have something, usually referred to as a "soul", that comes from beyond us, and beyond this world, which is usually referred to as God.
6) Despite this, man does experience challenges coming to know God. The senses, the imagination, and the human mind are limited and finite. Add the reality of sin to that, and it makes the human experience of coming to know God often challenging.
7) There is another source of knowledge of God besides human reason, and that is Divine Revelation. "Through an utterly free decision, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. This he does by revealing the mystery, his plan of loving goodness, formed from all eternity in Christ, for the benefit of all men. God has fully revealed this plan by sending us his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit." (p.50) What God reveals in Revelation is not against nature or reason, but goes beyond both. Only in Divine Revelation, can we, for example, discover the Holy Spirit, and His gifts and fruits, which we have spoken of. We will speak more about Divine Revelation in future posts.
So, man yearns for God as his ultimate end, and can find Him via natural reason, and with the grace of Divine Revelation. This is the basics of what the Church teaches about man and his quest for God. She affirms man as a being who seeks happiness, and says, yes, man can find what he is looking for. She calls out to all men and women, and tells us not give up in our quest for happiness. Yes, the path She proposes is, in the words of Our Lord, "narrow" (Matthew 7:14). There may be moments of suffering and discomfort on the way, but underneath that, there can be peace, joy, and in the end, eternal beautitude. Let us all continue our search for God, in the world around us, in our inner beings, and in the message of Divine Revelation, as transmitted and interpreted by Holy Mother Church.
The road to finding God is sometimes hard, but it is worth it. It requires, among other virtues, patience. One of the titles in the litany to Saint Joseph is "mirror of patience". This means when this noble virtue looks itself in the mirror, it sees Joseph. Joseph had to be patient, to be able to absorb all that was being revealed to him as he raised the Son of God. A man of less patience would not have been suitable to handle all this goodness. Patience is good for us to practice, too, as God reveals Himself to us, in so much as we can handle it, a little each day.
Joseph, mirror of patience, pray for us.
I thought for this post, we could step back, and look at something a little more basic that can apply to all people of good will, not just Christians. It is the general reality of man's search for, and coming to know, God. Before we can come to know God as Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), we need to be able to believe there even is a God, and that we can come to know Him.
The Catechism of the Catholic teaches some basic foundational principles in this regard:
1) Man is created by God, and for God. God is our Creator, and at the same time, our ultimate end. This means we will not be happy until we come to know Him.
2) God can be known. If we are made for God, He has to make himself available for us to know.
3) God can be known by natural reason via "converging and convincing arguments" (p.31) There are logical reasons to believe in God.
4) The world around us points to the reality of God. The order and beauty of it, as well as the philosophical principles of movement and becoming, can help lead us to know something of Him as the origin of the universe.
5) The interior of the human person also points to the reality of God. We long for the infinite, for truth, beauty, goodness, and morality. All this reveals that inside, we have something, usually referred to as a "soul", that comes from beyond us, and beyond this world, which is usually referred to as God.
6) Despite this, man does experience challenges coming to know God. The senses, the imagination, and the human mind are limited and finite. Add the reality of sin to that, and it makes the human experience of coming to know God often challenging.
7) There is another source of knowledge of God besides human reason, and that is Divine Revelation. "Through an utterly free decision, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. This he does by revealing the mystery, his plan of loving goodness, formed from all eternity in Christ, for the benefit of all men. God has fully revealed this plan by sending us his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit." (p.50) What God reveals in Revelation is not against nature or reason, but goes beyond both. Only in Divine Revelation, can we, for example, discover the Holy Spirit, and His gifts and fruits, which we have spoken of. We will speak more about Divine Revelation in future posts.
So, man yearns for God as his ultimate end, and can find Him via natural reason, and with the grace of Divine Revelation. This is the basics of what the Church teaches about man and his quest for God. She affirms man as a being who seeks happiness, and says, yes, man can find what he is looking for. She calls out to all men and women, and tells us not give up in our quest for happiness. Yes, the path She proposes is, in the words of Our Lord, "narrow" (Matthew 7:14). There may be moments of suffering and discomfort on the way, but underneath that, there can be peace, joy, and in the end, eternal beautitude. Let us all continue our search for God, in the world around us, in our inner beings, and in the message of Divine Revelation, as transmitted and interpreted by Holy Mother Church.
The road to finding God is sometimes hard, but it is worth it. It requires, among other virtues, patience. One of the titles in the litany to Saint Joseph is "mirror of patience". This means when this noble virtue looks itself in the mirror, it sees Joseph. Joseph had to be patient, to be able to absorb all that was being revealed to him as he raised the Son of God. A man of less patience would not have been suitable to handle all this goodness. Patience is good for us to practice, too, as God reveals Himself to us, in so much as we can handle it, a little each day.
Joseph, mirror of patience, pray for us.
Sunday, June 5, 2016
9 charisms of the Holy Spirit
In today's Gospel, Our Lord raised a man from the dead in the midst of a large crowd. Here is what happened afterward:
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, crying out
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst, “and “God has visited his people.” (Luke 7:16)
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, crying out
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst, “and “God has visited his people.” (Luke 7:16)
What is a prophet, in the Catholic tradition? A prophet is one who speaks for God, and in doing so, communicates God's message to men. This message could refer to the past, the present, or the future. A prophet is NOT necessarily one who predicts the future, as is commonly thought to be the case when prophets are mentioned today. Prophecy can indeed speak to the future, but it can also speak to the past and present.
The people in today's Gospel were obviously influenced by the miracle that Jesus just performed. They thought that He was definitely a man who knew God, so they called Him a prophet. While that was not necessarily wrong, it was incomplete if that is all they thought He was. He was that, but as we know, He was and is a lot more; the Second Person of the Trinity, Son of God, Lord, Savior and Redeemer.
Prophecy is one of the charisms of the Holy Spirit that are illuminated in 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
A charism is a power given a believer by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church, the good of men, and to the needs of the world (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, p.799)
The nine charisms of the Holy Spirit are different from the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit that I spoke of in an earlier post. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to every baptized person, and are primarily for the good of that individual. The charisms, on the other hand, are given to some individuals as a grace from God not just for that person, but more importantly, for the Church. Some people may receive more than one charism, some one, and some none at all (although I believe everyone can receive at least one.)
Here is a list of the nine charisms, based on the Scripture passage above.
1) Word of wisdom a supernatural insight which reveals God's timing and method of ministry in given situation; it can explain a given revelation of one of the other eight charisms
2) Word of knowledge a supernatural revelation of facts past, present, or future which we did not learn through the efforts of the natural mind
3) Faith a supernatural outpouring or anointing of the Holy Spirit which enables us to confidently believe without a doubt that something spoken or undertaken in Jesus' name will be accomplished (distinct from the theological virtue of faith, which refers more to belief in what God has revealed in general, this charism, rather, is a belief in a specific instance when someone speaks or acts in Jesus' name)
4) Gifts of healing supernatural outpouring of God's power which results in the healing and sickness and disease without the use of medical means
5) Working of miracles interventions into the course of events which seem to contradict the so-called laws of nature
6) Prophecy a supernatural communication from God to an individual or a group of believers
7) Discernment of spirits a supernatural ability to recognize whether a person or situation is being motivated by the Holy Spirit, their human spirit, an evil spirit, or a combination of these spirits
8) Tongues a spontaneous, inspired utterance by the Holy Spirit in which we use our voice according to the Spirit's prompting (contrary to popular belief, it does not necessarily mean speaking in an unrecognizable voice, it could be speaking in any language God desires )
9) Interpretation of tongues a prophetic message given in response to God's signal of "speaking in tongues" ; this is distinct from tongues, as this is the interpretation that needs to follow the praying in tongues.
A lot more can and needs to be said about each of these charisms, and perhaps future posts will get into at least some of them in more detail. However, this gives us a brief introduction to them. I bet for a lot of readers of this blog, these charisms may seem a little "out there". However, there is no need to be afraid of any of them, as they all come from the same God who gives us all the theological virtues, as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are for the building up of Christ's Mystical Body, which is the Church, and for the good of all mankind. Let us pray, if it be God's will, that we can receive one or more of them, and combined with the gifts of the same Holy Spirit, and the theological virtues, may we do the works of grace, and may men and women look at us, and like Our Lord, believe we are men and women of God, and come to know Him through us.
The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit (see paragraph 797 in the Catechism). The Church, therefore, has the authority and responsibility to discern and confirm these charisms. Joseph is the protector of the Church. Therefore, we need to pray to him so that the Church can continue to discern and confirm the existence and power of these charisms for the good of the people of God.
Saint Joseph, Protector of Holy Church, pray for us.
Saturday, June 4, 2016
The theological virtue of hope
Several posts ago, I listed and defined the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. In that post, I said that hope was, in my opinion, the virtue we needed the most in today's world.
Yesterday, I received some bad news, which was nothing serious, but disappointing nonetheless. It got me thinking about hope. I would like to reflect on hope in a bit more detail in this post.
Here, again, is the Catechism of the Catholic Church's definition of hope, as found in paragraph 1817. "Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit."
Remember, a theological virtue is something infused by God, it is not something we can do on our own. We can practice and exercise this virtue, but only with God's grace, not by human effort. It makes sense because, looking at that definition, we can see why this act of virtue cannot be achieved by the normal human faculties. Man looks for his happiness elsewhere, not in God. Man trusts in money, or worldly wisdom, and many other things, before he places his trust in the Son of God. Man trusts more in his own strength than in the grace of the Holy Spirit.
What are some characteristics of the virtue of hope?
1) It takes the hopes that inspire our daily activities and orders them to the Kingdom. Exercising this virtue helps us desire the things of the Kingdom of God, above the things of this world, and act accordingly. This Kingdom, while only in its fullness in heaven, can begun to be experienced in this life.
2) It keeps us from discouragement. With hope, we place our trust in promises of solidarity and salvation from Divine Revelation. We know since those promises are from God, they will be fulfilled, and thus, we do not discouraged when things do not seemingly go as planned. We realize God is in control of everything. and that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28)
3) It sustains us in times of abandonment. With hope, we are given the strength to know that God always keeps his promises, and so, does not abandon us, despite appearances to the contrary. We follow Our Lord on the Cross who quoted Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", which may sound like He perhaps believed the Father had abandoned Him, but if you read Psalm 22 as a whole, it is much more an act of trust in God than anything else. Consider, for example, verse 24: For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him, but has listened to his cry for help." In referencing this Psalm, Christ was expressing hope. If it can sustain Our Lord in a time like that, it can sustain us in our trials.
4) It encourages us that we can indeed receive the happiness we are looking for. When we realize that we can be happy, now, and forever in heaven, we do not seek happiness in selfish pursuits, but rather in serving God and our fellow man.
So, hope can do some amazing things for us. If each person in the world would pray for the grace to receive this virtue, wow, the world could be a lot different place. If each of us would pray for the grace to receive this virtue, we would be less discouraged when things do not go our way, and even more importantly, we would more readily share the good news of Christ with others, and as a result, many more would be more conditioned to receive the awesome gift that is this virtue than seem to be today.
When I received my bad news yesterday, I immediately turned to the Lord, and was strengthened in hope that He has something better for me in mind than what I had planned. I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit in my life who gives me the grace to practice this virtue, and graciously convinces me of my sin when I do not.
In closing, I think it is worth posting Psalm 22 in its entirety. It can be the prayer of so many in the world today who are suffering. It is a graphic portrayal of sincere misery, but also, sincere hope, not hope from man, but hope from God. Jesus prayed this prayer often in His life, I am sure, but we know, based on Scripture, that it was at least at the forefront of His mind when he was suffering on the Cross for our salvation. If that is the case, it should be something we pray often in our lives, as well, as sharers in Christ's mission. I am confident that Our Lord's foster father Joseph was aware of this prayer, as well, and that it came to his mind during the challenging times in his life; when Mary became with child, fleeing Herod, losing Our Lord in the Temple, and others that we only may discover in heaven.
May good Saint Joseph intercede for us, and the entire world, to receive more of the wonderful virtue of hope.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Yesterday, I received some bad news, which was nothing serious, but disappointing nonetheless. It got me thinking about hope. I would like to reflect on hope in a bit more detail in this post.
Here, again, is the Catechism of the Catholic Church's definition of hope, as found in paragraph 1817. "Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit."
Remember, a theological virtue is something infused by God, it is not something we can do on our own. We can practice and exercise this virtue, but only with God's grace, not by human effort. It makes sense because, looking at that definition, we can see why this act of virtue cannot be achieved by the normal human faculties. Man looks for his happiness elsewhere, not in God. Man trusts in money, or worldly wisdom, and many other things, before he places his trust in the Son of God. Man trusts more in his own strength than in the grace of the Holy Spirit.
What are some characteristics of the virtue of hope?
1) It takes the hopes that inspire our daily activities and orders them to the Kingdom. Exercising this virtue helps us desire the things of the Kingdom of God, above the things of this world, and act accordingly. This Kingdom, while only in its fullness in heaven, can begun to be experienced in this life.
2) It keeps us from discouragement. With hope, we place our trust in promises of solidarity and salvation from Divine Revelation. We know since those promises are from God, they will be fulfilled, and thus, we do not discouraged when things do not seemingly go as planned. We realize God is in control of everything. and that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28)
3) It sustains us in times of abandonment. With hope, we are given the strength to know that God always keeps his promises, and so, does not abandon us, despite appearances to the contrary. We follow Our Lord on the Cross who quoted Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", which may sound like He perhaps believed the Father had abandoned Him, but if you read Psalm 22 as a whole, it is much more an act of trust in God than anything else. Consider, for example, verse 24: For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him, but has listened to his cry for help." In referencing this Psalm, Christ was expressing hope. If it can sustain Our Lord in a time like that, it can sustain us in our trials.
4) It encourages us that we can indeed receive the happiness we are looking for. When we realize that we can be happy, now, and forever in heaven, we do not seek happiness in selfish pursuits, but rather in serving God and our fellow man.
So, hope can do some amazing things for us. If each person in the world would pray for the grace to receive this virtue, wow, the world could be a lot different place. If each of us would pray for the grace to receive this virtue, we would be less discouraged when things do not go our way, and even more importantly, we would more readily share the good news of Christ with others, and as a result, many more would be more conditioned to receive the awesome gift that is this virtue than seem to be today.
When I received my bad news yesterday, I immediately turned to the Lord, and was strengthened in hope that He has something better for me in mind than what I had planned. I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit in my life who gives me the grace to practice this virtue, and graciously convinces me of my sin when I do not.
In closing, I think it is worth posting Psalm 22 in its entirety. It can be the prayer of so many in the world today who are suffering. It is a graphic portrayal of sincere misery, but also, sincere hope, not hope from man, but hope from God. Jesus prayed this prayer often in His life, I am sure, but we know, based on Scripture, that it was at least at the forefront of His mind when he was suffering on the Cross for our salvation. If that is the case, it should be something we pray often in our lives, as well, as sharers in Christ's mission. I am confident that Our Lord's foster father Joseph was aware of this prayer, as well, and that it came to his mind during the challenging times in his life; when Mary became with child, fleeing Herod, losing Our Lord in the Temple, and others that we only may discover in heaven.
May good Saint Joseph intercede for us, and the entire world, to receive more of the wonderful virtue of hope.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.b
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.c
In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
My mouthd is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they piercee my hands and my feet.
All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear youf I will fulfill my vows.
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
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