Sacred Scripture – Page 5

Peter, you are the rock upon which I will build my church

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16 13-20)

A challenging gospel passage for people who are skeptical about Christ being THE Way, and giving the keys to Peter and thus to the Church. We have to ask ourselves: Who do you say Jesus is? Do you take His words seriously? Is Peter’s confession of Jesus believable? Do you know the Church in a loving and faith-filled way?

Catholics understanding the Book of Revelation and the Rapture

The rapture came and went…and this guy got caught up in it. Good for him. The rest of us will meander along…but in case you want to join the others in the rapture, the actual date is now October 21. So I am told. But what time should people be ready? Harold Camping, founder of Family Radio and rapture prophet. Camping might be ready for the rapture as he’s now recovering from a stroke. The 89 year old prophet of doom-and-gloom-Christian-style alters his guaranteed prediction of Judgement Day every so often.

In case you’re interested, we’re having a 3 presentations on the Book of Revelation, the Catholic teaching on the belief of the Second Coming Christ and what the rapture means. Brother Leo Checkai, OP, is going to lead us through the theology and visions as found in the Revelation and giving a strategy to read and understand this famous and mysterious final book of the Bible. Come for the class at Saint Catherine of Siena Church at 6:30 on June 29, July 6 and 13. The church is located at 411 East 68th Street, NYC.

photo taken from In Caritate Non Ficta by Philip Gerard Johnson: this pic is a hoot….

Siena Forum for Faith and Culture hosting a Lectio Divina training day with the American Bible Society

Pope tells Biblical Commission –and Church– not to reduce Bible to mere human genius

The Pontifical Biblical Commission is a group of theologians and scriptural scholars who help the Pope and the teaching mission of the Church exploring particular questions and concerns about the nature and reality of divine revelation and Christian life. The PBC is meeting this week in Rome led by Cardinal William J. Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; the theme is “Inspiration and Truth of the Bible.” Interesting. Did we forget that the sacred Scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit? One way of figuring out why something is important to the Pope or to sacred Magisterium is to be aware of the work done by these commissions. So, yes, there seems to be skepticism among the faithful that the Scriptures are revealed by God through the agency of human language. Recall, however, this is not the first time in salvation history that the Church has had to deal with this question: think of the various heresies from the early Church, the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment periods and even with the extreme use of the historical critical method of Scripture study. His Holiness reminds not only the professionally trained scholars but all of us that there can be in no way a reduction in how we interpret the Bible.

Here are the key points of what Benedict said to the PBC:

Continue reading Pope tells Biblical Commission –and Church– not to reduce Bible to mere human genius

Pope Benedict clarifies Christian view of who killed Jesus

The Jerusalem Post published a story today picking up on Pope Benedict’s clarifies what Christians believe about the Jews viz. the death Jesus. Sergio Minerbi’s article “Pope Benedict Revises the Gospels” looks at Benedict’s volume 2 of Jesus of Nazareth. This issue has been a painful one among Christians and Jews through the millennia. In his typical manner of precise writing –because of sharp thinking– Benedict challenges the reality of ideology that’s been a force for violence than reconciliation. This article ought to get you to re-read Nostra Aetate and to read volume 2 of Jesus of Nazareth.

The New American Bible, Revised Edition

The other day there was some press, most of it inane, about the revised edition of the New American Bible.

I’ve not been a fan of the NAB and so I hope this new work of the nearly 100 scholars, theologians and bishops have produced a better translation than the previous one.

The US Bishops’ Conference published online the 7 penitential psalms and song of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah for Lent, take a look.

Scripture is to fill us head to toe

At a priest’s ordination as bishop the Book of the
Gospels is held open over the man’s head by two deacons, a way to communicate that the
Scriptures are crucial to the life of the bishop and that Christ has infused
His Word in his heart and mind. Archbishop Timothy Broglio said this when he
ordained Bishop Spencer in 2010:

“Those
writings inspired by Almighty God and identified and transmitted over the
centuries by His Church must fill you from head to toe. You must be imbued with that word so
that whatever comes from your mouth will be an expression of what you have read
and heard. You will have a special
opportunity to deepen the faith of those to whom you are sent.” We are to be
similarly filled.

The Word of God is everything: hearing what the WORD has to say

I am reading Verbum Domini with great eagerness. I am talking my reading seriously and trying to ponder what the Pope has given us as a path to Christ and to live as an authentic Christian today. Let’s recall the extraordinary address of Pope Benedict XVI on October 6, 2008 where he said:

“the Word of God is the foundation of everything, it is the true reality. And to be realistic, we must rely upon this reality. We must change our idea that matter, solid things, things we can touch, are the more solid, the more certain reality. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount the Lord speaks to us about the two possible foundations for building the house of one’s life: sand and rock. The one who builds on sand builds only on visible and tangible things, on success, on career, on money. Apparently these are the true realities. But all this one day will pass away. We can see this now with the fall of large banks: this money disappears, it is nothing. And thus all things, which seem to be the true realities we can count on, are only realities of a secondary order. The one who builds his life on these realities, on matter, on success, on appearances, builds upon sand. Only the Word of God is the foundation of all reality, it is as stable as the heavens and more than the heavens, it is reality. Therefore, we must change our concept of realism. The realist is the one who recognizes the Word of God, in this apparently weak reality, as the foundation of all things. Realist is the one who builds his life on this foundation, which is permanent.”

Scott W. Hahn, Covenant and Communion (2009), p. 22.

In another place we read:

You cannot put revelation in your pocket like a book you carry around with you. It is a living reality that requires a living person as the locus of its presence.

That is, the believer becomes real insofar as he becomes the Word by hearing such that he does it. That seems to be the only reality that perdures. Revelation is an act in which God shows Himself. Faith is a corresponding act of hearing and doing the Word heard. Outside of that, everything else perishes into nothingness.

J. Ratzinger, God Word: Scripture – Tradtion – Office, Ignatius (2008): 52.

Revised Grail Psalter text available online

The Revised Grail Psalter is now available
online. This is version of the psalter that will be used in the sacred Liturgy at some point. These are the Psalms that were translated by Abbot Gregory Polan and his brother monks of Conception Abbey. Kudos to Abbot Gregory!

Lectio Divina in Verbum Domini

In the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini released today, I immediately started reading the document for what the Pope had to say about lectio divina. You may recall the Pope’s remarks for the 40th anniversary of Dei Verbum in 2005, he said lectio divina will bring about a spiritual springtime in Church. His words were:

“the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart (cf. Dei Verbum, 25). If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church –I am convinced of it– a new spiritual springtime.”

No less than 16 times does His Holiness use the words lectio divina.

Here are some points of interest in Verbum Domini regarding lectio:

46. Listening together to the word of God, engaging in biblical lectio divina, letting ourselves be struck by the inexhaustible freshness of God’s word which never grows old, overcoming our deafness to those words that do not ﬁt our own opinions or prejudices, listening and studying within the communion of the believers of every age: all these things represent a way of coming to unity in faith as a response to hearing the word of God.

48. The interpretation of sacred Scripture would remain incomplete were it not to include listening to those who have truly lived the word of God: namely, the saints. Indeed, “viva lectio est vita bonorum.” The most profound interpretation of Scripture comes precisely from those who let themselves be shaped by the word of God through listening, reading and assiduous meditation. It is certainly not by chance that the great currents of spirituality in the Church’s history originated with an explicit reference to Scripture.

82. Those aspiring to the ministerial priesthood are called to a profound personal relationship with God’s word, particularly in lectio divina, so that this relationship will in turn nurture their vocation: it is in the light and strength of God’s word that one’s speciﬁc vocation can be discerned and appreciated, loved and followed, and one’s proper mission carried out, by nourishing the heart with thoughts of God, so that faith, as our response to the word, may become a new criterion for judging and evaluating persons and things, events and issues. Such attention to the prayerful reading of Scripture must not in any way lead to a dichotomy with regard to the exegetical studies which are a part of formation. The Synod recommended that seminarians be concretely helped to see the relationship between biblical studies and scriptural prayer.

86. The Synod frequently insisted on the need for a prayerful approach to the sacred text as a fundamental element in the spiritual life of every believer, in the various ministries and states in life, with particular reference to lectio divina.

Devote yourself to the lectio of the divine Scriptures; apply yourself to this with perseverance. Do your reading with the intent of believing in and pleasing God. If during the lectio you encounter a closed door, knock and it will be opened to you by that guardian of whom Jesus said, ‘The gatekeeper will open it for him.’ By applying yourself in this way to lectio divina, search diligently and with unshakable trust in God for the meaning of the divine Scriptures, which is hidden in great fullness within.

For this reason, the privileged place for the prayerful reading of sacred Scripture is the liturgy, and particularly the Eucharist, in which, as we celebrate the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament, the word itself is present and at work in our midst. In some sense the prayerful reading of the Bible, personal and communal, must always be related to the Eucharistic celebration. Just as the adoration of the Eucharist prepares for, accompanies and follows the liturgy of the Eucharist, so too prayerful reading, personal and communal, prepares for, accompanies and deepens what the Church celebrates when she proclaims the word in a liturgical setting. By so closely relating lectio and liturgy, we can better grasp the criteria which should guide this practice in the area of pastoral care and in the spiritual life of the People of God.

87. The documents produced before and during the Synod mentioned a number of methods for a faith-ﬁlled and fruitful approach to sacred Scripture. Yet the greatest attention was paid to lectio divina, which is truly “capable of opening up to the faithful the treasures of God’s word, but also of bringing about an encounter with Christ, the living word of God.”