In Scripture the Church Finds Nourishment and Strength

Some of our Protestant brothers and sisters like to say they are people of the Book - the Bible - and that Catholics and the Catholic Church are not.

Never mind that the Church compiled the Bible, includes Scriptures in its daily Masses, has Bible study groups in many parishes, bases many of its prayers on Scripture, and so on.

If our brothers and sisters still have sincere questions about Scripture and the Catholic Church, they need only consult the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It has an entire section on Scripture. 

SACRED SCRIPTURE

I. Christ - The Unique Word of Sacred Scripture

101 In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his goodness God speaks to them in human words: "Indeed the words of God, expressed in the words of men, are in every way like human language, just as the Word of the eternal Father, when he took on himself the flesh of human weakness, became like men."⁶³

102 Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely:⁶⁴

You recall that one and the same Word of God extends throughout Scripture, that it is one and the same Utterance that resounds in the mouths of all the sacred writers, since he who was in the beginning God with God has no need of separate syllables; for he is not subject to time.⁶⁵

103 For this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord's Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God's Word and Christ's Body.⁶⁶

104 In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, "but as what it really is, the word of God".⁶⁷ "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them."⁶⁸

II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture

105 God is the author of Sacred Scripture. "The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit."⁶⁹

"For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself."⁷⁰

106 God inspired the human authors of the sacred books. "To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while he employed them in this task, made full use of their own faculties and powers so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more."⁷¹

107 The inspired books teach the truth. "Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures."⁷²

108 Still, the Christian faith is not a "religion of the book". Christianity is the religion of the "Word" of God, "not a written and mute word, but incarnate and living".⁷³ If the Scriptures are not to remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must, through the Holy Spirit, "open (our) minds to understand the Scriptures."⁷⁴

III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture

109 In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words.⁷⁵

110 In order to discover the sacred authors' intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current. "For the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression."⁷⁶

111 But since Sacred Scripture is inspired, there is another and no less important principle of correct interpretation, without which Scripture would remain a dead letter. "Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written."⁷⁷

The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it.⁷⁸

112 Be especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole Scripture". Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God's plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since his Passover.⁷⁹

The phrase "heart of Christ" can refer to Sacred Scripture, which makes known his heart, closed before the Passion, as the Scripture was obscure. But the Scripture has been opened since the Passion; since those who from then on have understood it, consider and discern in what way the prophecies must be interpreted.⁸⁰

113 2. Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the whole Church". According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church's heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God's Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture (". . . according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church"⁸¹).

114 3. Be attentive to the analogy of faith.⁸² By "analogy of faith" we mean the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of Revelation.

The senses of Scripture

115 According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. the profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church.

116 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal."⁸³

117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.
1. the allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian Baptism.⁸⁴
2. the moral sense. the events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written "for our instruction".⁸⁵
3. the anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.⁸⁶

118 A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses:

The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith;
The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny.⁸⁷

119 "It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgement. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God."⁸⁸

But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.⁸⁹ 

IV. The Canon of Scripture

120 It was by the apostolic Tradition that the Church discerned which writings are to be included in the list of the sacred books.⁹⁰

This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New.⁹¹

The Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi.

The New Testament: the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the Acts of the Apostles, the Letters of St. Paul to the Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, the Letter to the Hebrews, the Letters of James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, and Jude, and Revelation (the Apocalypse).

The Old Testament

121 The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value,⁹² for the Old Covenant has never been revoked.

122 Indeed, "the economy of the Old Testament was deliberately SO oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men."⁹³ "Even though they contain matters imperfect and provisional,⁹⁴ The books of the OldTestament bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God's saving love: these writings "are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way."⁹⁵

123 Christians venerate the Old Testament as true Word of God. the Church has always vigorously opposed the idea of rejecting the Old Testament under the pretext that the New has rendered it void (Marcionism).

The New Testament

124 "The Word of God, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, is set forth and displays its power in a most wonderful way in the writings of the New Testament"⁹⁶ which hand on the ultimate truth of God's Revelation. Their central object is Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son: his acts, teachings, Passion and glorification, and his Church's beginnings under the Spirit's guidance.⁹⁷

125 The Gospels are the heart of all the Scriptures "because they are our principal source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Saviour".⁹⁸

126 We can distinguish three stages in the formation of the Gospels:
1. the life and teaching of Jesus. the Church holds firmly that the four Gospels, "whose historicity she unhesitatingly affirms, faithfully hand on what Jesus, the Son of God, while he lived among men, really did and taught for their eternal salvation, until the day when he was taken up."⁹⁹
2. the oral tradition. "For, after the ascension of the Lord, the apostles handed on to their hearers what he had said and done, but with that fuller understanding which they, instructed by the glorious events of Christ and enlightened by the Spirit of truth, now enjoyed."¹⁰⁰
3. the written Gospels. "The sacred authors, in writing the four Gospels, selected certain of the many elements which had been handed on, either orally or already in written form; others they synthesized or explained with an eye to the situation of the churches, the while sustaining the form of preaching, but always in such a fashion that they have told us the honest truth about Jesus."¹⁰¹

127 The fourfold Gospel holds a unique place in the Church, as is evident both in the veneration which the liturgy accords it and in the surpassing attraction it has exercised on the saints at all times:

There is no doctrine which could be better, more precious and more splendid than the text of the Gospel. Behold and retain what our Lord and Master, Christ, has taught by his words and accomplished by his deeds.¹⁰²

But above all it's the gospels that occupy my mind when I'm at prayer; my poor soul has so many needs, and yet this is the one thing needful. I'm always finding fresh lights there; hidden meanings which had meant nothing to me hitherto.¹⁰³

The unity of the Old and New Testaments

128 The Church, as early as apostolic times,¹⁰⁴ and then constantly in her Tradition, has illuminated the unity of the divine plan in the two Testaments through typology, which discerns in God's works of the Old Covenant prefigurations of what he accomplished in the fullness of time in the person of his incarnate Son.

129 Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. Such typological reading discloses the inexhaustible content of the Old Testament; but it must not make us forget that the Old Testament retains its own intrinsic value as Revelation reaffirmed by our Lord himself.¹⁰⁵ Besides, the New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament.¹⁰⁶ As an old saying put it, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.¹⁰⁷

130 Typology indicates the dynamic movement toward the fulfilment of the divine plan when "God [will] be everything to everyone."¹⁰⁸ Nor do the calling of the patriarchs and the exodus from Egypt, for example, lose their own value in God's plan, from the mere fact that they were intermediate stages.

V. Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church

131 "and such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigour, and the children of the Church as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life."¹⁰⁹ Hence "access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful."¹¹⁰

132 "Therefore, the study of the sacred page should be the very soul of sacred theology. the ministry of the Word, too - pastoral preaching, catechetics and all forms of Christian instruction, among which the liturgical homily should hold pride of place - is healthily nourished and thrives in holiness through the Word of Scripture."¹¹¹

133 The Church "forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful... to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.¹¹² 

IN BRIEF

134 "All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and that one book is Christ, because all divine Scripture speaks of Christ, and all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ" (Hugh of St. Victor, De arca Noe 2, 8: PL 176, 642).

135 "The Sacred Scriptures contain the Word of God and, because they are inspired, they are truly the Word of God" (DV 24).

136 God is the author of Sacred Scripture because he inspired its human authors; he acts in them and by means of them. He thus gives assurance that their writings teach without error his saving truth (cf DV 11).

137 Interpretation of the inspired Scripture must be attentive above all to what God wants to reveal through the sacred authors for our salvation. What comes from the Spirit is not fully "understood except by the Spirit's action' (cf. Origen, Hom. in Ex. 4, 5: PG 12, 320).

138 The Church accepts and venerates as inspired the 46 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New. 

139 The four Gospels occupy a central place because Christ Jesus is their centre.

140 The unity of the two Testaments proceeds from the unity of God's plan and his Revelation. the Old Testament prepares for the New and the New Testament fulfils the Old; the two shed light on each other; both are true Word of God.

141 "The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord" (DV 21): both nourish and govern the whole Christian life. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps 119:105; cf. Is 50:4).

Pax et bonum

Actors Have a Moral Responsibility

I caught a broadcast of Sergeant York today. I've seen it many times before, but I happily watched it again. Great movie. 

The love interest was played by Joan Leslie. She was all of 16 when the movie was made.

Joan was a lovely young lady, quite talented. She was in High Sierra with Humphrey Bogart when she was 15, and in Yankee Doodle Dandy with Jame Cagney when she was 17. She seemed destined for stardom.

But then she, a devout Catholic, began to object to some roles on moral and religious grounds. In 1947, when she was 22, the Catholic Theater Guild gave her an award because of her "consistent refusal to use her talents and art in film productions of objectionable character."  

As a result, she was essentially blackballed in Hollywood. She made a few more movies, but not major ones, and appeared sporadically on television. Stardom eluded her. But she married, remained married for some 40 years, raised two daughters, did a great deal of charitable work, and so on.

I admire her because she, an attractive and talented actress, chose to follow her conscience rather than sell out her beliefs and morals for the sake of success. 

Too many actors - male and female - don't follow her example. They portray characters who engage in all sorts of immoral activities on screen and stage, including appearing nude or semi-nude, simulating sex, engaging in sex outside of marriage, and so on. In doing so, they model this behavior for their audiences - including impressionable young people. 

Yes, I've heard the arguments that they are simply showing what is going on in the world. But that's just a rationalization. By playing such roles they are helping to promote and normalize this kind of behavior.

They have a responsibility to use their talents wisely and well. As Pope St. John Paul II observed, "Those who perceive in themselves... the artistic vocation as poet, writer, sculptor, painter, musician, and actor feel at the same time an obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it, in order to put it to service of their neighbor and the humanity as a whole."

Maybe if we had more Joan Leslies the performing arts might provide positive role models and help counter the trend toward decadence in our culture. 

Pax et bonum

Bobby Clerihew

Robert Zimmerman

adopted a persona as part of his musical career plan.

Given his singing voice

he might have thought it was his only choice.

I saw the recent Dylan biopic.  I didn't really like it - it was okay, but not as good as some folks said it was - but it did inspire a clerihew. 

Pax et bonum

Franciscan Political Discourse

We live in politically troubled times. There is a great deal of division over issues.

As part of this division, some people who disagree over issues have resorted to violence, and frequently demonize their opponents. We see so many politicians, pundits, media commentators, and so on labeling opponents "Fascists," "Communists," Nazis," "libtards," "racists," "idiots," "pedophiles," "perverts," "liars," and more, and consistently assuming the opponents are evil and are acting out of the worst possible motives. 

As bad as it is to hear these leaders and other public figures stoop to this level, we hear their words echoed by some in the general population. And sadly, among some religious individuals.

Such tactics undermine civil discourse.

And such words and assumptions are not in keeping with Franciscan spirituality and attitudes.

Yes, one can disagree over actions and policies, and one should speak out about the issues when we view some actions as unwise or morally wrong. We should warn about possible negative consequences of acting in certain ways and by pursuing certain policies.

But some of the issues over which we disagree are prudential in nature. In other words, people might disagree, but both sides may have good intentions. And it is clearly not Franciscan in nature to assume one's opponents are always acting with evil intentions. 

We can criticize the policies, but we should not attack the person.

St. Francis lived in a time of division and violence that parallels - or exceeds - ours. They had political factions, vendettas, wars, all sorts of injustice, and more. But St. Francis focused on what was good in all individuals, including those he could have viewed as enemies. We see that clearly when he went to the Sultan. While many political leaders and Crusaders viewed Muslims as evil and heretics, St. Francis viewed the Sultan as a fellow human being and child of God, and treated him with respect.

That should be the model for us in how we act and speak. 

St. Francis did write once to political leaders.  

 TO THE RULERS OF THE PEOPLE.

To all podestàs, and consuls, judges and governors, in whatever part of the world, and to all others to whom this letter may come, Brother Francis, your little and contemptible servant, wishes health and peace to you.

Consider and see that the day of death draws nigh. I ask you, therefore, with such reverence as I can, not to forget the Lord on account of the cares and solicitudes of this world and not to turn aside from His commandments, for all those who forget Him and decline from His commandments are cursed and they shall be forgotten by Him. And when the day of death comes, all that which they think they have shall be taken away from them. And the wiser and more powerful they may have been in this world, so much the greater torments shall they endure in hell. 

Wherefore, I strongly advise you, my lords, to put aside all care and solicitude and to receive readily the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in holy commemoration of Him. And cause so great honor to be rendered the Lord by the people committed to you, that every evening it may be announced by a crier or by another sign to the end that praises and thanks shall resound to the Lord God Almighty from all the people. And if you do not do this, know that you are beholden to render an account before your Lord God Jesus Christ on the day of Judgment. Let those who keep this writing with them and observe it know that they are blessed by the Lord God.

Pax et bonum

Getting Back on the Folk Stage!

March 31 I will be performing at the local Folksinging Society’s Members’ Showcase Concert. The concert will consist of three acts or performers, each getting 25-30 minutes.

I have regularly played at church and for my Fraternity, but I have not performed for an audience in a folk-type setting in more than 25 years!

The coordinator of the concert asked for a picture and a bio. Here’s what I sent him:

I discovered folk music through Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, and Simon and Garfunkel. I was especially inspired by Seeger’s joyful performing, social concern, and sense of humor.

I performed sporadically in coffee houses and at festivals in the 1970’s and 1980’s. In addition, two friends requested that I provide the music for their garden wedding: They wanted all Dylan tunes. And I was even part of the community choir for a Peter, Paul & Mary Holiday Concert at the Eastman Theatre in the late 1980’s. But by the 1990’s I had shifted my focus to being a children’s performer and acting with local community theater groups. I blended the two to become a professional Santa, something I continue to do. My only regular singing and playing since the 1990’s has been church-related.

But being involved with (this group), and seeing friends perform, has inspired me to return to the stage to play folk music again.


I’ve selected the following songs for my set:

I’m Gonna Live ‘til the Day I Die (original)
Bottle of Wine (Tom Paxton)
Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport (Rolf Harris)
I Am Going Home (original)
Oh Sinner Man (traditional)
There’s a Great Big Monster Under My Bed (original)
Walking Down the Line (Bob Dylan)
Get Up and Go (Pete Seeger)

Of the original songs, “Gonna Live” was an upbeat tune I wrote 40 or more years ago. The message is that no matter what happens we should live fully up until the end. Of the named “people” in the Song, Hank Scudder, the farmer, was based on a garage in my home town; Seamus Ferlie, the bad singer, was my pet cat (the fiddle reference was a joke, as fiddles were supposedly strung with catgut); Mollie, the victim of a stroke, was my wife’s dog.

“I Am Going Home” was written two years ago in response after hearing a song about a guy deserting his woman, leaving her the house, and not caring if she’s grieving. I didn’t like that message, so I wrote a song about a man who looks forward to going home.

The “Monster” song was one I wrote during my days as a children’s performer back in the 1990’s. The monster turns out to be friendly, enjoying catch, tic-tac-toe, and telling jokes. It went with a story about overcoming childhood fear of monsters.

The Paxton song is one I always liked. “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport” was a novelty hit when I was 8; it was the first song on the radio that caught my attention. I had grown up in a family where my mother was hearing impaired and my father was tone deaf, so there was little music in our home. I date my interest in music to hearing that song.

“Oh Sinner Man” is my own arrangement of a traditional song I first heard Peter, Paul, and Mary perform. “Walking Down the Line” is an odd little Bob Dylan tune I discovered through Arlo Guthrie’s cover of it. And “Get Up and Go” is a Pete Seeger tune I always liked, and, given my gray hair and aching joints, is appropriate for me!

I used to play out back in the 1970’s and 1980’s. But I was always self conscious about my voice and my playing, and I didn’t like the idea of trying to tour. Then a woman I was with in those days told me I was not good enough. Her remark fed into my own doubts, and so I stopped playing out.

In the 1990’s I did become a children’s performer - stories and songs - in part because I felt more comfortable about children, who I felt were less demanding. I could be silly with them, and I didn’t have to be perfect. But as I became more involved with theater and playing/singing in church, and when I returned to teaching and so my schedule was less flexible, I stopped doing that.

Then I attended a members’ concert in December that featured three friends. One of them suggested I give it a try. I decided it was time to get back on stage.

I plan to suggest friends bring ear plugs, though!

Pax et bonum