Bahhhh!!!

The erudite Msgr. Charles Pope has written a nice article for the Archdiocese of Washington's blogsite about the last Sunday's Gospel reading - John 10:27-30 (which also ties in to the previous weekend's Gospel - John 21:1-19). We always hear that we are like sheep: always wandering off & getting lost. And that's probably true.

But the good monsignor has some other interesting observations, both good & not so good. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I reproduce one of the more salient points here...

Sheep are wary... Sheep have the remarkable quality of knowing their master's voice and of instinctively fearing any other voice and fleeing from it. In this matter sheep are smarter than most of us. For we do not flee voices contrary to Christ. Instead we draw close and say, "Tell me more." In fact we spend a lot of time and money to listen to other voices. We spend huge amounts of money to buy televisions so that the enemy's voice can influence us and out children. We spend large amounts of time with TV, radio, Internet. And we can so easily be drawn to the enemy's voice. And not only do we NOT flee it, but we feast on it. And instead of rebuking it we turn and rebuke the voice of god and put his word on trial instead of putting the world on trial. The goal for us is to be more wary, like sheep and to recognize only one voice, that of the Lord...

A little H.E. advice: read everything Msgr. Pope writes.

Mosaic photo taken at the Basilica de Notre Dame de Fourvier overlooking Lyon, France in 2008.

The Bible V: Interpretation

Now that we have some idea of what the Bible is - the collection of writings that the Catholic Church accepts to be inspired by God – we turn to consider how we can understand it. Fortunately, the Bible originated within the Church, so we can learn from her how to profit from a correct reading of it.

...

The Church’s understanding of Divine Revelation was well summarized in the conciliar document Dei Verbum & further elaborated upon in the Catechism (50-141) (both documents available at the excellent Vatican website: www.vatican.va). These documents are well-grounded in the Church’s theological meditations since antiquity & provide a set of guiding tools for understanding the Scriptures. Anyone making a serious inquiry into the Bible should first take time to read & re-read these crucial texts, which are relatively short, but extremely rich.

...

Now, I hear all the time that “in the old days” the Faithful were discouraged from reading the Bible. While this undoubtedly happened in some times & places, this mentality is definitely not in accord with the mind of the Church, which has unceasingly striven to impart to the Faithful every good thing necessary for the sake of their salvation using every means available. However, what the Church has always been against is handing someone the spiritual equivalent of a nuclear device without the training & tools to operate it &, rather, leaving it to their own devices to figure it out, which has historically proven disastrous. Recall that every major heresy in history of the Church has hijacked the Scriptures to “prove” that it was right. Even a casual look into the Bible will be enough to show that it is not exactly crystal clear & self-explanatory; & that some help is required.

...

Starting with these two documents, we can profit tremendously from the wisdom of Holy Mother Church in approaching & reading the Bible. Next we will examine some specific techniques.

...

Other articles in this Knights of Columbus newsletter series:

The Bible IV - From the Church for the Church

The Bible III - Inspiration of the New Testament

The Bible II - Inspiring and Inspired

The Bible I - The Sacred Collection

Resurrexit sicut dixit

He is risen!
Alleluia!
Indeed, He is risen!
Alleluia!

We have so much for which to be grateful, especially God's gift of himself to us in the person of Christ Jesus, crucified & risen.

We should also be grateful for our Pope, whom I believe to be one of the greatest theological & philisophical intellects of recent times, while still preaching & teaching in a wonderful pastoral manner. Click here for his amazing homily for Easter Vigil from the Vatican website.

Of course the central message is Baptism, but notice all the different approaches & symbols he uses to reveal its meaning & power. There is too much there to take in at once - it requires pondering from several different angles:

The postponing of death vs. the medicine of immortality,
The oil of gladness & the garment of light,
The darkness of the fallen world of the West vs. the rising sun of the East,
The works of death & of life,
Finally, the gift of joy.

I wish you all a peaceful & joyful Paschal week.

Resurrexit sicut dixit
"He is risen, as he said." Mt 28:6

Photo from Whitefriar's church in Dublin, Ireland