Sacred Scripture-1

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Sacred Scripture
Catechism Lesson IV: The unique Word of Sacred Scripture
Author: Catholic.net Staff Writer | Source: Catholic.net


PART ONE
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

SECTION ONE
"I BELIEVE" - "WE BELIEVE"



CHAPTER TWO
GOD COMES TO MEET MAN



ARTICLE 3
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, a word which is
"not a written and mute word, but the Word which is 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 1. 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 judgment. 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 Old Testament 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 Savior".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 fulfillment 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 vigor, 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 this 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: cf. ibid. 2,9:PL 176,642-643).



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 center.



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 fulfills 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).






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63 DV 13.
64 Cf. Heb 1:1-3.
65 St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 103,4,1:PL 37,1378; cf. Ps 104; Jn 1:1.
66 Cf. DV 21.
67 1 Thes 2:13; cf. DV 24.
68 DV 21.
69 DV 11.
70 DV 11; cf. Jn 20:31; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19-21; 3:15-16.
71 DV 11.
72 DV 11.
73 St. Bernard, S. missus est hom. 4,11:PL 183,86.
74 Cf. Lk 24:45.
75 Cf. DV 12 § 1.
76 DV 12 § 2.
77 DV 12 § 3.
78 Cf. DV 12 § 4.
79 Cf. Lk 24:25-27,44-46.
80 St. Thomas Aquinas, Expos. in Ps. 21,11; cf. Ps 22:14.
81 Origen, Hom. in Lev. 5,5:PG 12,454D.
82 Cf. Rom 12:6.
83 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I, 1, 10, ad I.
84 Cf. 1 Cor 10:2.
85 1 Cor 10:11; cf. Heb 3:1-4:11.
86 Cf. Rev 21:1-22:5.
87 Lettera gesta docet, quid credas allegoria, moralis quid agas, quo
tendas anagogia; Augustine of Dacia, Rotulus pugillaris, I: ed. A.
Walz: Angelicum 6 (1929) 256.
88 DV 12 § 3.
89 St. Augustine, Contra epistolam Manichaei, 5,6:PL 42,176.
90 Cf. DV 8 § 3.
91 Cf. DS 179; 1334-1336; 1501-1504.
92 Cf. DV 14.
93 DV 15.
94 DV 15.
95 DV 15.
96 DV 17; cf. Rom 1:16.
97 Cf. DV 20.
98 DV 18.
99 DV 19; cf. Acts 1:1-2.
100 DV 19.
101 DV 19.
102 St. Caesaria the Younger to St. Richildis and St. Radegunde, SCh
345, 480.
103 St. Thérèse of Lisieux, ms. autob. A 83v.
104 Cf. 1 Cor 10:6,11; Heb 10:l; l Pet 3:21.
105 Cf. Mk 12:29-31
106 Cf. 1 Cor 5:6-8; 10:1-11.
107 Cf. St. Augustine, Quaest. in Hept. 2,73:PL 34,623; Cf. DV 16.
108 1 Cor 15:28.
109 DV 21.
110 DV 22.
111 DV 24.
112 DV 25; cf. Phil 3:8 and St. Jerome, Commentariorum in Isaiam libri
xviii prol.:PL 24,17B.

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