Divine Revelation and Our Assent

"If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it's not the gospel you believe, but yourself"
~ St. Augustine

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A question has been posed to me of late, that has (as often happens) caused me to dive into deeper waters in search of an adequate response: 

What are the relationships between Scripture, the Church, and our faith in Jesus Christ? In particular, how do Catholics read the Bible, why do they accept the Pope/bishops/Magisterium, and why is Catholic worship not centered on the Word of God (ie, the Bible)? 

While I am continuing to formulate my own understanding of these questions, I thought these questions to be good ones for all of us - believers in the entirety of Catholicism or not - to consider. For it cuts to the very heart of what it means to be Catholic, to actually embrace and assent to the Catholic Church and what it means in the fullest sense to belong to her. 

The crucial point to remember is that the dogmas and doctrines of the Church are not mere entities that jumble together, like Lego blocks stacked in one shape or the other with various connections depending on the person's own belief of how they fit. No, the Church has always held that there is ONE Truth, and that is the Person of Jesus Christ. All Divine Revelation is indeed solely Him, expressed in various ways but primarily in the twin pillars of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Thus we as Catholics do not believe in one doctrine of papal authority and one doctrine of scriptural inerrancy - combining them however we might think they should mix. It is rather that our Catholic faith is of one piece: we accept all of it and hold all of the Church's teachings simultaneously, through our one faith in Jesus Christ and our assent to all which flows out of that stream of faith.


This is the ongoing struggle of Protestantism, which split from Catholicism with desires to hold only one or a few of the truths of faith, but ignoring or rejecting others - and so the process of splintering and splitting and kicking out pastors and creating new churches goes on and on and on... until at last you end up with the Unitarians that are united only in their belief that they are called Unitarians. The very first split determines the ultimate result: each person being their own "pope" and their own preacher and teacher, subject to no one and no religious authority but themselves, holding only a vague notion that "God speaks to me Himself" (except there is no justification for this belief in Scripture... those who heard God directly always received ratification of this from His ecclesial authorities, and under normal conditions the will and actions of God, and Jesus Himself in the Gospels, were mediated through His priests and those He commissioned as prophets, apostles, and bishops! What grounds do we have to think we are otherwise?). This is not the fullness of faith that Christ instituted in the gathering and sending of His apostles and disciples. Thus, it is the very fact that Catholic theology is a "seamless garment" encompassing so many seemingly diverse beliefs and practices that has caused so many people to reconsider the seemingly outrageous claims the Church makes in light of the wholeness of faith she professes... and then assent to them.


Thus to answer in a brief way the questions posed above: 

1) We do more than read the Bible, we truly "read" the Bible in everything that we do as Catholics, from our liturgical expression of our faith to our personal prayer to our spontaneous prayer to our understanding of the very purpose of life. 

2) We accept the Pope/bishops/Magisterium because a) Jesus entered the world within the context of the Jewish tradition and this fundamental ecclesial framework did not change in the early church, b) the early church, clearly led by Peter and the apostolic tradition, gave us the oral tradition which became the Sacred Scriptures compiled into what we know as the Bible, under God's authority, and c) the Bible itself speaks of the need to be interpreted and taught in accordance with the tradition. 

3) Catholic worship is completely, totally and utterly centered on the Word of God because it is completely centered on the Person of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice to the Father by which the gates of heaven are opened to us... We do not simply go to a place and read aloud Scripture (though we do that too, and not just in two or three readings, but throughout all the responses and prayers of the liturgy) or listen to someone speak to the power of God in their lives (though we often hear that too in our homilies), or do certain actions that are only symbols of our individual beliefs (though many of our actions are symbolic, we do them believing that they are more than symbols - they actually effect what they symbolize). The whole purpose of Catholic worship is to come together to be united in actual participation WITH the sole Word of God, in His Scripture and in His Person, as connected to Him as the head is connected to the body, as He worships the Father according to the Father's will. Wow.

As always, I caution the reader that I am merely a lay person who has tried to work through the issues of faith in Jesus Christ, have come to accept the Catholic Church, and have long considered what she teaches. To the best of my understanding I write, but what I have written is still very inadequate in conveying this understanding... and of course I am only trying to explain authority, not be an authority! However, being a part of the universal Church means that I am not in this alone, thank heavens. =) Here are two online resources I've found recently, dealing with Scripture, the Church and the Magisterium (the ecclesial authorities that we grant our assent to) that I hope may be of more usefulness to you than my own feeble words:


1) Dei Verbum ("On the Word of God", from the Second Vatican Council) is the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, expressing in particular the Catholic belief in the place and role of Sacred Scripture in the life of the Church and in each Christian.

In particular, read it while keeping this part in mind: 

This tradition which comes from the Apostles develop in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. (5) For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down. This happens through the contemplation and study made by believers, who treasure these things in their hearts (see Luke, 2:19, 51) through a penetrating understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience, and through the preaching of those who have received through Episcopal succession the sure gift of truth. For as the centuries succeed one another, the Church constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth until the words of God reach their complete fulfillment in her.

2) "On the Inspiration of Scripture" by Cardinal Newman, written in 1884 and dealing with the primary issues of Scriptural inerrancy and papal infallibility, and the overall question of authority and dogmatic belief within the Church.

Of which he begins his main discussion by stating:

I answer that there are two such dogmas; one relates to the authority of Scripture, the other to its interpretation. As to the authority of Scripture, we hold it to be, in all matters of faith and morals, divinely inspired throughout; as to its interpretation, we hold that the Church is, in faith and morals, the one infallible expounder of that inspired text.

Just beautiful - Newman wrote this around the time of the First Vatican Council, and so many of his arguments and trains of thought show influence from both the thinking of those great fathers of the Church and the teachings of the Council of Trent a few centuries earlier (1500s).

Want more? Try getting copies of:

* Transformed by Grace: Scripture, Sacraments and the Sonship of Christ 
* The Word, Church and Sacraments in Protestantism and Catholicism
* The Sources of Catholic Dogma

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Help for Haiti

In the midst of moving and a chaos of boxes, I don't have much to say. Without income at the moment, I also do not have material means available to me to help out the people of Haiti who are reeling from such a devastating disaster.

But I can point out to you this wonderful round-up of excellent ways that you, if you have the means, can help Haiti.

And ask you to join me in praying for our brethren in the South Pacific, and may the Lord in His mercy grant peace to those who died, comfort to those who remain, and strength to all who are beginning the process of rebuilding.

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The Time We Have

This morning I find myself idly pondering once again just how I got where I am and where I might be going from here - and realizing that I'm forgetting once again all about the present moment itself. Via The Anchoress and Deacon Greg, this video sums up nicely, with not a word spoken, exactly what we always need to remember about life and death:

One year in 120 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

Life is a progression, we do need to act within our daily circumstances and plan for the future. But life is also a cycle, death is part of that cycle but it is not the end of it. We step into life and "the road goes ever on and on" until, like Frodo and Bilbo we find ourselves surprised at our own front door, where we started from. And at our death we will recognize that door and be glad, and behind us others will still be walking and behind them others will be starting out anew.

My dear Mom (who passed away suddenly this past December 2nd, 2009) said a lot of wise things to me, but one of the last conversations we were blessed to have I remember as clearly as a bell... I was all upset for one reason or another and she just kept telling me, "let GO honey, and let God!" It was always her favorite idea to use, I'd heard it before, and she was nothing if not consistent in this regard - she herself always had that underlying current of strength, of trust and faith that in the end all things would be well in God. She practiced what she preached. Yet always before, and even in that conversation, I didn't really let up and let go. I had a mindset of "fine, but I still need to do SOMETHING right?" and continued to distract myself out of a desire to be in control of something in my life. I see now that my faith was, and still is, weaker than hers and this is partly (or entirely?) the reason why I struggle so much when I do not have to. But she just kept repeating it in that gentle persistent way. Even now I know she is still repeating it and will repeat it to me all my life. And you know what? She's right.

As the years go by for me now, and for my Dad who is ahead of me on the road, I must remember that there are seasons in life that are NOT things I can control, and that just as the seasons go along without me, I must let go of my life and let God lead me.

Verse to meditate on today:
"For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it." (Luke 9:24)

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Writing in the Snow

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Greetings to the whole world, but perhaps especially to those in my corner of the globe, and those whom I am fortunate to know and call friends. After a long hiatus from blogging I have decided to take up the virtual quill again. Rather than restart on one of my previous blogs, I looked out my window at the fresh snowfall here in Minnesota and realized that just as it is a joy to go out and be the first down the snowy path so too would it be better to begin anew.

The snow itself also inspired me in naming and designing this new blog - and those who know me are not surprised in the least! =) For God still knows me by Sr. Neva, I am sure, from my time with the Benedictine sisters. When I received the habit, Mother Prioress was inspired by the Holy Spirit to name me for Our Lady of the Snows, in honor of the Basilica of St. Mary Major which was in turn in honor of the great declaration of the Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431 that Mary is Theotokos, "Mother of God", and not only the mother of Jesus' humanity. What a glad surprise it was to hear my religious name be announced as being this title of Our Lady, for I had not spoken of my devotion to Our Lady of Snows to anyone, not even Mother! I could see the smile of God present in this gift of a name, and so how can I help but continue to smile back? =)

My devotion began quite a few years ago now, when I first returned to God and embraced the Catholic Church of my youth. I learned of the tradition of the feast day of August 5th, of Our Lady of the Snows and, when later on I was blessed to go to Rome, first on pilgrimage and then to study, I fell in love with the Basilica itself as being a true spiritual home to me. Why?

For one thing, this is the church where there is a sense of Christmas all year round, because kept within the church is a relic of the Christ-Child's manger. While one might argue the scientific authenticity of the relic, one cannot deny that it does what relics are ultimately meant to do - lead you closer to the Lord through contemplation of their story. And while the Cross is at the center of our faith, we often forget that in order to get to the Cross our Lord first was a Child, born of Mary. We too must always stay close to Mary and her Child, if we desire to enter into the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection. We say "Stay with us, Lord", but our Lord says to us in response, "Stay with My Mother!"

The second major attraction that the tradition of Our Lady of the Snows and the Basilica of St. Mary Major have for me has to do with the Basilica itself - it is nearly a living witness itself to the growth and spread of Christianity throughout the ages, being one of the oldest churches maintained as well as the first major church dedicated to Our Lady. To walk into this church, so ancient and yet so vibrant and young in its atmosphere, is to feel deep in your bones the reality of the Church through the ages as the Body of Christ. Of the four patriarchal basilicas, St. Mary Major is the church of child-like wonder, of joy, and of celebration in being a Christian. St. Peter's is majestic, and bears witness to the struggles of the early Church and the development of her doctines. St. John Lateran is the Pope's own church, the Cathedral of Rome, and it is a very Roman church. St. Paul's Outside the Walls is arguably a tomb more than a church, though of course St. Paul himself would rather the focus be on what he did rather than on where he lies buried now.

Only in St. Mary Major is the focus on the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, on the joy of His birth and coming, on the loving and comforting reality of Mary as being given to each of us as our own Mother by our Lord Himself.

And so, I take my cue for this new blog from what I have learned so far from Our Lady of the Snows - to say "yes" to God continually, to seek out the joy of Christ's presence in all the people in my life (that means you, too!), to renew the Nativity in my heart each day, and to seek out and share with the world the things that show our Christian joy. After all, as Chesterton said, "joy... is the gigantic secret of the Christian." But it should not be a secret, and our Christian vocation in the world is to share this secret far and wide, without becoming distracted or dismayed by the evil we see all too easily, and perhaps even do more easily, it may seem.

Where to start? Why not with this poem, which inspired this blog's name, as we continue to celebrate the Christmas season during this Octave of Epiphany:

The Feast of Snow

by G.K. Chesterton

There is heard a hymn when the panes are dim,
And never before or again,
When the nights are strong with a darkness long,
And the dark is alive with rain.

Never we know but in sleet and snow
The place where the great fires are,
That the midst of earth is a raging mirth,
And the heart of the earth a star.

And at night we win to the ancient inn,
Where the Child in the frost is furled,
We follow the feet where all souls meet,
At the inn at the end of the world.

The gods lie dead where the leaves lie red,
For the flame of the sun is flown;
The gods lie cold where the leaves are gold,
And a Child comes forth alone.

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