In the Life of the Church

Life of the Church, Sacred Scripture

The Word of God serves the Church as her "support and vigor" as strength for our faith, food for our souls, and purity for our spiritual life. 

The study of sacred scripture should be very soulful and deep in theology- this also includes pastoral preaching, catechetics and all Christian instruction. Liturgical homily should hold pride, hence it nourishes holiness. 

The Church continues to learn "the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ." Ignorance of the sacred scriptures is ignorance of Christ. 

Source: 

Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Print. 

Part One: The Profession of Faith

Section One: "I Believe" - "We Believe"

Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man

Article 3: Sacred Scripture

V. Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church (43)

The Canon of Scripture

Old and New Testaments make the Bible

The apostolic Tradition that the Church decided to continue in the teachings is composed of the canon of Scripture, the Old and New Testaments.
The Old Testament has never been revoked and it holds truth as the Old Covenant. It prepares us for the coming of Christ, "redeemer of all men." 

The divine teachings of God are revealed through "sound wisdom of human life.. wonderful treasury of prayers, and the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way." The Word of God is not to be rejected by the church.
The New Testament is also the Word of God, but here He brings salvation to everyone who has faith. 

It central concentrates in Jesus Christ, "God's incarnate Son: his acts, teachings, Passion, and glorification, and his Church's beginnings under the Spirit's guidance."

The heart of all scriptures is the Gospels since they are the source of life and Incarnate word of Jesus our Savior.
The Stages of formation are:
1. The life and teachings of Jesus.
2. The oral tradition.3. The written Gospels.

The unity of the Old and New testaments were placed together by the divine illumination and plan 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.

The Old testament retains its own intrinsic values as we read about the light of Christ crucified and risen. Revelation reaffirms by the Lord himself that he does. The New testament must be read in the light of the Old, but also we can see how the Old is unveiled.

Typology indicates the "dynamic movement toward the fulfillment of the divine plan when "God (will) be everything for everyone."

Source: 

Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Print. 

Part One: The Profession of Faith

Section One: "I Believe" - "We Believe"

Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man

Article 3: Sacred Scripture

IV. The Canon of Scripture (40-42)

Interpreter of Scripture

Sacred Scripture should be read in the
same light by which it was written, the Holy Spirit.

God speaks to us in a way man can understand it, Sacred Scripture. As we attentively read we must consider 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." It would only make sense to interpret Sacred Scripture in the same light that it was written.

The criteria for interpreting the Sacred Scripture are:
1. Be especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole Scripture."
2. Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the whole Church.
3. Be attentive to the analogy of the faith.

Ancient tradition suggests there are two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual.

"The literal sense is the meaning that is conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis... all other sense are taken literal."

The spiritual sense the unity of God's plan and the combination of events can be signs that convey a message. Within the spiritual there are three sub senses:

1. The allegorical sense, which is acquired through better understanding of events by recognizing the significance in Christ.
2. The moral sense those that contain events which lead us to act justly.
3. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge = leading) is where we can view realities and events in terms of "eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland."

According to these rules, exegetes work to obtain a guided and deeper understanding of the Sacred Scripture so that their research helps the Church to form a concrete judgement. All senses are manners of interpreting Scripture is also subject to the Church "which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God."

Comment: The various interpretations of Scripture has caused many religions to bloom. We can all read the same piece of Scripture and say different things and carry different meanings. Inviting the Holy Spirit for guidance has been one very important essential part to understanding the Sacred Scripture, but not the only to grasp the depth meaning, message and revelation. Sacred Scripture is not just any book but the Word of God which must be studied and not taken so lightly... experts are those who are emerged in a study where all senses are considered for better understanding of the truth to profess interpretations.

Source: 

Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Print. 

Part One: The Profession of Faith

Section One: "I Believe" - "We Believe"

Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man

Article 3: Sacred Scripture

III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture (37-39)

Inspiration and Truth

"God is the author of the Sacred Scripture." Undeniably the Sacred Scripture has been written inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Mother Catholic church accepts the apostolic tradition and the new and old testament, all parts in its entire as words inspired to human authors by the Holy Spirit.

"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."

The inspired words speak the truth; we acknowledge the books firmly, faithfully and without error as a means of God communicating to us for the sake of our salvation.

Christianity is not a "religion of the book," but a religion of the "Word" of God a word which is "not a written and mute word, but the Word which is incarnate and living." Through the Holy Spirit we can "open our minds to understand the Scriptures" (eternal Word of the living God) through Christ.

Comment: Sacred Scripture is the Word of God, though written by man but inspired selectively by the Holy Spirit. Through faith we accept these words as pure truth and enlightening to our hearts. 

Source: 

Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Print. 

Part One: The Profession of Faith

Section One: "I Believe" - "We Believe"

Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man

Article 3: Sacred Scripture

II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture (36-37)

The Unique Word - Sacred Scripture

God revealed his words to us in human words as be took on himself in the human flesh. God speaks to us in one single Word the way he could express himself so men could understand. One Word, the word of God is expressed through out the entire scripture.

The Church has found constant nourishment and strength in treating the sacred scripture not as written by humans but as what it is, the word of God. "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them."

Comment: Sacred scripture is the source to feed knowledge into our spiritual life. In order to fully experience and understand the Word of God we must first recognize it as such and open our hearts to allow him to speak to us. We are not reading just any book, but we are listening to God as he speaks to us in this manner and means of communication. 

Source: 

Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Print. 

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 (35-36)

Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith

The "Sacred deposit" was untrusted to the whole of the Church by the apostles. Through this heritage in which pastors remain faithful to the teachings of the apostles through breaking of the bread and prayers, they maintain, practice, and profess the faith in harmony.

Authentic interpretation of the Word of God (written form or in form of Tradition) has been entrusted to the living and the Church, authority exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This interpretation has been entrusted to bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome. Yet, the Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God but is only a servant of teaching only what has been handed. With the help of the Holy Spirit, it is expounded faithfully. "Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles, "He who hears you, hears me, the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms."

The Church Magisterium holds the authority from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, when it proposes and teaching Christian people to an "irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in the divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definite way, truths having a necessary connection with these."
There is a connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas, which are "lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure." If our life is upright, our intellect, and our hearts we will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith."
Connections between dogmas are only found in the Revelation of the mystery of Christ. "In Catholic doctrine there exists an order or 'hierarchy' of truths, since they vary in their relation to the foundation of the Christian faith."

The Holy Spirit instructs and guides the faithful to the truth. The appreciation of the faith is aroused and sustained by the Spirit of the truth. The people of God guided by the Magisterium receive the faith to deliver. The people unfailingly adhere and penetrate the faith deeply with right judgment to apply to the daily life.

Growth and understanding the faith is a process that comes from the Holy Spirit. Realities of life and word of the scripture and of the heritage of the faith, grows in the life of the Church through:
-".. contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts... deepens knowledge of revealed truth."
-"from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which is experienced.."
-"from the preaching of those who have received along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth."

The sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Magisterium of the Church are connected and are not able to stand alone. Working together, through the Holy Spirit they contribute to the salvation of the souls.

Comment: Through the supernatural power of faith is a precious gift given to the People of God that are able to penetrate deeply and live out the divine Revelation. Interpreting the Word of God has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church (the Pope and the bishops, which are in deep constant communion with God). 

Source: 

Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Print. 

Part One: The Profession of Faith
Section One: "I Believe" - "We Believe"
Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man
Article 2: The Transmission of Divine Revelation
II. The Interpretation of the Heritage of the Faith (32-34)

Tradition and Sacred Scripture

Relationship Between Tradition and 

Sacred Scripture

Sacred tradition and sacred scripture have a similar source, the divine well-spring, which allows them to make present and fruitful the mystery of Christ in the Church. Sacred tradition "transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit". Sacred Scripture "is the speech of God" written under the breath of the Holy Spirit. 

The Church does not work solely alone but in order to transmit and interpret the Revelation, Scripture and Tradition must be equally accepted and honored with sentiments of devotion and reverence. 

Traditions have differed in the generations. Hence, first generations of Christians did not have the New Testament which, "demonstrates the process of living Tradition." Tradition is distinguished among the churches which retain, modify or abandon these traditions (theological, disciplinary, liturgical, or devotional). 

Source: 

Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Print. 

Part One: The Profession of Faith
Section One: "I Believe" - "We Believe"
Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man
Article 2: The Transmission of Divine Revelation
II. The Relationship Between Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture (31)