Catechumenate Topic: Divine Revelation Scripture

Scripture
Catechumenate Topic

Divine Revelation is one single complete Word, and that Word is Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God into a Human Person. Nothing more can be said that what is communicated in the person of Christ.

Still we are human beings and incapable of understanding Revelation as a single Word, and so God condescends to communicate truths necessary for salvation through human authors into scripture.

God inspired human authors to cooperate with him in recording divine revelation. The books are both the “Words of God” and also work of the human author.

The Holy Spirit is the interpreter of Scripture, and because the spirit resides in the Church, the Church is the guardian of authentic scriptural interpretation. What this means is that in some very few instance, can be counted on your fingers, the Church has defined what scripture does not mean. The Church does this after a group of people have wandered off into heresy.

There are 4 “senses” or meanings that can be found in scripture.

The first is the literal sense, it means what the human author wanted to communicate. It does not mean the literalist sense. (Example: I was so surprised I jumped out of my skin. The literal sense means I was really scared. The literalist means I shed my skin in an act of launching myself into the air.)

The second is the allegorical sense, and it means that two things are linked through figurative meaning. For example Israel passing from slavery to freedom by passing through the Red Sea, is linked to the meaning of Baptism leading from slavery to sin to freedom in Grace.

The third sense is moral, meaning it gives instruction on we are to act. So when Christ says carry you cross and follow Him, it means change your life to follow His example no matter how hard.

The fourth sense is anagogical, which means it applies to our destiny at the end of time. So when Christ says the Son of Man comes like a thief in the night, it means that we will not know when the Second Coming is until it happens, it does not mean Christ is coming to rob us.

Scripture is composed of the Old Testament Jewish Scriptures, the 4 Gospels and the New Testament Epistles (Epistle means letter.) The Church decided on the list of books in the Bible in the early 5th century (~400 AD). Pope Damaus approved the list of the New Testamentat books the Synod of Rome in 374, and induced St. Jerome to translate the canon into Latin. The african Bishops also produced the same canons and sent them to Rome for approval.

Because the Scripture contains the Words of Devine Revelation, and Christ is the one Word, the Church venerates Scripture as the Body of Christ, similar to the Eucharist, but in a different way. At Mass Christ is truly present in the proclaiming of the Word and in its hearing, while He is always truly present in the Blesses Sacrament.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

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.'"

So read the Bible and Pray, and the Lord will come to you and reside in you, and keep you always as His very own.