OTHCC Chapter 10: items 181 - 200

The Old Testament in the Heart of the Catholic Church < > All Chapters

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A famous columnist for a weekly news magazine challenges the Holy Father with ''elementary logic.'' She says that ''The Pope should either state that those early Christians made a serious error regarding the Bible and thus all went to hell, or he should admit that what the Catholic Church now teaches about the Bible is only one of many possible valid interpretations.'' In reply, you say that

a.   all early Christians who had any beliefs or practices that the Catholic Church now defines to be in error were unfaithful to Christ, and the Church has always courageously proclaimed this.
b.   prior to the time that the Pope and bishops in communion with him are led by the Holy Spirit to a definitive judgment, there may be different opinions without unfaithfulness to Christ.
c.   the Catholic Church teaches only one of many possible valid interpretations of which books truly belong in the Bible, but the Church has not always understood this as well as she does now.

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To summarize: First, please remember that, although the Book of Malachi definitely is one of the real books in the Old Testament, this book, ''Second Malachi,'' doesn't actually exist. We were just pretending.

Second, there is no unfaithfulness in the actions of that imaginary faithful local church under its bishop in 125 AD. While the Church has not yet come to a firm judgment, God himself ''waits.'' There was no secret book in Rome somewhere saying that ''Second Malachi'' was not inspired. Those Catholics weren't flunking any secret test that they were supposed to have known about. Given that God himself was ''waiting,'' they were doing their very best, and they were not moving farther from Christ.

Of course, if a present-day local church and its bishop began to teach that ''Second Malachi'' was the inspired Word of God, they would indeed be unfaithful and would indeed be moving farther from Christ. Long after 125 AD, but long before the present, Christ, the New Adam, spoke the ''name'' of the number of books in the Old Testament in and through his Body and Bride, the Catholic Church. God is no longer ''waiting'' for this particular ''name.'' >>

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The Holy Father and bishops in communion with him, acting in the person of Christ himself by the power of the Holy Spirit in and through the sacrament of Holy Orders, have definitively said that there are 46 books in the Old Testament, and now ''that is its name.'' This means that a present-day local church under its bishop must now walk with the Church, the bride of Christ, about the number of books in the Old Testament, in order to continue to fully walk with her Lord.

What about those imaginary Catholics in the questions (including a priest and a nun) who don't seem to understand these simple facts even as well as you do? Well, one reason this text exists is to prepare you for reality - these days, even some priests and nuns don't seem to believe that the sacraments are real in the way that the Church has always professed. It's sad, but it's true, so you may as well be prepared. <<

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The bishop of Rome (the Pope), and other Catholic bishops in union with him, have the absolutely unique ability to protect the true meaning of the Bible (for instance, when they tell us exactly which books belong in the Old Testament) ONLY because

a.   bishops are much smarter and better educated than anyone else.
b.   bishops are much more spiritually enlightened than anyone else.
c.   Christ protects his Church in and through the sacrament of Holy Orders.

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Marcion had an idea of who Christ ''really'' is. Then he looked at the Old Testament, and compared it to his idea. When the Old Testament didn't fit his idea of Christ, his solution was to take the Old Testament out of the ''real'' Bible.

In essence, St. Polycarp and other bishops of the time told Marcion that he had it backwards. The fact that the Old Testament is the true Word of God is telling us many important things about who Christ really is.

We should not start with our idea of Christ and compare the Old Testament to it. We should start with the truth of the Old Testament, and then we can better know and come close to Christ. >>

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Here's another historical fact: many people have tried to judge the reality of the sacraments of the Catholic Church in terms of their idea of who Christ is. If the sacraments don't seem to fit their idea of who Christ is, then their solution is to take the sacraments out of ''real'' Christianity.

Yet from her beginnings the Catholic Church has professed that Christ is actually, really present in and works through his sacraments, and that this reality is an absolutely crucial part of who Jesus Christ really is.

In essence, the bishops are saying that the fact that the sacraments of the Catholic Church are real is telling us many important things about who Christ really is. We should not start with our idea of Christ and compare the sacraments to it. We should start with the reality of the sacraments, and then we can better know and come close to Christ.

The surest way to really know Christ - the real Christ, the whole Christ - is to BEGIN with the reality of the sacraments.

This is similar to what St. Augustine meant when he said, ''But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.'' Once St. Augustine knew in his heart that Christ continues his work in and through the Church and her sacraments, then he could truly know and believe in Christ and his Gospel. [The bishops quote St. Augustine's remark in CCC 119] <<

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When someone teaches or believes that the sacraments of the Catholic Church are not real, then

a.   there is a chance he could be correct.
b.   we know that he is going to Hell.
c.   what happens to him can be known only by God.

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When someone teaches or believes that the sacraments of the Catholic Church are not real, then in this life he

a.   can at best have only partial union with Christ.
b.   can have no real, true union with Christ.
c.   may have full union with Christ, if he is sincere.

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Suppose you start with the idea that the sacraments are not real. Now suppose that you have studied the Bible very hard for years, and have written and published a famous theory about what it means. Here's the last ''suppose'': Suppose that the Holy Father, or Catholic bishops in union with him, now tell you that your idea is contrary to the faith. Since you don't realize that the sacraments are real, your natural reaction to this might be

a.   to accept the Pope's judgment as the judgment of Christ himself.
b.   to realize that there must be something deeply wrong with your idea.
c.   to think that the bishops and the Pope should stay out of your business.

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Back to the situation in the previous question. Unless Holy Orders is a sacrament, the Catholic Church has no authority to say what the Bible means. Thus, if you start with the idea that Holy Orders is not a sacrament, then another natural reaction you might have in this situation would be

a.   to applaud what the Catholic Church said.
b.   to be grateful for what the Catholic Church said.
c.   to ignore what the Catholic Church said.

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Here are three different strategies. None of them are ''mindless belief'' - all three use your ability to discover, to figure out, and to decide. However, the three strategies are still very different, as you will see. In CCC 119, the bishops united with the Holy Father quote St. Augustine: "But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me." Using this hint, which strategy do you think St. Augustine and other Catholics might recommend as best?

a.   Decide that the sacraments are real, discover who Christ is, and then figure out what the Bible means.
b.   Discover what the Bible means, figure out who Christ is, and then decide if the sacraments are real.
c.   Figure out who Christ is, discover what the Bible means, and then decide if the sacraments are real.

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The sacraments of the Catholic Church

a.   are more important than Christ.
b.   help us to know Christ as he really is.
c.   prevent us from knowing who Christ really is.

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The following three answers are all at least partially correct. However, if you had to pick just one, then you would say that a sacrament is best described as

a.   a reminder of the risen Christ.
b.   a symbol of the risen Christ.
c.   a work of the risen Christ.

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Starting points are important. A lot of people who have respect for the Bible have had trouble with the idea that the Pope and the bishops of the Catholic Church united with him - and nobody else - protect the true meaning of the Bible. [CCC 100] Catholics do not have trouble with this, because, like St. Augustine, they have a different starting point. What starting point do Catholics take? Catholics decide

a.   what the Bible means after realizing that the sacraments are real.
b.   whether the sacraments are real in terms of our idea of the Bible.
c.   whether the sacraments are real in terms of our idea of who Christ is.

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Man can find the true, real meaning of the Bible

a.   using his own abilities and knowledge, and entirely on his own.
b.   but only with the help of the sacraments of the Catholic Church.
c.   only very imperfectly, because men always make mistakes, and disagree.

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The Catholic Church teaches all men that the meaning of the Bible

a.   can be separated from the reality of the sacraments.
b.   can not be separated from the reality of the sacraments.
c.   has nothing to do with the reality of the sacraments.

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Apart from the sacraments of the Catholic Church, the meaning of the Bible

a.   can not be known.
b.   can only partially be known.
c.   is completely unknowable.

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Apart from the sacraments of the Catholic Church, the meaning of the Bible can only partially be known, because the meaning of the Bible is

a.   a concept.
b.   an idea.
c.   Christ himself.

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The bishops and the Holy Father teach that Jesus Christ is the Word of God in

a.   absolutely every sense.
b.   a purely symbolic sense.
c.   an imperfect sense.

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The bishops and the Holy Father teach that Christ really is the Word of God, in every sense: ''Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word.'' [CCC 102] Christ is that one Word. [CCC 65]

That is, Christ himself is the meaning of the Bible. The Word that God speaks into the world is his Son.

When believers hear or read the Bible, they receive more than an idea or a concept. They actually receive a Person, Christ himself: ''He is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church.'' [CCC 1088]

Just before receiving the Most Holy Eucharist, we pray to Jesus, ''Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.'' We profess that we are unable to receive what we most long for and need, Jesus himself, without his direct help. Christ himself must prepare us to receive him in the Eucharist.

Similarly, CCC 108 professes that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ himself prepares us to receive him in the Sacred Scriptures:

''... the Christian faith is not a 'religion of the book.' Christianity is the religion of the 'Word' of God, 'not a written and mute word, but the Word which is incarnate and living.' 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.''' <<

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