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Thursday, March 12, 2009
Safe rules of Catholic Exegesis of Holy Texts Pius XII and Divino Afflante Spiritu
This papal encyclical celebrates and reinforces Leo XIII's Providentissimus Deus and also the biblical studies commission founded in 1902 and the school for biblical studies at St Stephen's Jerusalem. Papal recognition by Pius of further advances in Archaeology and historical research made necessary a further definition of the study of the bible to update his predecessor's progress and efforts acknowledging the same. This illustrates to me the need for vigilance in updating revelation in sync with critical methods now in vogue bot only accepting them in piecemeal fashion in what securely accords with safe and critical methodologies of relying on original texts and languages. The times demand more thorough exposition of these texts, and so it is today that these safe rules of "Catholic exegesis" need expansion and further amplification.
Through Paragraph 5 of Papal Encyclical of Pius XII DIVINO AFFLANTE SPIRITU
This teaching, which Our Predecessor Leo XIII set forth with such
solemnity, We also proclaim with Our authority and We urge all to adhere to it
religiously. No less earnestly do We inculcate obedience at the present day to
the counsels and exhortations which he, in his day, so wisely enjoined. For
whereas there arose new and serious difficulties and questions, from the
wide-spread prejudices of rationalism and more especially from the discovery and
investigation of the antiquities of the East, this same Our Predecessor, moved
by zeal of the apostolic office, not only that such an excellent source of
Catholic revelation might be more securely and abundantly available to the
advantage of the Christian flock, but also that he might not suffer it to be in
any way tainted, wished and most earnestly desired "to see an increase in the
number of the approved and persevering laborers in the cause of Holy Scripture;
and more especially that those whom Divine Grace has called to Holy Orders,
should day-by-day, as their state demands, display greater diligence and
industry in reading, meditating and explaining it."[10]
5. Wherefore the same Pontiff, as he had already praised and approved the
school for biblical studies, founded at St. Stephen's, Jerusalem, by the Master
General of the Sacred Order of Preachers - from which, to use his own words,
"biblical science itself had received no small advantage, while giving promise
of more"[11] - so in the last year of his life he provided yet another way, by
which these same studies, so warmly commended in the Encyclical Letter
Providentissimus Deus, might daily make greater progress and be pursued with the
greatest possible security. By the Apostolic Letter Vigilantiae, published on
October 30 in the year 1902, he founded a Council or Commission, as it is
called, of eminent men, "whose duty it would be to procure by every means that
the sacred texts may receive everywhere among us that more thorough exposition
which the times demand, and be kept safe not only from every breath of error,
but also from all inconsiderate opinions."[12] Following the example of Our
Predecessors, We also have effectively confirmed and amplified this Council
using its good offices, as often before, to remind commentators of the Sacred
Books of those safe rules of Catholic exegesis, which have been handed down by
the Holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church, as well as by the Sovereign Pontiffs
themselves.[13]
Tradition its bearing on scripture Its need from Apocalypsis
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2005/0510bt.asp
Considerable latitude is necessary to continuously reinterpret and refine tradition in the wake of the continuity of revelation. All will be disclosed so scripture relates and new Scripture will be written, in ways we cannot conceive of. Is public revelation closed? What is meant by the term closure? Are we to experience another opening? My other posts point out this distinct possibility.
I will not post this as a dogmatic assertion, but am an expectant and eager onlooker waiting in the offing.
Considerable latitude is necessary to continuously reinterpret and refine tradition in the wake of the continuity of revelation. All will be disclosed so scripture relates and new Scripture will be written, in ways we cannot conceive of. Is public revelation closed? What is meant by the term closure? Are we to experience another opening? My other posts point out this distinct possibility.
I will not post this as a dogmatic assertion, but am an expectant and eager onlooker waiting in the offing.
Complex Relationship Some truths of Tradition are directly stated in
Scripture, such as God’s creation of the world. the Bible comes right out and
says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).Other
truths of Tradition are not stated directly in Scripture but are implied clearly
by the biblical author. For example, while the Bible doesn’t come out and say
that the Holy Spirit is a person rather than a force, it is implied in numerous
passages, such as those in which the Spirit is depicted as speaking to people
(e.g., Acts 13:2), and the biblical authors meant us to understand this.Some
truths of Tradition can be inferred from Scripture even though the biblical
authors did not clearly imply them. For example, Christ having both a human will
and a divine will can be inferred from his being "true God and true man" (CCC
464). Various biblical passages state or imply that he is true God and true man,
but in none does the biblical author state or imply that he had two wills. We
have to figure that out by inference.A truth is sometimes alluded to or
reflected in the text even though it can’t be proved from the text alone. The
Immaculate Conception may be reflected in what Gabriel says to Mary in Luke
1:28, and the Assumption may be reflected in the wings the woman is given in
Revelation 12:14, but you couldn’t prove these truths from the text alone.Some
truths are presupposed by Scripture, such as many of the particulars of how the
sacraments are celebrated—their proper form, matter, ministers, and recipients.
The sacraments are mentioned in the Bible, but the biblical authors didn’t give
many details about their administration. They assumed that the reader would look
to the practice of the Church for the answers to these questions. For example,
the sacrament of reconciliation is discussed, but the words that need to be used
to make an absolution valid are not.Some truths are not in Scripture at all; not
even a piece of the truth in question is indicated. As we saw earlier, the
truths that public revelation is ended and that there will be no more apostles
fall in this category.Often it isn’t easy to decide which of these categories a
truth falls into, but it is beneficial to think the question through, consider
whether the Scriptural basis for a truth is found in the literal or the
spiritual sense of the text, and consider how much confidence in the truth can
be drawn from the Bible compared to how much must be drawn from Tradition.While
these considerations may be useful as an apologist explores the relationship
between Scripture and Tradition, he ultimately will have to decide how he thinks
they fit together. So far, the Church has left him considerable latitude.
Joan Southgate The Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman
In Their Path the book
Her heroism and that of Harriet Tubman of the Underground Railroad makes sure that though slowly we are evolving to higher consciousness of spiritual awakening. Of this I have no doubt.
you may have already heard of joan southgate. in 2002, joan walked from
cincinnati to cleveland along the path of the underground railroad. she embarked
on the journey to honor and celebrate the courageous individuals who walked that
route in the past. as she walked she educated people by talking with all who
came out to meet with her. in 2003 Joan continued her journey and walked from
cleveland to ct. catherine’s ontario. joan wrote a book documenting the journey: In Their Path: A Grandmother’s
519-Mile Underground Railroad Walk.
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