Kingdom of the Poor

In the readings for last week’s Sunday Mass, we saw Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 9) that a divine king, a Son of David, would appear in the north of Israel and give light to the people there.

In the readings for todays’ Mass (4^th Sunday of Ordinary Time), we see Jesus explaining what kind of kingdom he rules: a kingdom of the “poor in Spirit”:

Grace and Merit: St. Bernard of Clairvaux

The quote on grace and merit from a couple of days ago was uttered by ... St. Bernard of Clairvaux, as several people guessed.

I found it striking because, without context, I would have assumed the quote was from Luther, in his younger days.

St. Bernard does not deny that merit has its role. He goes on to say:

It is enough for merit to know that merit is not enough. But as merit must not presume on merit, so lack of merit must bring judgment. Furthermore, chidren re-born in baptism are not without merit, but possess the merits of Christ; but they make themselves unworthy of these if they do not add their own——not because of inability, but because of neglect; this is the danger of maturity. Henceforward, take care that you possess merit; when you possess it, you will know it as a gift. Hope for its fruit, the mercy of God, and you will escape all danger of poverty, ingratitude, and presumption.

This quote and the previous one are from St. Bernard's Sermons 67-68 on the Song of Songs (!), and yes, as some of you surmised, I'm drawing from Ralph Martin's book, The Fulfillment of All Desire, which I highly recommend to everyone, Protestant and Catholic alike.

I think these striking quotes from St. Bernard indicate several things that have been lost to sight by many, including myself at times:

1. The emphasis on the primacy of grace in salvation found in Luther, Calvin, and other early Protestants is a legitimate point, but it is not a "Protestant" point: it is a truth that is at home in the Catholic spiritual and theological tradition. One does not have to break from Rome in order to recognize that salvation is by grace.

2. Properly understood, the Reformation slogan "sola gratia", by grace alone, is also affirmed by the Catholic Church. This is one of the reasons, for example, that some ten years ago or so the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation was able to issue a joint statement on the doctrine of justification.

3. Where the Protestant reformers erred was to deny that there is any role of merit in salvation. The problem with denying this is one of biblical interpretation. If one denies that merit plays a role in salvation, what does one do with so many passages of the Gospels like Matt 25:31-46: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance ... for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat ..."

As Keith Green, founding father of CCM, so famously pointed out in a song years ago (this really dates me) passages like Matt 25:31-46 do not teach "salvation by faith alone" as that concept is often understood. Our works play a role in our salvation. (Ironically, Keith Green was also militantly anti-Catholic!)

4. How then to reconcile the many passages of the Gospels (as well as the Epistles! James 2:24) that emphasize the role of merit in salvation with the truth of, say, Ephesians 2:8-9? The answer is thoroughly Scriptural and Catholic: our merits, though necessary, are, in an ultimate sense, not our own, but the fruit of God's grace working in us. "For this I labor and struggle, in accord with the exercise of his power working within me." Col 1:29

Recently, someone said to me, "Most Catholics are Pelagian heretics."

It wasn't during one of my conversations with my Protestant friends and relatives.

It was a priest giving a homily at daily mass on campus at Franciscan.

I agree with him, although I would add, "Most Protestants are Pelagian heretics, too." Pelagianism, roughly understood as the idea that we can, more or less, save ourselves by being good, is a danger for all Christians, and even well-formed, theologically educated Christians can fall into subtle forms of self-reliance.

It's good that St. Bernard reminds us: our salvation is the work of God's grace, not the product of our own efforts.

Identify this Quote on Grace and Merit

I came across this striking quote on grace and merit the other day:

There is no way for grace to enter, if merit has taken residence in the soul. A full acknowledgment of grace is a sign of the fullness of grace. Indeed, if the soul possesses anything of its own, to that extent grace must give place to it: whatever you impute to merit you steal from grace. I want nothing to do with the sort of merit which excludes grace.

So, who is the author and what's his theology? Calvin? Luther? Augustine?

Without googling phrases from the quote, does anyone recognize who this famous theologian is?

Feel free to guess in the comments. I'll post the answer in a day or two.

Repent for the Kingdom is at Hand: Comments on the 3d Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Lectionary readings for today’s Mass, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, are particularly rich.

We are in Year A of the Lectionary cycle, and thus we follow Matthew’s Gospel through most of the Sundays in Ordinary Time. (Check this great website to help understand the structure of the liturgy.) This year, Easter falls very late, so we have a lengthy period of Ordinary Time before Lent.

Progressing through Matthew, we find ourselves today at the beginning of Jesus’ preaching ministry in Galilee.

The first reading for today’s mass comes from Isaiah 9:

“The Land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali ...

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light...”

Obviously this reading from Isaiah is paired with today’s Gospel because Matthew quotes some of this passage and sees it’s fulfillment in our Lord’s revelation of himself in the region of Galilee.

Nonetheless, commentators and homilists often miss the relationship between the two passages.

In his own day, Isaiah was preaching to the northern tribes of Israel (Zebulun and Naphtali), whose territory had been decimated by the Assyrians, with large portions of the population deported around 722 BC. The point of Isaiah’s oracle was one of hope: this same portion of ancestral Israel, so devastated and bleak in his own day, would be the first to witness the arrival of the Messianic age. St. Matthew sees the fulfillment of this passage in our Lord’s choice to begin his ministry in these northern territories—a choice that otherwise might seem counter-intuitive, since the region of Galilee was not a particularly historic or significant one in Israel’s sacred history.

The second reading for today’s Mass is 1 Cor 1:10-17, which was not chosen to fit the theme of the Gospel, but rather because we are reading through 1 Corinthians at the beginning of Ordinary Time. (Curiously, Ordinary Time always begins with 1 Corinthians and then breaks off around Week 8. Thus, it takes the full three-year cycle to “read through” the book. See here.) Providentially, however, the reading provides a connection with the theme of the Gospel for today’s Mass. St. Paul says, “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel ...” And so we are reminded that the preaching ministry of Christ is continued by that of his Apostles, and also their successors, and so on down through history, to our own day. Even for us lay people, who may not preach in the formal sense of those who share in the charisms of Holy Orders, do have a responsiblity to “preach” by our example and also by our explicit testimony (when given the opportunity) that the Kingdom of God is present now, because Jesus Christ has come.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus “began to preach, saying, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

The concept of the “Kingdom of Heaven” needs to be associated with the Davidic Kingship of Jesus so strongly emphasized by Matthew in the opening chapters of his Gospel (1:20; 2:2; 2:5-6), and present also in Isaiah 9. If we were to read on in Isaiah 9, for example, beyond the portion quoted by Matthew in Matt 3: 15-16, we would find Isaiah predicting the coming of a Davidic King (Isa 9:7) who is also somehow divine (Isa 9:6). The Kingdom of Heaven proclaimed by Jesus is also the Kingdom of David, just as Jesus is fully God and fully Man. And so the Kingdom of Heaven has an earthly manifestation that resembles the Davidic Kingdom it “restores and transforms” (credit to Dr. Scott Hahn for this hendiadys). Thus we see Jesus, in the subsequent verses of Matt 3 (vv. 18-22), beginning to choose his royal officers, ultimately twelve of them, just as there were twelve officers over the Kingdom of David during its golden age (see 1 Kings 4:7-19).

The Kingdom of Heaven remains open to us today, now, if we will repent (turn away from our sins) and receive it. Tomorrow is the March for Life in Washington, DC, which provides us a good opportunity for special acts of repentance (fasting, prayer, acts of self-denial) to express contrition for our own sins and for those of our nation (cf. Dan 9:20), especially those against the sanctity of life.

Christian Motifs in Batman's Mythology

With the latest news out about the up-coming Batman movie making the rounds I thought I'd re-run a piece here I posted shortly after the last Batman film, The Dark Knight, opened. This appeared on another blog I was contributing to at the time the movie was released (that blog is now pretty much defunct). I'd love to get your thoughts on this. . . This is why I am so excited about the next film.

_________________

Unless, you’ve been living in a cave, you know that Batman is back and like never before. The Dark Knight has received critical acclaim and broken just about every record on the books, setting numerous all-time figures:

• Best midnight opening ($18.4 million) (that doesn’t count the 3am and 6am showings which were slotted after all the midnight showings sold out, which also sold out!)
• Best opening day / single day gross ($66.4 million)
• Best opening weekend ($158 million)
• First movie to make $300 million dollars in 10 days
• Best IMAX midnight preview ($640,000)

Fantastic New Commentary on Matthew's Gospel!

With the coming the New Year, a number of blogs gave recommended readings for the upcoming year. I'd like to do the same, and recommend two books to read carefully over the course of the coming year.

1. First, since for those of us following the Catholic lectionary, it is Year A, it's a great opportunity to reread closely and carefully the Gospel of Matthew. Over a hundred years ago, the French author and rationalist Ernest Renan once referred to the Gospel of Matthew as "the most important book ever written."

On a more personal note, Matthew is my favorite Gospel, for a whole host of reasons. For one thing, it is just so Jewish. If you like the exploring the Jewish roots of Christianity, Matthew is definitely the first place to go. Moreover, if happen to be a teacher, then you'll know that Matthew's Gospel is also a remarkably catechetical. I know this from experience, since in the classroom, I constantly fall back on Matthew for addressing major theological, moral, and spiritual issues. 

I also know this from our family dinner times, during which I've been reading the Gospel of Matthew to my family each night after supper--with the requisite Q & A session after the reading is done! This is a great time to teach your kids the Bible, while they're knocking out their last vegetables. You'd be amazed at how children between the ages of 3 and 9 can zoom in on key exegetical questions if you just read to them and ask... 'Any questions?'...

2. Second, I also recommend that in tandem with Matthew's Gospel, you simply must get a copy of Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri's new commentary on The Gospel of Matthew, hot off the presses from the Baker Academic Press Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Just before it was published, I wrote the following blurb for the book, and I meant it:

"In this exciting new commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri do an outstanding job of fulfilling the biblical vision of Vatican II. For years I have wished for an up-to-date Catholic commentary on Matthew that would unite history and theology, Scripture and tradition, Old and New Testaments, Jewish roots and Christian faith. Now we have one! This extremely readable commentary should be on the shelf of any priest, deacon, seminarian, or layperson who wants to bring out 'treasures new and old' from the pages of the First Gospel.'

Those are my two cents for New Year's reading recommendations. Read both books together, and I promise you won't be disappointed. 

New Research on Red Sea Crossing

I was on the Drew Mariani Show on Friday afternoon (broadcast in metro Chicago) discussing a new theory about the crossing of the red sea. Carl Drews, a fluid dynamics scientist in Colorado, decided to analyze the biblical account of the parting of the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds) from a physics perspective as his masters thesis at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Drews argues that an overnight east wind of 63 mph or more would be sufficient to blow back several square miles of water to a depth of six feet. Working with topographical maps, he thinks he has identified a place in the Nile Delta where such a wind would have provided a draw path to the Sinai Peninsula. Click on the title of this post to read more.

Drews' work is intriguing, but I'm not jumping on the bandwagon yet. I don't have the time to analyze all the relevant data, but my gut instinct is that, although Drews is correct about the fluid dynamics, there are probably textual or archeological data that militate against this location as the actual site of the crossing. Feel free to comment if you know something about this topic.

Amazing Priest Signs On for Pilgrimage

Fr. Daniel Scheidt of Queen of Peace Parish in Mishawaka, IN, just signed on as chaplain for my pilgrimage to the Holy Land May 9-18. Those who know him will agree with me that Fr. Dan is one of the finest young priests in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, the diocese that includes the University of Notre Dame, my (and Brant's) alma mater.

Fr. Dan is a scholar and a polymath who has studied at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, DC, and written on subjects such as diverse as biblical interpretation, sacraments, priesthood, and church architecture. In fact, one of his essays on church architecture is available online. Some of his pastoral work has made national catholic news.

I feel very fortunate to get Fr. Dan on this pilgrimage (probably as good as Jack Swarbrick felt when he got Brian Kelly to come to Notre Dame). The pilgrims are in for a real blessing!

New American Bible Revised Edition to Be Released

Word just out that a Revised Edition of the New American Bible--the official translation used in the Lectionary of the Catholic Church in America--will be released this spring.

I have to confess that I had no idea this was coming our way, and as such have no idea what kind of changes will be introduced. I'm quite frankly not sure what the article refers to when it speaks of "the discovery of new and better manuscripts" as a reason for changes. Maybe I'm missing something, but exactly what new and better manuscripts have been discovered in the last 20 years that would call for a revision of this translation?

Hopefully, whatever changes have been made are for the better, but it seems to me that at least that the quality of the English (as well as fidelity to the original languages), the NAB would need a complete overhaul. I'll be interested to see what the Psalter looks like--anybody who knows the story of those shifting sands and the battle over the inclusive language version of it can't help but be a bit wary. After the Gospels, the Psalter is easily the most important book of the Bible, liturgically speaking; having a good translation would be great. Of course, having a new translation means becoming familiar with yet another version of 150 prayers that are traditionally memorized...

Anyway, here's the story as reported at the USCCB website:

WASHINGTON (January 6, 2011)—The New American Bible, revised edition (NABRE), the first major update to the New American Bible (NAB) translation in 20 years, has been approved for publication. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, then president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), signed the canonical rescript approving publication on September 30, 2010. The NABRE will be available in a variety of print, audio and electronic formats on March 9, Ash Wednesday.

The new translation takes into account advances in linguistics of the biblical languages, as well as changes in vocabulary and the cultural background of English, in order to ensure a more accurate translation. This issue is addressed in the apostolic exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, in which the pope says, “The inculturation of God’s word is an integral part of the Church’s mission in the world, and a decisive moment in this process is the diffusion of the Bible through the precious work of translation into different languages.

The new translation also takes into account the discovery of new and better ancient manuscripts so that the best possible textual tradition is followed. The NABRE includes the first revised translation of the Old Testament since 1970 and a complete revision of the Psalter. It retains the 1986 edition of the New Testament. Work on most books of the Old Testament began in 1994 and was completed in 2001. The 1991 revision of the Psalter was further revised between 2009 and 2010.

The revision aimed at making use of the best manuscript traditions available, translating as accurately as possible, and rendering the result in good contemporary English. In many ways it is a more literal translation than the original New American Bible and has attempted to be more consistent in rendering Hebrew (or Greek) words and idioms, especially in technical contexts, such as regulations for sacrifices. In translating the Psalter special effort was made to provide a smooth, rhythmic translation for easy singing or recitation and to retain the concrete imagery of the Hebrew.

The NABRE is approved for private use and study. It will not be used for the Mass, which uses an earlier, modified version of the NAB translation.

Mary, Mother of God, a Common Protestant/Catholic Confession

As our Catholic readers know, this is the Solemnity (Holy Day) of Mary, Mother of God, one of the more significant liturgical celebrations in the Catholic calendar

The confession of Mary as “Mother of God” presents a stumbling block for some non-Catholic Christians, but curiously it never did for me.

I think it was back in the Fall of 1992 when I was sitting in a course in Ancient Church History at one of the best Calvinist seminaries in America. Our professor, a devout Dutch Calvinist (like most of us students), was lecturing on the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus AD 431, the council that recognized Mary as “Theotokos,” “Mother of God” (or more literally, “Bearer of God”). He began to address the question, Can Calvinists confess Mary as “Mother of God”? He answered in the affirmative, granted that one understood this not as a claim for Mary’s motherhood of divinity itself, but in the sense that Mary was mother of Jesus, who is truly God. And that, of course, is precisely how the Catholic Church understands the term.

So far from being a cause of division, the common confession of Mary as “Mother of God” should unite all Christians, and distinguish Christian orthodoxy from various confusions of it, such as Arianism (the denial that Jesus was God) or Nestorianism (in which Mary mothers only the human nature of Jesus but not his whole person).

Happy feast day to all!

On a side note, I’ll be gone starting Monday on a retreat and won’t be blogging again until January 10 at the earliest.

Notre Dame beat Miami in the Sun Bowl yesterday, no doubt aided by the fact that there was snow in El Paso overnight and the temperature at kick-off was 37 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s balmy for South Bend but not for South Florida. Despite my conviction that college sports is overhyped and frequently a disordered waste of time, my alma mater’s win made me happy. Go Irish!