Revelatin and Faith Outline The jy f the Gspel fills the hearts and lives f all wh encunter Jesus. Thse wh accept his ffer f salvatin are set free frm sin, inner emptiness and lneliness. With Christ jy is cnstantly brn anew. I invite all Christians everywhere, at this very mment, t a renewed persnal encunter with Jesus Christ, r at least an penness t letting him encunter them; I ask all f yu t d this unfailingly every day. Ppe Francis, The Jy f the Gspel, #1, 3 Being Christian is nt the result f an ethical chice r a lfty idea, but the encunter with an event, a persn, which gives life a new hrizn and decisive directin. Ppe Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, #1 The dr f faith (Acts 14:27) is always pen fr us, ushering us int the life f cmmunin with Gd and ffering entry int his Church. It is pssible t crss that threshld when the wrd f Gd is prclaimed and the heart allws itself t be shaped by transfrming grace. T enter thrugh that dr is t set ut n a jurney that lasts a lifetime... Ever since the start f my ministry as Successr f Peter, I have spken f the need t rediscver the jurney f faith s as t shed ever clearer light n the jy and renewed enthusiasm f the encunter with Christ. Ppe Benedict XVI, Prta Fidei #1, 4 T Start: Intrductin and verview f the day: Questin #1 n Preview Sheet 1. Revelatin Dei Verbum / On Divine Revelatin #2-6 (Ntes) What s revealed in revelatin? Cf. CCC #79, #50 The rle f human experience (GDC #152) (Ntes) Jesus Christ as the fullest expressin CCC #65, 50, 53, 73; DV #2, 4; Heb 1:1-2 - imperfect and prvisinal CCC #122 - gradually CCC #53 2. Faith Persnal knwledge f Gd - Phil 3:4-11 - CCC #426-427 - Jb 42:5 - Knwing vs. knwing abut NT and Early Church understanding 1
- Mark 1:14-15 metania - Luke 10:23 Blessed are the eyes that see what yu see Obedience f faith CCC # 142-144 Individual / cmmunal - Augustine s Cnfessins (Ntes) - 1 Jhn 1:1-4 (Ntes) The desire fr Gd is written in the human heart CCC #27 Obstacles? 3. Thelgy Critical reflectin n faith / disciplined explratin f revelatin faith seeking understanding St. Anselm prcess by which we bring ur knwledge and understanding f Gd t the level f expressin Issues frm Vatican I: Fideism Ratinalism Thelgies: vary, accurate/inaccurate, cf. Jb 42:7, criteria fr judging 4. Belief Expressin f faith which fllws the wrk f thelgy, the prduct f thelgy Fides qua (persnal act f faith) vs. fides quae (cntent f faith) Dctrine a belief fficially taught by the Church Dgma a dctrine taught with the highest slemnity, immune frm fundamental errr, lights alng the path f faith CCC #89 Depsit f Faith CCC #84 Traditin / traditin CCC #78-79, 83 Magisterium CCC #85, DV #10 Apstlic Successin CCC #77, DV #8 Hierarchy f Truths CCC #90, 234, UR 11 2
Develpment f Dctrine DV #8 Sensus Fidelium CCC #91-93, 67; LG #12 5. Other aspects f Revelatin Scripture and Traditin ne surce, tw mdes CCC #80-82 Stages f revelatin CCC #54-64, Heb 1:1-2 Public revelatin is cmplete CCC #66 Private revelatin CCC #67 6. Thelgical Reflectin Fcus questin #2 n Preview sheet The Spiritual Challenge a) GS #43 One f the gravest errrs f ur time is the dichtmy between the faith which many prfess and the practice f their daily lives. b) T S Elit We had the experience but we missed the meaning c) Peple are tired; they are wrn ut, verladed with infrmatin, and verwhelmed with the scial, plitical, and ecnmic climate. They are nt striving t thrive; they are merely trying t survive. This is a tired culture. Matthew Kelly d) the unexamined life is nt wrth living Scrates; the unreflected ministerial life is nt wrth the ministering Js. Driscll e) Inner silence is necessary t listen t the Wrd f Gd, t experience His presence, t hear Gd s call. Tday we are unable t pray. We are unable t silence the hubbub inside there is n quiet, hly space in the heart fr the flame f Pentecst. Ppe Paul VI, 1972. Assumptins: Gd is present, We desire Gd, Be pen t Gd, Taste and See TR cnnecting faith with life TR discvering the revelatry quality f ur human experience Surces fr TR Experience, Traditin, Culture TR is an attempt t integrate the segments f ur lives s that we can live and breathe ur beliefs, that ur faith has a vice in ur everyday beliefs. TR makes raw experience int lived experience, and mves frm insight t actin. TR invites us t befriend ur Christian heritage, ur lived experience, ur culture, and ur cntemprary faith cmmunity as cnversatin partners n the jurney f faith. JG 21 TR allws us t recall and savr fleeting glimpses f Gd, t recgnize Gd s graciusness, and t priritize and fashin ur lives accrdingly. the Christian leader thinks, speaks, and acts in the name f Jesus. T be such a leader it is essential t be able t discern frm mment t mment hw Gd acts in human histry and hw 3
persnal, cmmunal, natinal, and internatinal events that ccur during ur lives can make us mre and mre sensitive t the ways in which we are led t the crss and thrugh the crss t resurrectin. Fr. Henri Nuwen Stages f TR prcess Attending nn-judgmental listening r narrating Reflecting identifying the heart f the matter, dialguing with Traditin Applying identify new learning / insights + integrate them int life / actin Prcess f TR: 3 questins t use in Attending, Reflecting and Applying what des this (text, experience) mean? D I understand the authr s wrds? what des this mean t me? Hw is Gd challenging me thrugh this text? what wuld it cst me t live this ut? Hw can I mve frm insight t actin? Read Lk 24:13-35. Hw is the prcess f TR illustrated in this text? Spnsr Starter: What must I d t becme mre aware f Gd s nging revelatin in my life? Recmmended Reading Gerald O Cllins and Edward Farrugia, A Cncise Dictinary f Thelgy, Paulist Press, 2013. Dermt A. Lane, The Experience f Gd: an Invitatin t D Thelgy, Paulist Press, 2005 Jye Grs, Cnnecting Faith and Life: Thelgical Reflectin; Lyla Press, 2001 Richard Gaillardetz, By What Authrity? Liturgical Press, 2003. 4
Revelatin and Faith Ntes 1. On Divine Revelatin / Dei Verbum #2-10 frm The Dcuments f Vatican II, 1965 2. In His gdness and wisdm Gd chse t reveal Himself and t make knwn t us the hidden purpse f His will (see Eph. 1:9) by which thrugh Christ, the Wrd made flesh, man might in the Hly Spirit have access t the Father and cme t share in the divine nature (see Eph. 2:18; 2 Peter 1:4). Thrugh this revelatin, therefre, the invisible Gd (see Cl. 1;15, 1 Tim. 1:17) ut f the abundance f His lve speaks t men as friends (see Ex. 33:11; Jhn 15:14-15) and lives amng them (see Bar. 3:38), s that He may invite and take them int fellwship with Himself. This plan f revelatin is realized by deeds and wrds having an inner unity: the deeds wrught by Gd in the histry f salvatin manifest and cnfirm the teaching and realities signified by the wrds, while the wrds prclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery cntained in them. By this revelatin then, the deepest truth abut Gd and the salvatin f man shines ut fr ur sake in Christ, wh is bth the mediatr and the fullness f all revelatin. 3. Gd, wh thrugh the Wrd creates all things (see Jhn 1:3) and keeps them in existence, gives men an enduring witness t Himself in created realities (see Rm. 1:19-20). Planning t make knwn the way f heavenly salvatin, He went further and frm the start manifested Himself t ur first parents. Then after their fall His prmise f redemptin arused in them the hpe f being saved (see Gen. 3:15) and frm that time n He ceaselessly kept the human race in His care, t give eternal life t thse wh perseveringly d gd in search f salvatin (see Rm. 2:6-7). Then, at the time He had appinted He called Abraham in rder t make f him a great natin (see Gen. 12:2). Thrugh the patriarchs, and after them thrugh Mses and the prphets, He taught this peple t acknwledge Himself the ne living and true Gd, prvident father and just judge, and t wait fr the Savir prmised by Him, and in this manner prepared the way fr the Gspel dwn thrugh the centuries. 4. Then, after speaking in many and varied ways thrugh the prphets, "nw at last in these days Gd has spken t us in His Sn" (Heb. 1:1-2). Fr He sent His Sn, the eternal Wrd, wh enlightens all men, s that He might dwell amng men and tell them f the innermst being f Gd (see Jhn 1:1-18). Jesus Christ, therefre, the Wrd made flesh, was sent as "a man t men." He "speaks the wrds f Gd" (Jhn 3;34), and cmpletes the wrk f salvatin which His Father gave Him t d (see Jhn 5:36; Jhn 17:4). T see Jesus is t see His Father (Jhn 14:9). Fr this reasn Jesus perfected revelatin by fulfilling it thrugh his whle wrk f making Himself present and manifesting Himself: thrugh His wrds and deeds, His signs and wnders, but especially thrugh His death and glrius resurrectin frm the dead and final sending f the Spirit f truth. Mrever He cnfirmed with divine testimny what revelatin prclaimed, that Gd is with us t free us frm the darkness f sin and death, and t raise us up t life eternal. The Christian dispensatin, therefre, as the new and definitive cvenant, will never pass away and we nw await n further new public revelatin befre the glrius manifestatin f ur Lrd Jesus Christ (see 1 Tim. 6:14 and Tit. 2:13). 5. "The bedience f faith" (Rm. 13:26; see 1:5; 2 Cr 10:5-6) "is t be given t Gd wh reveals, an bedience by which man cmmits his whle self freely t Gd, ffering the full submissin f intellect and will t Gd wh reveals," and freely assenting t the truth revealed by Him. T make this act f faith, the grace f Gd and the interir help f the Hly Spirit must precede and assist, mving the heart and turning it t Gd, pening the eyes 5
f the mind and giving "jy and ease t everyne in assenting t the truth and believing it." T bring abut an ever deeper understanding f revelatin the same Hly Spirit cnstantly brings faith t cmpletin by His gifts. 6. Thrugh divine revelatin, Gd chse t shw frth and cmmunicate Himself and the eternal decisins f His will regarding the salvatin f men. That is t say, He chse t share with them thse divine treasures which ttally transcend the understanding f the human mind. (6) As a sacred synd has affirmed, Gd, the beginning and end f all things, can be knwn with certainty frm created reality by the light f human reasn (see Rm. 1:20); but teaches that it is thrugh His revelatin that thse religius truths which are by their nature accessible t human reasn can be knwn by all men with ease, with slid certitude and with n trace f errr, even in this present state f the human race. (7) CHAPTER II HANDING ON DIVINE REVELATION 7. In His gracius gdness, Gd has seen t it that what He had revealed fr the salvatin f all natins wuld abide perpetually in its full integrity and be handed n t all generatins. Therefre Christ the Lrd in whm the full revelatin f the supreme Gd is brught t cmpletin (see Cr. 1:20; 3:13; 4:6), cmmissined the Apstles t preach t all men that Gspel which is the surce f all saving truth and mral teaching, (1) and t impart t them heavenly gifts. This Gspel had been prmised in frmer times thrugh the prphets, and Christ Himself had fulfilled it and prmulgated it with His lips. This cmmissin was faithfully fulfilled by the Apstles wh, by their ral preaching, by example, and by bservances handed n what they had received frm the lips f Christ, frm living with Him, and frm what He did, r what they had learned thrugh the prmpting f the Hly Spirit. The cmmissin was fulfilled, t, by thse Apstles and apstlic men wh under the inspiratin f the same Hly Spirit cmmitted the message f salvatin t writing. (2) But in rder t keep the Gspel frever whle and alive within the Church, the Apstles left bishps as their successrs, "handing ver" t them "the authrity t teach in their wn place."(3) This sacred traditin, therefre, and Sacred Scripture f bth the Old and New Testaments are like a mirrr in which the pilgrim Church n earth lks at Gd, frm whm she has received everything, until she is brught finally t see Him as He is, face t face (see 1 Jhn 3:2). 8. And s the apstlic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired bks, was t be preserved by an unending successin f preachers until the end f time. Therefre the Apstles, handing n what they themselves had received, warn the faithful t hld fast t the traditins which they have learned either by wrd f muth r by letter (see 2 Thess. 2:15), and t fight in defense f the faith handed n nce and fr all (see Jude 1:3) (4) Nw what was handed n by the Apstles includes everything which cntributes tward the hliness f life and increase in faith f the peples f Gd; and s the Church, in her teaching, life and wrship, perpetuates and hands n t all generatins all that she herself is, all that she believes. This traditin which cmes frm the Apstles develp in the Church with the help f the Hly Spirit. (5) Fr there is a grwth in the understanding f the realities and the wrds which have been handed dwn. This happens thrugh the cntemplatin and study made by believers, wh treasure these things in their hearts (see Luke, 2:19, 51) thrugh a penetrating understanding f the spiritual realities which they experience, and thrugh the preaching f thse wh have received thrugh Episcpal successin the sure gift f truth. Fr as the centuries 6
succeed ne anther, the Church cnstantly mves frward tward the fullness f divine truth until the wrds f Gd reach their cmplete fulfillment in her. The wrds f the hly fathers witness t the presence f this living traditin, whse wealth is pured int the practice and life f the believing and praying Church. Thrugh the same traditin the Church's full cann f the sacred bks is knwn, and the sacred writings themselves are mre prfundly understd and unceasingly made active in her; and thus Gd, wh spke f ld, uninterruptedly cnverses with the bride f His belved Sn; and the Hly Spirit, thrugh whm the living vice f the Gspel resunds in the Church, and thrugh her, in the wrld, leads unt all truth thse wh believe and makes the wrd f Christ dwell abundantly in them (see Cl. 3:16). 9. Hence there exists a clse cnnectin and cmmunicatin between sacred traditin and Sacred Scripture. Fr bth f them, flwing frm the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge int a unity and tend tward the same end. Fr Sacred Scripture is the wrd f Gd inasmuch as it is cnsigned t writing under the inspiratin f the divine Spirit, while sacred traditin takes the wrd f Gd entrusted by Christ the Lrd and the Hly Spirit t the Apstles, and hands it n t their successrs in its full purity, s that led by the light f the Spirit f truth, they may in prclaiming it preserve this wrd f Gd faithfully, explain it, and make it mre widely knwn. Cnsequently it is nt frm Sacred Scripture alne that the Church draws her certainty abut everything which has been revealed. Therefre bth sacred traditin and Sacred Scripture are t be accepted and venerated with the same sense f lyalty and reverence.(6) 10. Sacred traditin and Sacred Scripture frm ne sacred depsit f the wrd f Gd, cmmitted t the Church. Hlding fast t this depsit the entire hly peple united with their shepherds remain always steadfast in the teaching f the Apstles, in the cmmn life, in the breaking f the bread and in prayers (see Acts 2, 42, Greek text), s that hlding t, practicing and prfessing the heritage f the faith, it becmes n the part f the bishps and faithful a single cmmn effrt. (7) But the task f authentically interpreting the wrd f Gd, whether written r handed n, (8) has been entrusted exclusively t the living teaching ffice f the Church, (9) whse authrity is exercised in the name f Jesus Christ. This teaching ffice is nt abve the wrd f Gd, but serves it, teaching nly what has been handed n, listening t it devutly, guarding it scrupulusly and explaining it faithfully in accrd with a divine cmmissin and with the help f the Hly Spirit, it draws frm this ne depsit f faith everything which it presents fr belief as divinely revealed. It is clear, therefre, that sacred traditin, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authrity f the Church, in accrd with Gd's mst wise design, are s linked and jined tgether that ne cannt stand withut the thers, and that all tgether and each in its wn way under the actin f the ne Hly Spirit cntribute effectively t the salvatin f suls. 2. The Rle f Human Experience General Directry fr Catechesis, Vatican Cngregatin fr the Clergy, 1997, #152-153 7
It is the task f catechesis t make peple mre aware f their mst basic experiences, t help them judge in the light f the Gspel the questins and needs that spring frm them, as well as t educate them in a new way f life. Experience is a necessary medium fr explring and assimilating the truths which cnstitute the bjective cntent f revelatin. Experience, assumed by faith, becmes in a certain manner, a lcus fr the manifestatin and realizatin f salvatin The catechist must teach the persn t read his wn lived experience in this regard, s as t accept the invitatin f the Hly Spirit t cnversin, t cmmitment, t hpe, and t discver mre and mre in his life Gd s plan fr him Interpreting and illuminating experience with the data f faith is a cnstant task f catechetical pedaggy. 3. 1 Jhn 1:1-4 1 What was frm the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with ur eyes, what we lked upn and tuched with ur hands cncerns the Wrd f life 2 fr the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify t it and prclaim t yu the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible t us 3 what we have seen and heard we prclaim nw t yu, s that yu t may have fellwship with us; fr ur fellwship is with the Father and with his Sn, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing this s that ur jy may be cmplete. 4. St Augustine s Cnfessins Yu called t me; yu cried alud t me; yu brke my barrier f deafness. Yu shne upn me; yur radiance envelped me; yu put my blindness t flight. Yu shed yur fragrance abut me; I drew breath and I gasp fr yur sweet dr. I tasted yu, and nw I hunger and thirst fr yu. Yu tuched me, and I am inflamed with lve f yur peace. 5. Sme Cnclusins abut Revelatin - Revelatin is the sharing f Divine Life mre than the transmissin f infrmatin - Persnal vs. Prpsitinal / Knwing vs. Knwing Abut - The apprpriate primary questin is wh is revealed? rather than what is revealed? Fr. Gerald O Cllins - Revelatin is Gd s self-cmmunicatin, nt in sme abstract sense, as if revelatin were uttered blindly int the csms. Gd cmmunicates t us. As humans we receive that revelatin thrugh the prism f human experience in histry. Our encunter with the self-revelatin f Gd always has an element f us in the encunter. As we receive that revelatin we are bund t interpret it, nt privately but frm within a number f verlapping interpretive framewrks. R. Gaillardetz, By What Authrity? - Revelatin is nt a cllectin f articles each f which is furnished with a certificate r security against all discussin. N, faith is an encunter: Gd encunters me, and I meet him in prayer and cntemplatin. The first letter f St. Jhn cntains a warning and smetimes a severe accusatin against 8
thelgians: the unlving knw nthing f Gd, fr Gd is lve (1 Jn 4:8). If thelgians are nt als cntemplatives, their dctrines risk remaining superficial. Cardinal Suenens, cited in Evangelism Tday by Bernard Haring 6. Cnclusins abut Faith - Persnal knwledge f Gd in Christ - Invlves a heartfelt relatinship - Necessitates cnversin/metania - Transfrming the ttal persn - Witnessed t in daily living - Abraham, the great mdel f faith, emerges as a curius mixture f faith and dubt, f certainty and cnfusin In the Bible, faith is nt viewed in the sterile and ratinalistic sense f assent f the mind t certain truths r prpsitins abut Gd. It is nt the mind that believes; it is rather the persn Faith, in the Bible, is a lving trusting cmmitment f the whle self t Gd, a hlding n securely t Gd in spite f everything. At times we are cnfused; we struggle and dubt. This is nt ppsed t faith; it is part f faith, the part that says we care enugh abut ur relatinship t Gd t questin and argue (Gen 15:2-3) and even at times t laugh (Gen 17:17). M Guinan, OFM, The Pentateuch 7. Thelgical Reflectin Unless lay peple learn creative, cntextualized thelgical reflectin, Cathlicism will shrivel Withut critical and cnscius thelgical reflectin n the part f adults in the Church, the Church s faithfulness t the Gspel and its authentic witness t that gspel in the wrld diminishes. It even becmes cunterprductive f gspel values. Why? Because ur capacity t cmprehend and faithfully live the Christian faith crrelates directly with ur capacity t ntice, describe, and discver the revelatry quality f ur human experience. Our capacity t live rich, authentic human lives depends n ur capacity t befriend and enter deeply and penly int ur Christian heritage. Tapping the inherently dynamic and energy-filled cnnectin between ur lives and the Christian heritage is crucial t the survival f ur wrld and the Church in that wrld. Assisting adults t think thelgically, t d thelgical reflectin, may be the single mst significant wrk f the cntemprary pastral minister and religius educatr. Patricia O Cnnell Killen, Assisting Adults t Think Thelgically 9