Smores,campfires, and mosquitos

I'm currently involved with nature and it's creature comforts. It fact some of it's creatures [mosquitos] got a little too close for comfort last night. I have also enjoyed fellowship and fun around the campfire. that is--once we were able to get on going. And--I had my very first smore. Last summer in Texas i heard about them. I mentioned them in my writings--and was ruled at that time to be one of the few human beings in the modern era to have never heard of or tried one.

So armed with a stick and marshmellow, and with the help of my nephews fiance, I finally had a smore. It was pretty good, but I still prefer pecan pie.

Being alone most of yesterday enabled me to progress on my new website which is under construction. I was also able to pray and meditate on the other areas of my internet life including the Neighborhood forum. I feel that it is gaining some new ground as its personality continues to unfold.

The Neighborhood has many religious topics and we have a few strong willed participants that can make discussions rather interesting. However--today I felt the need to post a topic that clarified what I considered to be a needed resource--[documents that explain a Catholic view of scriptures and the bible].

However --as i was writing out the post, I found myself putting into words exactly where my priesthood has been headede and what direction I see my efforts going as far as website content and how it will all tie together with that forum and my future work within my religious and the church. This has been rather scattered consciously as I have grappled with the direction of my vocation and life. But as my body has continued to heal, I feel "GOD" as revealed what he wants from me.

I'm going to paste below in this blog the topic from the Neighborhood forum as a reference to this blog entry.

It's time to go back out to the campfire and enjoy the experience. Let's go Yodi.

FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD religion sub-forum:

As a child growing up in the late 40's and early 50's, there was always us Catholics against those non-Catholics that had to be dealt with. Fist fights would break out among us children over ideas and doctrine that we didn't know much about. We simply relied on both sides --upon what prejucicial views our parents had. This was enough proof as far as we were concerned to"go to war".

This same prejudice has played out in the adult world of Christianity for centuries. Wars and strife abound over conflicting views of our common Christian roots.

When we discuss biblical scripture here in this Neighborhhood forum, these same age old Catholic vs. non-Catholic wars break out --in my view--simply because-- each side hold prejucicial views about the other.

For instance--we Catholics simply disagree with "sola scriptura"--- and non-Catholics detest papal authority. This may be too simplistic of a diagnosis on my part, because I'm sure their are other mitigating factors from both sides that keep the flames burning bright for each individual member here [as well as that of our guests and visitors].

I'm convinced that many Catholics and 99.9% of non-Catholics simply have not taken the time to read up on just how Catholics view the bible. It is in my opinion one of the key factors that cause our discussions here to disolve into annimosity and discord. I'm also convinced that most non-Catholics and Catholics have never taken the time to read up on the early reformation movement.

Maybe some may view my quest for brotherhood here on this forum with suspicious intent. And this I believe is true in every circle where the Catholics and non-Catholics have attempted some form of re-conciliation and understanding.

My intent as an individual [and which I intend to devote much of my remaining years and effort towards]--is to work toward the re-unification of all Christians into one body of Christ. I sincerely believe that one thing Satin has going for himself is the destructive nature of Christian fragmentation. I believe the secular decay of our society is based upon this one fact. I believe that to the degree we come together under on universal church--will be the degree of Christian principals in our society. I believe that the longer it takes for this re-unification to occur--the stronger Satin's will and influence will continue to degrade our society into depravity. Every single unborn baby who is murdered, every single human soul that is lost to homosexuality, every single family torn apart through abuse, every single war and human tragedy has it's roots in this current discord among Christians.

I can intellectually understand the grievances that Luther and others had centuries ago. I can intellectually understand the weakness of men who controled the Roman church back then. I can intellectually understand the superstitions and ignorance throughout history. And--how all of this conspired to create the bloody nose that Kenny Norberg gave me 50 years ago. But I simply cannot accept a divided body of Christ.

My whole remaining life and ministry will be about gathering all Christians together into a single body as I believe our Savior intended. I really, really, really want this forum to be such a beginning.

Now I have rambled on enough. I have copied for your pleasure and reference information that should clarify to all catholics and non-Catholics alike--exactly why and how we view the bible and it's verses.

This still does not satisfy some I'm sure. But at the very least--if all will take the time to view this material--you will at least have a foundation in which to view a Catholics post when matters of scripture are discussed.


But what do Catholics believe about Scripture?

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

As with other doctrine, too often non-Catholics never take the time to read what the Catholic Church truly teaches about the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. They have only too often accepted uncritically what her antagonists say she teaches. The following, therefore, is a selection from the most up-to-date reliable source—the Catechism of the Catholic Church—on what the Catholic Church teaches on Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition, the Deposit of Faith and the authority behind how Scripture is to be interpreted.

I. THE APOSTOLIC TRADITION

75 "Christ the Lord, in whom the entire Revelation of the most high God is summed up, commanded the apostles to preach the Gospel, which had been promised beforehand by the prophets, and which he fulfilled in his own person and promulgated with his own lips. In preaching the Gospel, they were to communicate the gifts of God to all men. This Gospel was to be the source of all saving truth and moral discipline" (DV 7; cf. Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15).

In the apostolic preaching

76 In keeping with the Lord’s command, the Gospel was handed on in two ways: orally "by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received—whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit" (DV 7); and in writing "by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing" (DV 7).

Continued in apostolic succession

77 "In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church the apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them their own position of teaching authority" (DV 7 # 2; St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 3, 1: PG 7/1, 848; Harvey, 2, 9). Indeed, "the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved in a continuous line of succession until the end of time" (DV 8 # 1).

78 This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes" (DV 8 # 1). "The sayings of the Holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her prayer" (DV 8 # 3).

79 The Father’s self-communication made through his Word in the Holy Spirit, remains present and active in the Church: "God, who spoke in the past, continues to converse with the Spouse of his beloved Son. And the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel rings out in the Church—and through her in the world—leads believers to the full truth, and makes the Word of Christ dwell in them in all its richness" (DV 8 # 3; cf. Col 3:16).

II. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADITION AND SACRED SCRIPTURE

One common source

80 "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal" (DV 9). Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own "always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20).

Two distinct modes of transmission

81 "Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit" (DV 9). "And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching" (DV 9).

82 As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, "does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence" (DV 9).

Apostolic Tradition and ecclesial traditions

83 The Tradition here in question comes from the apostles and hands on what they received from Jesus’ teaching and example and what they learned from the Holy Spirit. The first generation of Christians did not yet have a written New Testament, and the New Testament itself demonstrates the process of living Tradition. Tradition is to be distinguished from the various theological, disciplinary, liturgical or devotional traditions, born in the local churches over time. These are the particular forms, adapted to different places and times, in which the great Tradition is expressed. In the light of Tradition, these traditions can be retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the Church’s Magisterium.

III. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE HERITAGE OF FAITH

84 The apostles entrusted the "Sacred deposit" of the faith (the depositum fidei) (DV 10 # 1; cf. I Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:12-14 [Vulg.]), contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church. "By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains always faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. So, in maintaining, practising and professing the faith that has been handed on, there should be a remarkable harmony between the bishops and the faithful" (DV 10 # 1; cf. Acts 2:42 [Greek]; Pius XII, Apost. Const. Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November 1950: AAS 42 [1950], 756, taken along with the words of St. Cyprian, Epist. 66, 8: CSEL 3/2, 733: "The Church is the people united to its Priests, the flock adhering to its Shepherd").

The Magisterium of the Church

85 "The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ" (DV 10 # 2). This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.

86 "Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith" (DV 10 para 2).

87 Mindful of Christ’s words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears me" (Lk 10:16; cf. LG 20), the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.

Growth in understanding the faith

95 "It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls" (DV 10 # 3).

I. CHRIST — THE UNIQUE WORD OF SACRED SCRIPTURE

102 Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself ….

103 For this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God’s Word and Christ’s Body (Cf. DV 21).

104 In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, "but as what it really is, the word of God" (Th 2:13; cf. DV 24). "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them" (DV 21).

II. INSPIRATION AND TRUTH OF SACRED SCRIPTURE

105 God is the author of Sacred Scripture….

107 The inspired books teach the truth. "Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures" (DV 11).

108 Still, 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 incarnate and living" (St. Bernard, S. missus est hom. 4, 11: PL 183, 86). 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" (Cf. Lk 24:45).

III. THE HOLY SPIRIT, INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE

111 But since Sacred Scripture is inspired, there is another and no less important principle of correct interpretation, without which Scripture would remain a dead letter. "Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written" ( DV 12 # 3).…

112 Be especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole Scripture". Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God’s plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since his Passover (Cf. Lk 24:25-27, 44-46). The phrase "heart of Christ" can refer to Sacred Scripture, which makes known his heart, closed before the Passion, as the Scripture was obscure. But the Scripture has been opened since the Passion; since those who from then on have understood it, consider and discern in what way the prophecies must be interpreted (St. Thomas Aquinas, Expos. in Ps. 21, 11; cf. Ps 22:14).

113 Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the whole Church". According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church’s heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God’s Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture (". . . according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church" (Origen, Hom. in Lev. 5, 5: PG 12, 454D)….

IV. THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE

120 It was by the apostolic Tradition that the Church discerned which writings are to be included in the list of the sacred books (Cf. DV 8 # 3). This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New (Cf. DS 179; 1334-1336; 1501-1504)….

The New Testament

126 We can distinguish three stages in the formation of the Gospels:

1. The life and teaching of Jesus. The Church holds firmly that the four Gospels, "whose historicity she unhesitatingly affirms, faithfully hand on what Jesus, the Son of God, while he lived among men, really did and taught for their eternal salvation, until the day when he was taken up" (DV 19; cf. Acts 1:1-2).

2. The oral tradition. "For, after the ascension of the Lord, the apostles handed on to their hearers what he had said and done, but with that fuller understanding which they, instructed by the glorious events of Christ and enlightened by the Spirit of truth, now enjoyed" (DV 19).

3. The written Gospels. "The sacred authors, in writing the four Gospels, selected certain of the many elements which had been handed on, either orally or already in written form; others they synthesized or explained with an eye to the situation of the churches, the while sustaining the form of preaching, but always in such a fashion that they have told us the honest truth about Jesus" (DV 19).

127 The fourfold Gospel holds a unique place in the Church, as is evident both in the veneration which the liturgy accords it and in the surpassing attraction it has exercised on the saints at all times:

"There is no doctrine which could be better, more precious and more splendid than the text of the Gospel. Behold and retain what our Lord and Master, Christ, has taught by his words and accomplished by his deeds" (St. Caesaria the Younger to St. Richildis and St. Radegunde: SCh 345, 480).

"But above all it’s the gospels that occupy my mind when I’m at prayer; my poor soul has so many needs, and yet this is the one thing needful. I’m always finding fresh lights there; hidden meanings which had meant nothing to me hitherto" (St. Therese of Lisieux, Autobiography of a Saint, tr. Ronald Knox (London: Collins, 1960), 175).

V. SACRED SCRIPTURE IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH

131 "And such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigour, and the children of the Church as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life" (DV 21). Hence "access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful" (DV 22).

133 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 (DV 25; cf. Phil 3:8 and St. Jerome, Commentariorum in Isaiam libri xviii prol.: PL 24, 17B).