SYNOD OF BISHOPS 2008 The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church
Photo Briefs
Pope Benedict XVI is shown reading the bible in a live television feed projected inside the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Rome Oct. 5. The pope kicked off a Bible-reading marathon on Italian television. The pope read for several minutes from the Book of Genesis from his apartment at the Vatican, while other speakers read in the basilica. (CNS photo/Alessandro De Meo, Reuters)
Israeli Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen is interviewed by a television crew at his hotel in Rome Oct. 6, the day he became the first Jew to address a worldwide Synod of Bishops. Rabbi Cohen asked synod members to speak out against anti-Semitism and attacks on the state of Israel. (CNS photo/Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters)
The image of Pope Benedict XVI reading the Bible on a live television feed is projected inside the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Rome Oct. 5. Pope Benedict XVI kicked off a Bible-reading marathon Oct. 5 on Italian television. The pope read for several minutes from the start of the Book of Genesis live from his apartment at the Vatican while other speakers read in the Basilica of Holy Cross. (CNS photo/Alessandro De Meo, Reuters)
Italian actor Roberto Benigni reads from the Book of Genesis for a live TV broadcast inside the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Rome Oct. 5. Pope Benedict XVI kicked off a Bible reading marathon Oct. 5 on Italian television. The pope read for several minutes from the start of the Book of Genesis live from his apartment at the Vatican while other speakers read in the Basilica of Holy Cross. (CNS photo/Alessandro De Meo, Reuters)
Bishops listen to Pope Benedict XVI during the opening meeting of the Synod of the Bishops at the Vatican Oct. 6. The focus of the gathering was "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church." (CNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters)
Pope Benedict XVI blesses with holy water during the Oct. 5 opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops on the Bible at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. (CNS photo/Alessia Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo)
An Italian cardinal who repeatedly pushed for a synod on the Bible said he hopes the October gathering of bishops will focus on practical pastoral initiatives to bring Catholics closer to the Scriptures. Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, retired archbishop of Milan, told the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica that too many Catholics still do not read the Bible alone or in groups. (CNS photo illustration/Nancy Wiechec)
The Senses of Scripture
by Pauline A. Viviano, PhD
The Church has a rich tradition of interpreting Sacred Scripture. That tradition had begun already in the New Testament, as the Old Testament was interpreted in relationship to Christ, and it was further developed by the early Church Fathers and systematized in the medieval period. Though modern and contemporary biblical scholarship both have adopted “new means and new aids to exegesis” as encouraged by Pope Pius XII, the foundation laid by the early Church Fathers and the medieval Church continues to support subsequent inquiries into the meaning of the biblical text. The early Church Fathers were not bound to one meaning of the text but rather allowed the biblical text to speak its message in various ways. These various ways correspond to the levels of meaning in a text; these levels of meaning we call “the senses of Scripture.”
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I Hear a Symphony: The Many Meanings of “the Word of God”
By Scott Hahn, PhD
What’s the Word? You and I might answer that question in many different ways, depending on the context in which it’s asked. “The word” could mean the latest news (“The word on the street is . . .”). Or it could mean a decisive command (“The word from the corner office is . . .”). Or it could simply mean a word—a basic unit of language, like the little clusters of the alphabet that make up this sentence.
The Word of God as the Foundation of the Church’s Mission
by Dr. Peter Williamson/p>
Some years ago I was fishing on a remote stretch of the coast of Ireland’s Berra Peninsula when I spotted what I thought would be a perfect place from which to cast my line, a couple hundred yards below me and to the right at the foot of a steep incline. A faint path seemed to lead above, and then down to, the place where I wanted to fish. As I climbed the trail, the hill became steeper, and I noticed that the gravel on the rocky face made for treacherous footing. When I reached a point eighty or ninety feet above where I wanted to fish, I realized that the path had petered out. As I attempted to retrace my steps, I discovered that the gravel was too slippery to go back the way I had come.
Basics of Biblical Literacy
By Timothy Michael Milinovich
The Christian canon of Scripture remains an unexplored mystery to many Catholics in America, even though it is one of the most influential texts in western civilization. To improve biblical literacy in recent years, Catholic educators have placed greater importance on informing the faithful about the Bible and its theological contents. This article attempts to provide basic biblical literacy for educators and students by giving an overview of the historical situation of major authors, challenges involved in translating and editing Bibles today, and ways to deal with difficult texts.