Navarre Bible Commentary:Friday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time,Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis Kneeling in Meditation by El Greco

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Friday, October 4, 2013

26th Week in Ordinary Time

Memorial: St.Francis of Assisi

Luke 10:13-16

Jesus Condemns Cities For Their Unbelief

(Jesus said,) [13] "Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. [14] But it shall be more tolerable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. [15] And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to Heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

[16] "He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."

Cited in the Catechism:  In declaring the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism, paragraphs 87 and 858.

Commentary:

16. On the evening of the day of His resurrection, our Lord entrusts His Apostles with the mission received from the Father, endowing them with powers similar to His own (John 20:21). Some days later He will confer on Peter the primacy He had already promised him (John 21:15-17). The Pope is the successor of Peter, and the bishops the successor of the Apostles (cf. Lumen Gentium, 20). Therefore, "Bishops who teach in communion with the Roman Pontiff are to be revered by all as witnesses of divine and Catholic truth [...]. This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given, in a special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak "ex cathedra" (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 25).

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome

FAQ of the Faith: IMPRIMATUR and NIHIL OBSTAT

The imprimatur and nihil obstat  collectively make up the evidence that the document or book has been reviewed by the bishop (where the work is published) and determined to be free of moral and theological error (i.e., nothing contrary to church teaching). Normally, these statements indicate you can read the work without worry that you are going to be reading something fishy. Unfortunately, a few "liberal" bishops have been known to approve questionable works. Additonally, absence of the statements does not mean a work is not loyal to the Church Magisterium. For example some of Scott Hahn's early book editions did not have them because he publishes with a mainsteam publisher.

So you're probably saying, "great so how do I know when something is a legitimate Catholic work or not?"  First, let me say absolutely DO NOT rely on an internet search or by just going to the Catholic section in a book store.  There is a lot of junk out there being sold and published under the guise of "Catholic."  Jesus did warn his apostles to "beware of false prophets (teachers)" [Matt 7:15]. Here are my suggestions for obtaining authentic Catholic materials:

• Find a reputable Catholic book store.  Locally, we have three: Sacred Heart in Richardson, Little Angels near St. Anne's in Coppell and Divine Mercy in Denton.  The obvious omission is deliberate.
• Ask someone you know who is well versed in Catholic reading material.
• Get to know the reliable publishers.  This site includes the links to many of these.
• Get to know the reliable authors like Scott Hahn, Tim Staples, Father Larry Richards, Patrick Madrid, etc.
• Go to reliable websites like EWTN which has a religious catalogue.
• Use this web site.  I often include links to books you can buy through our Amazon partnership.  Joe Catholic actually gets a small percentage of those proceeds.

I have included definitions from Catholic Dictionary:

IMPRIMATUR

NIHIL OBSTAT
For good measure I have included a link to Scott Hahn's new book which covers some of our Catholic customs.  I found it to be a great read.

Let me know what you think about me adding a monthly book review.

Meeting 2: Resources for Additional Study: Teaching Authority of Church

Teaching Authority of the Church (Magisterium)

Biblical References

• Gen 3:5 - The sin of Adam
• Luke 10:16 - Whoever listens to you, listens to me 
• Matt 18:18 - Whatever you bind on Earth...bound in Heaven
• Matt 16:19 - Keys to Heaven given to Peter, the first pope
• John 21:17 - Feed my sheep

Web Sites

• Papal Authority, Catholic Answers
• Dei Verbum #10 (You need to scroll about half way down to #10; the whole document is really worth reading)
• Papal Primacy (EWTN)

Catechism of the Catholic Church

• CCC 888-892 - Teaching office of the Church
• CCC 2032 - 2039 - The Church - Mother & Teacher

Books

• Ever Ancient, EVER NEW, Father John Corapi, SOLT, STD

Quotation from St. Josemaria - Furrow #357