Faith Winter Conference 08
The theme for this year's conference was "Hearing God's Word." I gave the first talk on "The Bible belongs to the Church". I began by asking a Ratzingerian question "What is the Bible, really?" and answered that it was not a "book" but layer upon layer of inspired writing from within a people raised up by the initiative of God. The people came first, with and authoritative and hierarchical structure. The books of the bible came from within that people, inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says (referring to St Augustine):
Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely (n.102)The Catechism also makes it clear that Christianity is not a "religion of the book" but of the Word of God incarnate (n.108)
From this perspective, we can see that it is to be expected that the scribes and teachers in the Old Testament and, definitively, the magisterium of the Church after Christ, will determine which books form the canon, and how they are to be interpreted. I am sorry that I have not the whole text prepared for publication - one of many to be finished off.
Fr Dominic Rolls spoke of "Christ, the key to understanding the Old Testament", Fr Kevin Douglas on the historicity of the Gospels, and another of our priests on the Bible in our prayer and in our lives.
The Conference always includes daily Mass, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Confessions, various parts of the Divine Office, and a variety of social and sporting activities. There were over 200 students and young working people from all over Britain gathered to learn more about the Catholic faith and to support one another in the living of their faith. I always enjoy these events both for the opportunity to catch up with priests and seminarians and for the tonic of meeting such an enthusiastic and hopeful group of young people.
Stonyhurst is an impressive building. One part has been recently restored: the Sodality Chapel. I said my private Mass here, served by a seminarian who is familiar with the traditional rite. Here is a photo of the beautiful chapel:
5 comments:
What a very fine chapel !
I had the same thought when Fr. Michael (Forest Murmurs) Brown posted a photo on his blog a while ago of the magnificent chapel at Ushaw.
What a pity most Catholics rarely get to see these noble buildings, or to assist at Mass in them.
I was at Faith and love the main chapel at Stonyhurst and kept thinking at each Mass how wonderful it would be to have a Solemn High Mass in it. Sigh...
The pity is that the organizations involved have gone out of their way over the past few decades to ensure that most of the hoi polloi don't benefit from these marvellous structures - and I'm sorry I don't believe or find the equivocations given as tenable.
I gave a talk on a similar subject years ago in the US - I just wish I'd done it like you... I did the old extemporal thing again - that the Church precedes Creation - and Creation was for the sake fo the Church not the other way round - and that For we created beings we have a new centre point which surges out through time and space and affects all things - like the stone in the pond rippling backward and forward through time and space - and that the whole bible must be scrutinised and read in the light of the incarnation,redemption,resurrection and and the same revealing Holy Spirit inaugurating it globally at Pentecost thus heralding the Mystical Body of Christ , the Church - otherwise it will make no sense....
I also told them to start the Old Testament with the Story of Saul and David - From the calling of Samuel to the death of David - start with the the most human [and most believable] of tales...then move from the prologue and on to the epic...Abraham to Joshua - like reading the hobbit before the lord of the rings...
I have no idea if what I said was informative or helpful...but if I were to start again it's what I'd do...
Thanks for your talk, Father Tim; an inspirational start to a truly life-giving conference. This was my 10th ‘Winter Session’ and I can safely say it has once again banished the winter blues and given new hope for the forthcoming year. This year’s talks were particularly edifying because they broke, somewhat, with the usual ‘faith’ approach and took on an almost educational slant. What a gift, to be given practical answers, not only of use to the undergrad but highly valuable in the classroom! I look forward to continuing our conversation re the future academic validation of the Faith Movement, in schools. Happy New Year!
Such beauty! The building calls you to holiness.
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