-  Straight to Catholics - Why I believe in What I believe  - 

                                       By His Grace Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, S.J. 

- Malaysia Sunday Star newspaper: 27th August 1989 - (slightly revised) Rev. Fr. Paul Tan Chee Ing, S.J. Straight to Catholics. Why I believe in what I believe. -

Straight to Catholics obviously meets a need. As a Protestant (others Christian denominations) I have found it very interesting to review a book written to answer questions which Protestants and others ask their Roman Catholic friends.

For Reverend Father Tan / His Grace Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing S.J. the existence of different beliefs is less important than what we do with them. Fanaticism of any kind is thus regarded as a sign of insecurity. One who understands their own beliefs is one who is free to share with others without having to insist that others think the same. He wants Catholics to have that sort of confidence and addresses himself to them. However, the book should also be useful to those who are not Catholics / Catholic Christian, whether they are other Christians or from other Faiths altogether. Rev. Fr. Tan shows respect for most, but those he has least time for need to be taken seriously even in a religious society such as Malaysia's. To him "A freethinkers is no thinker" - "A freethinker who cannot decide what religion he/she should choose is like a jelly fish floating in the ocean tossed about by the waves of opinions of others."

Freethinkers can be intellectually lazy, but so can believers and there are questions which thoughtful people of all kinds need to wrestle with. If we genuinely set ourselves free to consider issues and are not just like jellyfish, then sincere 'freethinking' may be a valid outlook at some point. For such a person this book may indeed be quite helpful.

It is claimed that Straight to Catholics "does not pretend to be scholarly," but in fact Rev. Father Tan is a very good scholar. It is not by accident that he begins with a philosophical framework, defines the teachings of his church, makes extensive use of analogies from common human experiences and looks to the bible for support. As a Jesuit, Reverend Father Paul Tan is in the tradition of the great philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas whom he frequently uses both in the distinctions he makes and the type of argument he employs.

Protestants / Others denomination Christians would raise questions about the strength of some of the analogies and would also want to defend the Faith with greater appeal to Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, even if like all believers they interact in a complex way with the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, the traditions that have been handed down to them, and questions from the age in which they live.

The book starts with the question "What it is to be human" and then examines the "Search for meaning" that in itself is a mark of humanity. It goes on to deal with issues which are widely felt - Creation, Suffering, Evil, Love, Sin, the Trinity (Do Christians really worship three gods?) Others chapters are related to particular Roman Catholic emphases - what is going on in the Holy Mass, why do Catholics say about the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible and Sacred Tradition, the place of devotion to Mary and the Saints, and the role of images as an aid to faith.

The question "Can people of other Faiths be saved?" is one which any religion with a missionary commitment has to come to terms with. Unless we start off by saying that religious differences are meaningless there is no easy way to account for the good we discover in seemingly incompatible belief systems. It would be interesting to know whether members of other religions find the approach given here a useful model.

The value of Straight to Catholics lies as much in its approach as in the answers given, nevertheless there are points which would benefits from clarification. A number of times it is said that suffering is not an evil in itself, it is what we do with suffering that determines whether it is good or evil. Surely suffering is an evil. Nevertheless what we do determines whether and how much it may be redeemed. Discussions of some traditional points of difference between Catholics and Protestants are also interesting - but not so compelling as to make me change my mind!

It is not just Catholics who should benefit from this appeal to understand themselves so that "being secure in their faith, they can then explain calmly to others and share with them what they believe in." This is a valuable contribution to better understanding within Malaysian society.

By Reverend Dr. W. Roxborough,

Seminari Theoloji Malaysia

D.E., Ph.D., Lecturer  

** First Published, December 1984. 2nd Printing, 3rd Printing, 4th Printing. 

                       CHAPTER  8  WHY  DEVOTION?  (Mary, saints and images)

Why do Catholics worship the Virgin Mary? Why do you kneel before the stature of Saint Anne? Isn't Christ the only Mediator? Christ said that no one can go to the Father except through Him. (The Lord Jesus Christ) 

These and many other accusations hurled at Catholics have confused and even led a number astray. But first, the theology on devotion. The word devotion has several meaning. In the strictest theological sense, devotion is the first principal virtue of religion by which Man's will promptly and readily offers to God the worship to which He is entitled. - (Saint Thomas Aquinas, ST 2a,2ae,81:9:82) In its freest sense, devotion (in the religious context) is a strong inclination (or dedication) to a person or persons - for examples: Our Lord, the Trinity, the saints - a religious object, or a religious ceremony such as Holy Mass, Novenas, etc.. The latter is often refereed to as "popular devotions."

Unless popular devotion is rooted in sound theology, it can easily fall into sentimentality or even become superstition. These are its danger. Hence, the Church has always been specially watchful for signs of superstitious practices. - (For example: the Council of Trent warned against the practice of devotions not approved by the Church (Denzinger 1821-1825). However, the Church does not reject devotion just because of the possible danger of superstition. It would be silly to give up driving a car just because driving entails certain dangers. In Canon law (Church Laws), the Bishops are exhorted to be on the lookout for any devotion contrary to the Church's faith, signs of superstitions in devotions, etc. (CICc. 1261.1 of Old Canon Law) At the same time, the Church encourages devotions: "Popular devotions of the Christian people are to be highly recommended, provided they are in accord with the laws and norms of the Church, above all when they are ordered by the Apostolic See" ("Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy," Vatican Council II, SC . No. 13) Why?

There are a few reasons why popular devotion is good. First, we will deal with it from a philosophical point of view and second, from a theological point of view.

                                                   -  Philosophical Consideration  -            

The first simple reason for approving of popular devotion lies in the nature of Man. man is both spirit and matter. These two parts of Man, however, are inseparable. They are inextricably united in the one person of Man. Distinct, certainly; but not separate. Because of this unity of spirit and matter in Man, he/she learns and expresses himself/herself through matter. It is through his/her five senses that Man learns about the world around them. If by defect at birth, a man is born blind, he will never know colour. Of if he is born deaf, it is hopeless trying to make him appreciate music. As we are dependent on our body for knowledge so are we dependent on our body for expressing ourselves, that is, I speak with my mouth and write with my hand. When I am happy, it shows on my face. How do we show someone that we love the person? Through various ways which involve matter; a smile of love, an embrace, a rose to represent love, etc... Because of this dependence on our senses for knowledge and expression, we keep photographs to remind us of people, events and places. We build statues of national heroes to remind us of their greatness. If we love someone, we must keep up a certain amount of contact with that person, otherwise that love will die. Often we keep a photograph of the person whom we love in our purse or on the table or hanging on the wall.

Man's religious life is no different from this. He is as much a unity of spirit and matter in religious life as in secular life. Hence, in his relationship to God, he needs also a certain amount of material mediation. He has to be reminded of God by a church, a temple, a mosque or other symbols such as the cross, the call to prayer, spiritual books, the splendour of nature, etc.. It is from this that sacred images, statues, charms, talismans, etc., spontaneously emerge in the religious life of human beings. In themselves, they are harmless as long as they only remind us of the reality of God, of the saints and of our proper relationship with them. Not only are they harmless but they are even necessary; unless, of course, we become pure spirits. However, it is here that distortion (abuse) can creep in: when the material objects supposedly representing certain truths are made to become those truth, for example, when a medal of Christ, in itself only a representation of the person of Christ, is assumed to possess the power of Christ Himself, that is, when  the medal itself is supposed to possess a power of its own and my belief is not in my faith in the person of Christ. However, it is true that sometimes it is difficult to draw a clear line where faith ends and superstition begins. This is all the more reason why we should be vigilant.

As we are human, spirit and body in unity, we have emotions and sentiments, besides intellect. Therefore, our devotions, besides having an intellectual content, will also possess emotional over-tones. Often, the love of God is expressed by a picture of Christ with a burning heart and the suffering of Christ is often portrayed with blood dripping from the side and the hands and feet of Christ hanging on the Cross. Here again, abuse can easily seep into our true devotion, Over-emphasis on sentiments and emotions adulterate true devotion when self-gratification, rather than service of God, predominates.

The two reasons given above also explain why certain types of devotion appeal more to a particular people of a particular time and place and not to others. Man is conditioned by time and place, that is, by culture, society, patterns and way of life, etc. This too explains why certain devotions in the past have died out while new ones have sprung up.

In Spain, Italy and Southern France, we often find old women, men and young people touching and kissing statues; while in Northern Europe, this is rare. People are influenced by climatic conditions and their different temperaments and therefore express themselves in different ways. There is nothing wrong in this unless superstition is allowed to creep in.

Superstition can even seep in without the use of statues or images. Take the case of people using the name of Jesus. It becomes superstition when they think that uttering his name will automatically bring an expected result. It is not faith in Christ then, but a magic formula. Saying prayers in a language we do not understand (for example in Latin) presupposing that just repeating a set formula will automatically bring about the results, is again magic. If anything happens at all, it is due not to the magic formula but to the faith that one possesses. There is also the superstitious belief that science can answer all. This stems from ignorance of what Man fundamentally is - finite. He cannot answer all the questions of the universe which is becoming ever bigger with Man's increasing knowledge. What is superstition? It is either the result of irrational fear or of ignorance or of both. This we can find not only in primitive people but also in very sophisticated people in our age of science and technology. It is not a question of degree but of kind.

Although I defend the practice of devotion, I do not defend the malpractice of some of our people. Let us all pay heed to the Universal Church's call to guard ourselves against all superstitious or false practices. Our devotion must lead us to come closer to God - His Holiness Pope Pius XII's encyclical Mediator Dei and Vatican Council II "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy" and "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church" Number 50, 51 - 

                                                            -  Theological Reasons  - 

Let us now narrow our discussion on devotion in general to specific devotions to saints because this is where the actual problem lies: the attack that we worship Our Lady and the saints.

The fundamental theological reason why we have devotions to saints is in Apostle/Saint Paul's teaching on the Body of Christ - 1 Corinthians 12. All Christians, living and dead, who are united to Christ are intimately joined together to form in a mysterious way the Body of Christ. Saint Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians compared this union of all Christians in Christ to a human body. Just as there are different members of the one body, so there are Christians with different gifts but united to form one unit. As the blood of the body gives life and unites the whole body so Christ's life runs through all Christians and unifies them. So intimate is this union that when one member is hurt, the whole body is hurt. And when one member, for example: my leg, is hurt, the whole body feels the pain and goes to its aid; similarly a Christian goes to the aid of one another. Following the same strain of argument, when a Christian sins, he/she hurts the whole Church, the Body of Christ. Hence, we see Saint Paul exhortation to all Christians to make use of their talents to build up the Body of Christ. (See the section on "Solidarity.") 

Why are the dead still part of this Body of Christ? Because the dead in Christ are not dead but alive in a different world from that in which we live. We believe that when a Christian dies in the state of grace, he/she does not die, he/she only changes one life from another - and a better one at that. Jesus himself affirms this: "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are counted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrected... Now He is not God of the dead but of the living; for all live unto Him." (Luke 20:34-38 ). Did not Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus at the transfiguration (Mark 9:4)? They were supposed to be dead to this life yet they were living in the next. Saint Peter mentioned a type of ministry on behalf of the dead: "For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead, that though judged in the flesh like men, they might live in the spirit like God." (1 Peter 4:6). It is not clear what this ministry entailed. The Corinthian Christians had a practice of undergoing baptism on behalf of the dead (1 Corinthian 15:29). There are a few theories of this practice of vicarious baptism. But one thing is certain: "At its best, the vicarious ceremony was a tribute to the spirit of fellowship, of unity, and of solidarity in the community, and as such it would be sure to commend itself to Paul. There are still some survivals of this ancient Christian practice, though in the main it has fallen into disuse. In a sense it might be compared with prayers offered for the dead. They too may, for some, signify the deep spiritual unity and solidarity of the Christian fellowship in heaven and on earth, in which all are one in Christ Jesus." - (John Short, Exposition on "The First Epistles to the Corinthians", The Interpreter's Bible, Abingdon Press; New York, 1953, Vol. X, page 240) 

The early Christian belief in the unity of Christian living and dead (but alive in Christ) is succinctly presented by Saint Paul in the idea of the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12). St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15, says that it is because we are One Body in Christ that we are asked to pray for one another. If we do this and if we believe that the dead in Christ are not dead but alive in Christ, why not then ask the saints (those dead to this world but alive in Christ) to pray for help, or intercede for us? And indeed we do. "The Church has always believed (since the beginning of the Church that the apostles and Christ's martyrs who had given supreme witness of faith and charity by the shedding of their blood, are closely joined with us in Christ and she has always venerated them with special devotion, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the holy angels." - A few references from the early Church are found in Saint Augustine, ser. 263, 2:PL 38, 1232, etc. Saint John Chrysostom, In eph. Hom. 9, 3:PG 62, 72 (of N.7, 133 of The 16 Documents of Vatican II, N.C.W.E. Translation, St. Paul publications, Phillippines, 1967. - 

"For just as Christian communion among wayfarers brings us closer to Christ, from whom, as from its Fountain and Head, issues every grace and the very life of the People of God." (Vatican Council II LG, No. 50). 

This belief is rooted in the Gospel teaching. The author of the Book of Revelation in chapter 5 verse 8 says: "... the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are prayer of the saints..." The saints in heaven do pray or intercede for us. Another reason is that God continues His Son's salvific work through the good deeds or goodness of a Christian, another person is touched by God to change his/her life and become better. If God can work through us, sinners as we are, to save others, surely He must be working through His saints, whom, as we believe, are not dead and gone but alive and joined to us. Saint Jerome in his "Letter against Vigilantius" (406 A. D.) said, "You say in your book that while we live we are able to pray for each other, but afterwards when we have died, the prayer of no persons for another can be heard... But if the apostles and martyrs while still in the body can pray for others at a time when they ought still to be solicitous about themselves, how much more will they do so after their crowns, victorious and triumph." - Quoted by Alan Schreck, Catholic and Christian, Servant Books, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1984, page 157 - Our practice of asking for the intercession of the saints goes right back to the practice in the early Church. I do not think that anyone of us will deny that the holier the person, the better is he/she an instrument of God's grace for others. This is why we prefer to go and ask for help from someone who is renowned for holiness. If this is true, it is only logical that the person God will make most use of to help save others is the Mother of Jesus Christ, His Son, because she is the most perfect of created creatures. And indeed, experience confirms our logic.

It is true that when you admire and respect a person, you will automatically be influenced by that person or you will even try to imitate him/her. In the same way, when you have a devotion to a saint, you respect and admire that saint. It is natural then that you try to be like that saint through your efforts to practice his/her virtues, for example, the poverty and simplicity of Saint Francis of Assisi. It is through the imitation of the virtues of saints that we draw closer to God. If Saint Paul exhorts Christians to imitate him (1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 3:17) why cannot we imitate a saint whose life was an imitation of Christ? The author of the letter to the Hebrews says, "Therefore, since we surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (those who would not give up their faith in spite of all ordeals - torture, raging fire, the sword, eaten by animals, etc.) let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith........." (Hebrew 12:1-2). The saints inspire us to imitate Christ Jesus more closely.

These are the basic theological foundations of the Church's practice of devotion to saints expressed succinctly in the creed that we say every Sunday in Church, "We believe in the communion of saints."                                                 -  P A G E  1 - 

Devotions as practiced by Catholics / Christian are not only human but are also based on solid theology found in Sacred Scripture / Holy Bible  / Sacred Tradition  /  Magisterium ( Universal Church ) - Didache - As a result, I have save myself from this perverse generation and remain faithful to the teaching of the apostles. (Didache) That is, Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, Magisterium. - 

                           - Jesus Christ the Mediator and other mediations -  P A G E   2  -

However, all this does not take away from Christ Jesus . His unique role as the sole Mediator between God and Man. It is through Him that all go to the Father: .......

 -     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -   

     - Called Despite Our Fears - BY HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS - Open Mind, Faithful Heart - 

                                                 -  Reflection on Following Jesus  -

YOU WERE CALLED, and now you are preparing to receive the ministry. You may be thinking, "At last we've arrived!" You may experience this preparation from the perspective of the "big moment". This can be harmful for us because without our being aware of it, it can lead us to relativize the ministry we are going to receive. To avoid doing that, our perspective should be that of the chairos, that is, of "God's time," which transcends all the "moments" of our existence. here, then, our question should be: Where do I stand? What is the foundation of my vocation?

IT WILL HELP US to recall the words of Jesus: "On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' Then I will declare to them, 'I have never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.' Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell - and great was it fall!" - Matthew 7:22:27 -

"AND HIS RUIN WAS GREAT." Those words remind me of the Lord's warning about the devil who, after being expelled from a possessed person, attempts to return with seven others so that "the last state of that person was worse than the first" - Luke 11:26 - So again we as the question: What is the foundation of my being?

FOR AN INITIAL MEDITATION, I propose that you consider the ministerial mission you will receive. Having been formally commissioned, you will be confronted yet again with this reality: you are created and saved by the same Jesus who now calls you to serve as ministers, and you will therefore need to exercise the discerning generosity required for greater service in this specific mission.

MUCH TO OUR CONSOLATION, sacred scripture has preserved for us the special relation that was established between the Lord and those he sent on mission: Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Joseph and so many others. All of them felt deeply on their inadequacy, in the face of the Lord's request: "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt" - Exodus 3:11 - "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips" - Isaiah 6:5 - "Almighty God! Behold, I do not know how to speak for I am only a youth." - Jeremiah 1:6 - "I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?" - Matthew 3:14 - even Joseph, who made plans "to dismiss Mary quietly". - Matthew 1:19 - There is a initial resistance, the inability to comprehend the magnitude of the call, the fear of the mission. This sign is from the good spirit, especially if it does not stop there but allows the Lord's strength to express itself through human weakness and to infuse that weakness with consistency and solidity. "I will be with you, and this shall be the sign that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain" - Exodus 3:12 - "He touched my mouth and said: 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven" - Isaiah 6:7 - "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whenever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you" - Jeremiah 1:7-8 -; Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness" - Matthew 3:15 - "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." - Matthew 1:20 -

IN GIVING US A MISSION, the Lord grounds us; he gives us a solid foundation. And he does not do so with the perfunctory attitude of someone giving us an ordinary task to perform, but with the empowering might of his Spirit, so that our identity is sealed by the very way in which we are made to belong to that mission. Identity is tied up with belonging, and for us belonging means participating in what Jesus grounds - and Jesus grounds us in the Church, in the holy and faithful people, for the glory of the Father. Perhaps, our fears and insecurities arise from the same feelings that moved Moses, Isaiah, John, and the other great figures to fight shy of their mission when it was first proposed to them. If so, then all we have to do is allow the Lord to speak to us and to help us place our fear, our pusillanimity, and our self-regard in their true perspective.

JESUS ESTABLISHED the kingdom of God. By his words and by his life he founded it once and for all. Belonging to that kingdom is for a value we cannot refuse. Jesus establishes us as pastors of his people and that is what he wants us to be. In speaking of our own foundations, we cannot prescind from this pastoral dimension of our lives. I think that for this meditation we may be helped by reviewing a pastoral document that summons us to allow ourselves to be established anew as pastors by Christ our Lord. I therefor propose that you read some passages from Evangelii Nuntiandi. Let us reflect on ourselves in the light of that teaching in order to draw some profit from it. 

JESUS HIMSELF has a mission: "Going from town to town, preaching to the poorest - frequently the most receptive - the joyful news of the fulfillment of the promises and of the Covenant offered by God is the mission for which Jesus declares that he is sent by the Father. And all the aspects of his mystery - the Incarnation itself, his miracles, his teaching, the gathering together of the disciples, the sending out of the Twelve, the cross and the resurrection, the permanence of his presence in the midst of his own - were components of his evangelizing activity" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 6). Through this evangelizing activity Christ "proclaims a kingdom, the kingdom of God; and this is so important that by comparison everything else becomes 'the rest' that which is 'given' in addition - cf. Matthew 6:31-33 -. Only the kingdom therefore is absolute and it makes everything else relative" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 8). It is the Lord who establishes the kingdom.

Therefore do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?" "What will we wear?" For it is the Gentiles strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. - Matthew 6:31-33 -

We may continue this mediation by contemplating the different ways in which Jesus describes "the happiness of belonging to this kingdom............. - P A G E  O N E - 

   

                                                     -   HUMAN  BEING  FREEDOM   -  

God created man/woman a rational being, conferring on him/her the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his/her own actions. "God willed that man/woman should be 'left in the hand of his/her own counsel,' so that he/she might of his/her own accord seek his/her Creator and freely attain his/her full and blessed perfection by cleaving to God." - CCC 1730, CCC 30 - GS 17; Sirach 15:14 - 

Man/Woman is rational and therefore like God; he/she is created with free will and is master over his/her acts. - St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres, 4, 4, 3,: PG 7/1, 983 -

Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude. - CCC 1731, CCC 1721 - 

As long as freedom has not bound itself definitively to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of choosing between good and evil, and thus of growing in perfection or of failing and sinning. This freedom characterizes properly human acts. It is the basis of praise or blame, merit or reproach. - CCC 1732, CCC 396, CCC 1849, CCC 2006 - 

The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to "the slavery of sin." - Cf. Romans 6:17 - CCC 1733, 1803 - 

Freedom makes man/woman responsible for his/her acts to the extent that they are voluntary. progress in virtue, knowledge of the good, and ascesis enhance the mastery of the will over its act. - CCC 1734, 1036, 1804 -

Imputability  and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments and other psychological or social factors. - CCC 1735, CCC 597 -

Every act directly willed is imputable to its author: - CCC 1736, CCC 2568 - Thus the Lord asked Eve after the sin in the garden: "What is this that you have done?" - Genesis 3:13 - God asked Cain the same question. - Cf. Genesis 4:10 - The prophet Nathan questioned David in the same way after he committed adultery with the wife of Uriah and had him murdered. - Cf. 2 Samuel 12:7-15 -

An action can be indirectly voluntary when it results from negligence regarding something one should have known or done: for example, an accident arising from ignorance of traffic laws.

An effect can be tolerated without being willed by its agent, for instance, a mother's exhaustion from tending her sick child. A bad effect is not imputable if it was not willed either as an end or as a means of an action, for example, a death a person incurs in aiding someone in danger. For a bad effect to be imputable it must be foreseeable and the agent must have the possibility of avoiding it, as in the case of manslaughter caused by a drunken driver. - CCC 1737, 2263 -

Freedom is exercised in relationships between human beings. Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognised as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. The right to exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person. This right must be recognized and protected by civil authority within the limits of the common good and public order. - CCC 1738, 2106 - Cf. DH 2&7 -

                 -  HUMAN  BEING  FREEDOM  IN  THE  ECONOMY  OF  SALVATION  -

Freedom and sin. Human being freedom is limited and fallible. In fact, man/woman failed. He/She freely sinned. By refusing God's plan of love, he/she deceived himself/herself and became a slave to sin. This first alienation engendered a multitude of others. From its outset, human history attests the wretchedness and oppression born of the human heart in consequence of the abuse of freedom. - CCC 1739, 387, 401 -

Threats to freedom. The exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do everything. It is false to maintain that man/woman, "the subject of this freedom," is "an individual who is fully self-sufficient and whose finality is the satisfaction of his own interest in the enjoyment of earthly goods." - CDF, Instr. Libertatis conscientia 13 - Moreover, the economic, social, political and cultural conditions that are needed for a just exercise of freedom are too often disregarded or violated. Such situations of blindness and injustice injure the moral life and involve the strong as well as the weak in the temptation to sin against charity. By deviating from the moral law man/woman violates his/her own freedom, becomes imprisoned within himself/herself, disrupts neighborly fellowship, and rebels against divine truth. - CCC 1740, 2108, 1887 -

Liberation and salvation. By his glorious Cross Christ has won salvation for all men/women. He redeemed them from the sin that held them in bondage. "For freedom Christ has set us free." - Galatians 5:1 - In him we have communion with the "truth that makes us free." - Cf. John 8:32 - The Holy Spirit has been given to us and, as the Apostle teaches, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." - 2 Corinthians 3:17 - Already we glory in the "liberty of the children of God." - Romans 8:21 - CCC 1741, 782 -

Freedom and grace. The grace of Christ is not in the slightest way a rival of our freedom when this freedom accords with the sense of the true and the good that God has put in the human heart. On the contrary, as Christian experience attests especially in prayer, the more docile we are to the promptings of grace, the more we grow in inner freedom and confidence during trails, such as those we face in the pressures and constraints of the outer world. By the working of grace the Holy Spirit educates us in spiritual freedom in order to make us free collaborators in his work in the Church and in the world:  - CCC 1742, 2002, 1784 - 

Almighty and merciful God, in your goodness take away from us all that is harmful, so that, made ready both in mind and body, we may freely accomplish your will. - Missale Romanum, 32nd Sunday, Opening Prayer: Omnipotens et misericors Deus, universa nobis adversantia propitiatus exclude, ut, mente et corpore pariter expediti, quae tua sunt liberis mentibus exsequamur.  

IN BRIEF

CCC 1743 - "God willed that man/woman should be left in the hand of his own counsel (cf. Sirach 15:14), so that he/she might of his/her own accord seek his/her creator and freely attain his/her full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him." (GS 17&1)

CCC 1744 - Freedom is the power to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of one's own. Freedom attains perfection in its acts when directed toward God, the sovereign Good.

CCC 1745 - Freedom characterizes properly human acts. It makes the human being responsible for acts of which he/she is the voluntary agent. His/Her deliberate acts properly  belong to him/her. 

CCC 1746 - The imputability or responsibility for an action can be diminished or nullified by ignorance, duress, fear and other psychological or social factors.

CCC 1747 - The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in religious and moral matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of man/woman. But the exercise of freedom does not entail the putative right to say or do anything.

CCC 1748 - "For freedom Christ has set us free" (Galatians 5:1). 

-     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

An Old Testament prophetic book that portrays the coming glory of the MESSIAH. Prophet Zechariah describe as "the most Messianic of all the Old Testament books" describe by many scholars, academic, intellectual person as "the most Messianic of all the Old Testament books" because it contains many specific references to the Messiah in its brief 14 chapters. The 14 chapters of Zechariah fall naturally into two important chapters, that is, the prophet's encouragement to the people to finish the work of rebuilding the Temple, and in chapters 9 to 14, Zechariah's picture of Israel's glorious future and the coming of the Messiah.

In the first section, Zechariah introduces himself as God's prophet and calls the people to repent and turn from their wicked and evil ways. Part of their sin was their failure to finish the work of rebuilding the Temple after returning from the Captivity in Babylon. In a series of eight symbolic night visions that came to the prophet. Zechariah encourages the people to finish this important task. These visions are followed by a coronation scene. In which a high priest named Joshua is crowned as priest and king, symbolizing the Messiah who is to come. This is considered one of the classic Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.

- A summons to conversion - In the second year of Darius, in the eighth month, the word of Yahweh was addressed to the prophet Zechariah (son of Berechiah), son of Iddo, as follows, Cry out to the remnant of this people and say to them, "Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Return to me, and I will return to you, says Yahweh Sabaoth. Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the prophets in the past cried: Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Turn back from your wicked and evil ways and deeds. But - it is Yahweh who speaks - they would not listen and pay attention to me. Where are your ancestors now? Are those prophets still alive? Did not my words and my orders, with which I charged my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors? Yahweh was stirred to anger against your ancestors." This reduced them to such confusion that they said, 'Yahweh Sabaoth has treated us as he resolved to do, and as our ways and deeds deserved.' - Zechariah 1:1-6b -    

In Chapters 7 and 8 also continue another important element of the Messianic hope: the One to come will reign in justice from Zion, the city of Jerusalem. - Zechariah 8:3; 15-16 -

The second major section of Zechariah's book: chapters 9 to 14, contains God's promises for the new age to come. Chapter 9 has a remarkable description of the manner in which the ruling Messiah will enter the city of Jerusalem: "Behold, your King is coming to you: He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. - Zechariah 9:9 - These were the words used by Saint Matthew to describe Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem about 400 years after Zechariah, made this startling prediction - Matthew 21:5; Mark 11:-7-10 - 

Other promises for the future in this section of the book include the restoration of the nation of Israel (Chapter 10) and Jerusalem's deliverance from her enemies (Chapter 12) as well as her purification as the holy city (Chapter 13). Like the Book of Revelation, Zechariah closes on the theme of the universal reign of God. All nations will come to worship Him as He extends His rule throughout the world (Chapter 14).

Most conservative scholars agree that the entire Book of Zechariah was written by the prophet of that name, who identifies himself in the book's introduction as "the son of Berechiah" - (1:1) But some scholars insist the second major section of the book, Chapter 9 to 14, was written by an unknown author. These scholars believe this section was added to the book about 30 or 40 years after Zechariah the prophet wrote Chapters 1 to 8. 

It is true that these two sections of the Book have their own unique characteristics. In the first section Zechariah encourages the people to finish the Temple, while in the second section he is more concerned about the glorious age of the future. The language and style of these two sections of Zechariah are also quite different. And the prophecies in these two sections seem to be in different times. 

Chapter 1 to 8, Zechariah tells us, were delivered as prophecies "in the eighth months of the second years of Darius" - 1:11 - and "in the fourth year of king Darius" - 7:1 - These references to Darius I of Persia (ruled 521-486 B. C.) But chapters 9-14 contain a reference to Greece (9:13), probably indicating it was written after 480 B.C., when the balance of world power was shifting from the Persians to the Greeks. How can these major differences between these two sections of the book explained unless we accept the theory that they were written by two different people?

One possible explanation is that Zechariah was a young man when he delivered his prophecies in the first section of the book. The book itself contains a clue that this may have been the case. In one of his visions, two angels speak to one another about the prophet, referring to him as "this young man" (2:4). Thus it is quite possible that Zechariah could have encouraged the Jewish captives in Jerusalem in the early part of his ministry and could have delivered the messages about the future, contained in the second section of the book, during his final years as a prophet.

After all the evidence is examined, there is no convincing reason to dispute the traditional view that Zechariah the prophet wrote the entire book that bears his name. These prophecies were first delivered and then reduced to writing over a period of about 45 years - from 520 to 475 B.C.

As for the prophet himself, very little is known about him beyond the few facts he reveals in his book. He was a descendant, perhaps the grandson of Iddo the priest (1:1) - one of the family leaders who returned from the Captivity in Babylon - Nehemiah 12:16 - This means that Zechariah probably was a priest as well as a prophet - an unusual circumstance because most of the prophets of Israel spoke out against the priestly class. Since he was a young man when he began to prophesy in 520 B. C., Zechariah was probably born in Babylon while the Jewish people were in captivity. He probably returned with his family with the first wave of captives who reached Jerusalem under Zerubbabel, that is, about 536 B.C. 

The setting at the beginning of the Book is the same as the setting of the Book of Haggai. The prophet Haggai spoke directly to the issue of the rebuilding of the Temple, encouraging those whose returned from captivity in Babylon to finish the task. Zechariah spoke to that issue as well, according to the Book of Ezra 5:1. But Zechariah wished to bring about a complete spiritual renewal through faith, hope and love in God. He spoke about the nature of God love and of the hope which God promised to those who were faithful to Him. 

The second portion of Zechariah was written in the period between the times of the prophets Haggai (520 B.C.) and Malachi (450 B.C.) The Persian empire was ruled by two great kings during these years, Darius 1 (552-486 B.C.) and Xerxes 1 (585-465 B.C.) This was a period when the Jewish people in Jerusalem were settled in their new land with a walled city and their beloved Temple. But they were unhappy and dissatisfied. Some of the people had expected that Zerubbabel, governor of Jerusalem, might be the Messiah, but this had proven to be false. The people needed a new word concerning God's future for them. This message from God was given in a most dramatic fashion by the great prophet Zechariah.

One of the greatest contribution of the Book of Zechariah is the merger of the best from the priestly and prophetic elements in Israel's history. Zechariah realized the need for both these elements in an authentic faith. He called the people to repent and turn from their sins. He also realized that the Temple and religious ritual played an important role in keeping the people close to God. He brought these elements together in his own ministry, Zechariah helped prepare the way for the Christian community's understanding of Christ as both priest and prophet.

Zechariah is also noted for his development of an apocalyptic-prophetic style - highly symbolized and visionary language concerning the events of the end-time. In this, his writing resembles the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. The vision of lampstands and olive trees, horsemen and chariots, measuring lines and horns place him and these other two books in a class by themselves. Zechariah also has a great deal to say about the concept of God as warrior. While this was a well-established image among scriptural/biblical writers, Zechariah ties this idea to the concept of the Day of the Lord (cf. Joel chapter 2) His description of the return of Christ to earth as the great Warrior in the Day of the Lord - 14:1-9 - is one of the most stirring prophecies of the Old Testament.

On that day, according to Zechariah, Christ Jesus will place His feet on the Mount of Olives, causing violent changes and throughout the land (14:3-4). The day will be changed to darkness and the darkness to light (14:5-8). The entire world will worship Him as the Lord spreads His rule as King "over all the earth" - 14:9 - 

Zechariah 12:10 is a remarkable verse that speaks of the response of the nation of Israel to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. It describes a day in the future when the Jewish people (the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem) will recognise the significance of the death of Jesus. This recognition will lead to mourning, repentance and salvation (cf. Romans 11:25-27) 

But the most startling thing about this verse is the phrase: "Then they will look on Me whom they have pierced." In speaking through the prophet Zechariah, the Lord Jesus identifies Himself as the one who will be pierced. Along with Psalms 22 and Isaiah 53: these words are a wonder of inspiration as they describe the result of Jesus' death as well as the manner in which He died to deliver us from our sins. Amen! Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! Thank be to God! Alleluia!          

-     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

"Ever since God created the world his everlasting power and deity - however invisible - have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made. That is why such people are without excuse: they knew God and yet refused to honour him as God or to thank him; instead, they made nonsense out of logic, and their empty minds were darkened. The more they called themselves philosophers, the more stupid they grew, until they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a worthless imitation, for the image of mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds and reptiles. That is why God left them to their filthy enjoyments and the practices with which they dishonour their own bodies, since they have given up divine truth for a lie and have worshipped and served creatures instead of the creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen!" - Romans 1:21-25 -

"Don't delude yourself into thinking God can be cheated: where a man sows, there he reaps: if he sows in the field of self-indulgence he will get a harvest of corruption out of it; if he sows in the field of Spirit he will get from it a harvest of eternal life. We must never get tired of doing good because if we don't give up the struggle we shall get our harvest at the proper time. While we have the chance, we must do good to all, and especially to our brothers/sisters in the faith." - Galatians 6:7-9 -

"Do not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. Each one should give what he/she has decided in his/her own mind, not grudgingly or because he/she is made to, for God loves a cheerful giver. And there is no limit to the blessings which God can send you - he will make sure that you will always have all you need for yourselves in every possible circumstance and still have something to spare for all sorts of good works." - 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 - 

"He/She who sows injustice reaps disaster, and the rod of his/her anger falls on himself/herself." - Proverbs 22:8 - 

"I lift my eyes to the mountains: where is help to come? Help comes to me from Yahweh, who made heaven and earth. No letting our footsteps slip! This guard of yours, he does not doze! The guardian of Israel does not doze or sleep. Yahweh guards you, shades you. With Yahweh at your right hand sun cannot strike you down by day, nor moon at night. Yahweh guards you from harm, he guards your lives, he guards you leaving, coming back, now and for always." - The Psalms 121 - 

"Never try to get revenge; leave that, my friends, to God's anger. As Scripture says: Vengeance is mine - I will pay them back, the Lord promises........ Resist evil and conquer it with good." - Romans 12:19 -21 -

"I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us." - Romans 8:18 -

"As Sacred Scripture says: God opposes the proud but gives generously to the humble. Give in to God, then; resist devil and the evil one, and the devil will run away from you. The nearer you go to God, the nearer the devil will come to you." - James 4:7-8 - 

"Everything will soon come to an end, so, to pray better, keep a calm and sober mind. Above all, never let your love for each other grow insincere, since love covers over many a sin. Welcome each other into your houses without grumbling. Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these different graces of God, put yourselves at the service of others. If your are a speaker, speak in words which seem to come from God; if you are a helper, help as though every action was done at God's orders: so that in everything God may receive the glory, through Jesus Christ, since to him alone belong to all glory and power for ever and ever. Amen." - 1 Peter 4:7-11 - 

*** No one can ever fully develop his/her character who does not understand the law; to use is to have. The wise get wiser, the rich get richer and "those who have, get." Hence the general complaint at raffles is that it is always the one who has the automobile who gets the prize; those who do not need money receive the inheritance. But it is not just windfall wealth that is received; rather, those who have capital are apt to put it out successfully for investment and thus double or triple their income. Treasure grows when it is used, but when hidden in the ground and not used it rusts. "To him /her who has, more shall be given."

Even in the higher realms of the moral order, the more one uses what is good, the more one develops and enriches it. The more the intellect is used for the high purposes to which it is destined, the more agile and profound it becomes. On the contrary, those who substitute eyes for the mind, or looking at pictures for thinking, eventually reach a point where reading a solid work is a positive trial. When everything is made easy, the noblest parts of man wither through disuse.

In the moral order as well, when the voice of conscience is used, respected, obeyed and followed, it becomes more sensitive to duty, more sympathetic to the burdens of others and more solicitous about the aches and worries of neighbours. On the contrary, when the voice of conscience is thrust aside; when the carnal and the erotic are allowed to dominate it; when the animal instincts are used to the detriment of the God-like imperatives, conscience begins to dwindle until it becomes "seared as if with a hot iron". Everyone is born with "moral capital" which is conscience. If he/she uses that capital he/she gets more of it, namely, an increase of goodness and honesty. Moral power is lost by inattention as the eyes of the mole lost their vision by groveling in the earth. Neglect has terrible penalties: talents are taken away and, after awhile, one becomes like the profligate woman in the Book of Proverbs who "wipes the mouth and says: 'I have done no wrong'."

This law explains why some intellectuals who seem to know so much have not always a virtue comparable to their knowledge. Some teachers know all the proofs of Aristotle for the existence of God, and yet they never say any prayers. Because they have not acted on the little knowledge atrophies like a parched tree, bearing no more fruit. It is the use of brains and not their mere possession to which the reward attaches. Any truth that is meant to influence life, if held lightly or indifferently, generally evaporates. The moral truths that we already know, if not followed through with some discipline and effort, soon become unwelcome truths, because they are at variance with the way we live.

Every D.D. ought to be a saint; every Ph.D. ought to be as good as Plato or Socrates but, as a matter of fact, there are more saints among the non-D.D.s, and more good moral pagans among the non-Ph.D.s. If the mind, the will and the moral sense of duty are to grow, they must be pressed to the heart with hoops of steel, allowed to dominate us until they begin to produce their capital of a happy and a peaceful life.

What is true in the order of nature is true in the order of super nature or grace. Only those who use the graces they are given are given more. As in the order of nature, we get our second wind only when we have used up our first, so in the order of the spirit, as we exhaust ourselves in the pursuit of the Divine and the Kingdom of God, are we given increments and compound interest of new insights and energies.

The law is written in every heart: Whatever we cultivate, bestial or divine, will grow; whatever we repress or neglect will die. Disregarded truth becomes disliked truth; truth acted on grows more rapidly than money produces interest. It is up to us to choose - everyone is reaping what he/she sows.

*** By VENERABLE  FULTON  J.  SHEEN 

-     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

- Jesus Declares His Identity - By His Holiness Pope Benedict VI - Joseph Ratzinger - Pages:1 - 4 -

"I  AM" - The sayings of Jesus that the Gospels transmit to us include - predominantly in John, but also (albeit less conspicuously and to a lesser degree) in the Synoptics - a group of "I am" sayings. They fall into two different categories. In the first type, Jesus simply says "I am" or "I am he" without any further additions. In the second type, figurative expressions specify the content of the "I am" in more detail: I am the light of the world, the true vine the Good Shepherd and so on. If at first sight the second group appears to be immediately intelligible, this only makes the first group even more puzzling.

I would like to consider just three passages from John's Gospel that present the formula in its strictest and simplest form. I would then like to examine a passage from the Synoptics that has a clear parallel in John.

The two most important expressions of this sort occur in Jesus' dispute with the Jews that immediately follows the words in which he presents himself as the source of living water at the Feast of Tabernacles (cf. John 7:37f). This led to division among the people some started asking themselves whether he might be the awaited Prophet after all, whereas others pointed out that no prophets is supposed to come from Galilee (cf. John 7:40, 52). At this point, Jesus says to them: "You do not know where I come or whether I am going... You know neither me nor my Father" (John 8:14, 19). Jesus make his point even clearer by adding: "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world" (John 8:23). It is here that the crucial statement comes: "You will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he" (John 8:24).

What does this mean? We want to ask: What are you, then? Who are you? And that, in fact, is just how the Jews respond: "Who are you?" (John 8:25). So what does it mean when Jesus says "I am he"? Exegesis understandably set out in search of the origins of this saying in order to make sense of it, and we will have to do the same in our own efforts to understand. Various possibilities have been suggested" typical Revelation discourses from the East (E. Norden), Mandaean scriptures (E. Schweitzer), although these are much later than the books of the New Testament.

By now most exegetes have come to realize that we should look not just anywhere and everywhere for the spiritual roots of this saying, but rather in the world where Jesus was at home, in the Old Testament and in the Judaism of his lifetime. Scholars have since brought to light an extensive background of Old Testament texts, which we need not examine here. I would like to mention just the two essential texts on which the matter hingers.

The first one is Exodus 3:14 - the scene with the burning bush. God calls from the bush to Moses, who is his turn asks the God who thus calls him: "What is your name?" In answer, he is given the enigmatic name YHWH, whose meaning the divine speaker himself interprets with the equally enigmatic statement: "I am who I am." The manifold interpretations of this statement need not occupy us here. The key point remains: This God designates himself simply as the "I am." He just is, without any qualification. And that also means, of course, that he is always there - for human beings, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

At the great tome of hope for a new Exodus at the end of the Babylonian exile, Deutero-Isaiah took up once again the message of the burning bush and developed it in a new direction: "' You are my witnesses', says the LORD, 'and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am YHWH, and besides me there is no saviour'" (Isaiah 43:10f). "That you may know and believe me and understand that I am he" - the old formula 'ani YHWH is now abbreviated to 'ani bu' - "I he," "I am he." The "I am" has become more emphatic, and while it remains a mystery, it has also become clearer.

During the time when Israel was deprived of land and Temple, God - according to the traditional criteria - could not compete with other gods, for a god who had no land and could not be worshiped was not a god at all. It was during this period that the people learned to understand fully what was different and new about Israel's God: that in fact he was not just Israel's god, the god of one people and one land, but quite simply God, the God of the universe, to whom all lands, all heaven and earth belong; the God who is master of all; the God who has no need of worship based on sacrifices of goats and bulls, but who is truly worshiped only through right conduct.

Once again: Israel came to recognize that its God was simply "God" without any qualification. And so the "I am" of the burning bush found its true meaning once more: This God simply is. When he says "I am," he is presenting himself precisely as the one who is, in his utter oneness. At one level, this is of course a way of setting him apart from the many divinities of the time. On the other hand, its primary meaning was entirely positive: the manifestation of his indescribable oneness and singularity.

When Jesus says "I am he," he is taking up this story and referring it to himself. He is indicating his oneness. In him, the mystery of the one God is personally present: "I and the Father are one." H. Zimmerman has rightly emphasized that when Jesus says "I am," he is not placing himself alongside the "I" of the Father ("Das absolute 'Ich bin,'" p. 6) but is pointing to the Father. And yet precisely by so doing, he is also speaking of himself. At issue here is the inseparability of Father and Son. Because he is the Son, he has every right to utter with his own lips the Father's self-designation. "He who sees me, sees the Father" (John 14:9). And conversely: Because this is truly so, Jesus is entitled to speak the words of the Father's self-revelation in his own name as Son.

This issue at stake in the whole of the dispute in which this verse occurs is precisely the oneness of the Father and Son. In order to understand this correctly, we need above all to recall our reflections on the term "the Son" and its rootedness in the Father-Son dialogue. There we saw that Jesus is wholly "relational," that his whole being is nothing other than relation to the Father. This relationality is the key to understand the use Jesus makes of the formulae of the burning bush and Isaiah. The "I am" is situated completely in the relatedness between Father and Son.

After the Jew ask the question "Who are you?" - which is also our question - Jesus' first response is to point toward the one who sent him and from whom he now speaks to the world. He repeats once again the formula of revelation, the "I am he," but now he expands the formula of revelation, the "I am he," but now he expands it with a reference to future history: "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he" (John 8:28). On the Cross, his Sonship, his oneness with the Father, becomes visible. The Cross is the true "height." It is the height of "love to the end" (John 13:1). On the Cross, Jesus is exalted to the very "height" of the God who is love. It is there that he can be "known" that the "I am he" can be recognized.

The burning bush is the Cross. The highest claim of revelation, the "I am he," and the Cross of Jesus are inseparably one. What we find here is not metaphysical speculation but the self-revelation of God's reality in the midst of history for us. "Then you will know that I am he" - when is this "then" actually realized? It is realized repeatedly throughout history, starting on the day of Pentecost, when the Jews are "cut to the heart" by Peter's preaching (cf. Acts 2:37) and as the Acts of the Apostles reports three thousand people are baptized and join the communion of the Apostles (cf. Acts 2:41). It is realized in the fullest sense at the end of history, when, as the seer of the Book of Revelation says, "Every eye will see him, everyone who pierced him" (Revelation 1:7)

At the end of the disputes reported in chapter 8 of John's Gospel, Jesus utters once again the words "I am," now expanded and interpreted in another direction. The question "Who are you?" remains in the air and it includes the question "Where do you come from?" This leads the discussion on to the Jews' descent from Abraham and, finally, to the Fatherhood of God himself: "Abraham is our father... We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God" (John 8:39,41).

By tracing the origin back beyond Abraham to God as their Father, Jesus' interlocutors give the Lord the opportunity to restate his own origin with unmistakable clarity. In Jesus' origin we see the perfect fulfillment of the mystery of Israel, to which the Jews have alluded by moving beyond descent from Abraham to claim descent from God himself. 

Abraham, Jesus tells us, not only points back beyond himself to God as Father, but above all he points ahead to Jesus, the Son: "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day: he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56). At this point, when the Jews objects that Jesus could hardly have seed Abraham, he answers: "Before Abraham came into existence, I am" (John 8:58). "I am" - once again, the simple "I am" stands before us in all its mystery, though now defend in contrast to Abraham's "coming into existence." Jesus' "I am" stands in contrast to the world of birth and death, the world of coming into being and passing away. Schnackenburg correctly points out that what is involved here is not just a temporal category but "a fundamental distinction of nature." We have here a clear statement of "Jesus" claim to a totality unique mode of being which transcends human categories" (Barrett, Gospel II, pp. 8of.).

Let us turn now to the story recounted by Mark about Jesus walking on the water immediately after the first multiplication of the loaves (cf. Mark 6:45-52). a story that closely resembles the parallel account in the Gospel of John (cf. John 6:16-21). H. Zimmermann has produced a painstaking analysis of the text ("Das absolute 'lch bin,'" pp. 12f). We will follow the main lines of his account.

After the multiplication of loaves, Jesus makes the disciples get into the boat and sail to Bethsaida. He himself, however, withdraws to pray "on the mountain." The disciples, in their boat in the middle of the lake, can make no headway because the wind is against them. While he is praying, the Lord sees them, and comes toward them over the waters. Understandably, the disciples are terrified when they see Jesus walking on the water; they cry out in "total confusion." But Jesus kindly speaks words of consolation to them: "Take heart, it is I [I am he]; have no fear." (Mark 6:50).

At first sight, this instance of the words "I am he" seems to be a simple identifying formula by means of which Jesus enables his followers to recognize him, so as to calm their fear. This interpretation does not go far enough, however. For at this point Jesus gets into the boat and the wind ceases; John adds that they then quickly reach the shore. The remarkable thing is that only now do the disciples really begin to fear; they were utterly astounded, as Mark vividly puts it (cf. Mark 6:51). But why? After their initial fright at seeing a ghost, the disciples' fear does not leave them but reaches its greatest intensity at the moment when Jesus gets into the boat and the wind suddenly subsides.

Obviously, their fear is of the kind that is typical of "theophany" - the sort of fear that overwhelms man when he finds himself immediately exposed to the presence of God himself. We have already met an instance of this fear after the abundant catch of fish, where Peter, instead of joyfully thanking Jesus, is terrified to the depths of his soul, falls at Jesus' feet, and says: "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man" (Luke 5:8). It is this "divine terror" that comes over the disciples here. For walking in the waters is a divine prerogative: God "alone stretched out the heavens, and trampled the waves of the sea," we read in the book of Job (Job 9:8; cf. Psalms 76:20 in the Septuagint version; Isaiah 43:16). The Jesus who walks upon the waters is not simply the familiar Jesus; in this new Jesus they suddenly recognize the presence of God himself.

 The calming of the storm is likewise an act that exceeds the limits of man's abilities and indicates the power of God at work. Similarly, in the earlier account of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples ask one another: "Who is this that even wind and water obey him?" (Mark 4:41). In this context too, the "I am" has something different about it. It is more than just a way for Jesus to identify himself. The mysterious "I am he" of the Johannine writings seems to find an echo here too. At any rate, there is no doubt that the whole event is a theophany, and encounter with the mystery of Jesus' divinity. Hence, Matthew quite logically concludes his version of the story with an act of adoration (proskynesis) and the exclamation of the disciples: "Truly, you are the Son of God" (Matthew 14:33).

Let us move on now to the sayings in which the "I am" is given a specific content by the use of some image. In John there are seven such sayings; the fact that there are seven is hardly accidental. "I am the Bread of Life," "the Light of the World," "the Door," "the Good Shepherd," "the Resurrection and the Life," "the Way, the Truth and the Life," "the True Vine." Schnackenburg rightly points out that we could add to these principal images the image of the spring of water - even though it does not literally form part of an "I am" saying, there are nevertheless other sayings in which Jesus presents himself as this spring of water (cf. John 4:14; 6:35; 7:38; cf. also 19:34). We have already considered some of these images in detail in the chapter on John. Let it suffice here, then, to summarize briefly the meaning that all these Johan-nine sayings of Jesus have in common.

Schnackenburg draws our attention to the fact that all these images are "variations on the single theme, that Jesus has come so that human beings may have life, and have it in abundance (cf. John 10:10). His only gift is life, and he is able to give it because the divine life is present in him in original and inexhaustible fullness" (Barrett, Gospel II, p. 88). In the end, man both needs and longs for just one thing: life, the fullness of life - "happiness." In one passage in John's Gospel, Jesus calls this one simple thing for which we long "perfect joy" (John 16:24).

This one thing that is the object of man's many wishes and hopes also finds expression in the second petition of the Our Father: thy Kingdom come. The "Kingdom of God" is life in abundance - precisely because it is just private "happiness" not individual joy, but the world having attained its rightful form, the unity of God and the world.

In the end, man needs just one thing, in which everything else is included; but he must first delve beyond his superficial wishes and longings in order to learn to recognize what it is that he truly needs and truly wants. He needs God. And so we now realize what ultimately lies behind all the Johannine images: Jesus gives us "life" because he gives us God. He can give God because he himself is one with God, because he is the Son. He himself is the gift - he is "life." For precisely this reason, his whole being consists in communicating, "in pro-existence." This is exactly what we see in the Cross, which is his true exaltation.

Let us look back. We have found three terms in which Jesus at once conceals and reveals the mystery of his person: "Son of Man," "Son," "I am he." All three of this terms demonstrate how deeply rooted he is in the Word of God, Israel Bible, the Old Testament. And yet all these terms receive their full meaning only in him; it is as if they had been waiting for him.

All three of them bring to light Jesus' originality - his newness, that specific quality unique to him that does not derive from any further source. All three are therefore possible only on his lips - and central to all is the prayer-term "Son", corresponding to the "Abba, Father" that he addresses to God. None of these three terms as such could therefore be straightforwardly adopted as a confessional statement by the "community," by the Church in its early stages of formation.

Instead, the nascent Church took the substance of these three terms, centered on "Son" and applied it to the other term "Son of God," thereby freeing it once and for all from its former mythological and political associations. Placed on the foundation of Israel's theology of election, "Son of God" now acquires a totally new meaning which Jesus had anticipated by speaking of himself as the Son and as the "I am."

This new meaning then had to go through many difficult stages of discernment and fierce debate in order to be fully clarified and secured against attempts to interpret it in light of polytheistic mythology and politics. For this purpose the First Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) adopted the word consubstantial (in Greek, homoousios). This term did not Hellenize the faith or burden it with an alien philosophy. On the contrary, it captured in a stable formula exactly what had emerged as in comparably new and different in Jesus' way of speaking with the Father. In the Nicene Creed, the Church joins Peter in confessing to Jesus ever anew: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16).                                                

                                                                   -  PAGE  FOUR  -    

-   WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY   - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 -If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -