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Here we are on Day 16
We are journeying as a COMMUNITY
One of the only ways we truly can get through The Catechism…(squirrel!! 😁)
It can be DENSE
Today isn’t a lot of paragraphs
It’s SIMPLE but DENSE
Because of that it can be a challenge to KEEP PRESSING PLAY
But here YOU are on Day 16 PRESSING PLAY
The Lord is MOVING YOU
The Lord is INVITING YOU
Into a DEEPER RELATIONSHIP and DEEPER KNOWLEDGE OF HIM
BUT…
We are PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER
WE REALLY REALLY NEED THAT!!
It can get easy to say, “Maybe not today. Maybe tomorrow.”
But we are ready to PRESS PLAY
So what are we going to hear today?
THE SENSES OF SCRIPTURE!!
There are TWO SENSES of Scripture
LITERAL
SPIRITUAL
Literal is the obvious one
The text says what it means and means what it says
The Spiritual Sense is SUBDIVIDED into three other senses: 1. Allegorical Sense, 2. Moral Sense, 3. Anagogical sense
So WHENEVER you read The Bible, we read it according to these two main senses
In the LITERAL SENSE we ask, “What do the words mean?”
In the SPIRITUAL SENSE we ask, “What might be the TRUTH that is conveyed that was not originally intended by the human author?”
MAYBE THERE IS ANOTHER MEANING TO THIS!!
Let's say a prayer as we dive in!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in heaven, we give you thanks. We give you praise because we know this. We know that you are the author of Sacred Scripture. We know that you used human beings with all of their gifts, with all their wisdom, with all their flaws, with all their lack of knowledge, with all their style and preference, and just, their personality. Lord God, you used them to convey your Word to the world. And you still do that in different ways, right? You still use us. You still use us, with all of our wisdom, and all of our failures, with all of our weaknesses, and with all of our foolishness, with all our strengths, and gifts, and personalities. Lord God you continue to use, and work with us, to bring your Word to the world. When we embody your Word, Lord God, when we live out your Truth, you are working in this world. And we ask you to please help us not only hear these words, but be shaped by them so that we can live by them. Help us to live by your Word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.”
This section is a brief section
BUT…
IT IS SO POWERFUL!!
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!
This section is going to CHANGE THE WAY that we read or listen to Scripture
If you followed The Bible in a Year with us, you know that this is how Fr. Mike will ALWAYS read Scripture
Because he is formed by The Catechism, after all
There are ALWAYS two ways to read Scripture
THE LITERAL SENSE
THE SPIRITUAL SENSE
The Literal is the FIRST WAY we read Scripture
So an example is here is the story of King David marching into Jerusalem
What is the LITERAL SENSE?
Hey David marches into Jerusalem!
As The Catechism says in Paragraph 116, “All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal.”
We CANNOT IGNORE the literal sense
We CANNOT BYPASS the literal sense
We CANNOT NEGLECT the literal sense
We ALWAYS have to realize that ALL THE OTHER SENSES are based on the LITERAL SENSE
St. Thomas Aquinas said that!!
So David marches into Jerusalem
That’s the LITERAL SENSE (Fr. Mike is going to detour for a while but we will get back to David, don’t worry 😁)
But now there is the SPIRITUAL SENSE with its three subcategories
THE ALLEGORICAL SENSE
THE MORAL SENSE
THE ANAGOGICAL SENSE
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
ALL OF THESE WORDS!!!!
Let’s break it down!!
The ALLEGORICAL sense will be an allegory
The Catechism uses the example of CROSSING THE RED SEA
In the LITERAL SENSE the Jewish people walked through the Red Sea
In the ALLEGORICAL SENSE it is a SIGN of Christ’s victory in that he descended into Hell and rose from the dead!! 🤯🤯🤯
Also, in the ALLEGORICAL SENSE it is a SIGN of Christian Baptism!! 🤯🤯🤯
So the ALLEGORICAL CONNECTION is that the Jewish people crossing through the Red Sea is a TYPE (TYPOLOGY!! 😁) or a FORESHADOWING of how Christians are now BAPTIZED IN WATER!! 🤯🤯🤯
So what do we mean by that?
The Jewish people were on one side of the Red Sea
THEY WERE DEAD!!
THEY WERE ENSLAVED!!
All of Pharaoh’s chariots were bearing down on them
They pass THROUGH the waters of the Red Sea
They emerge on the other side with FREEDOM and with LIFE
JUST LIKE CHRISTIANS!! 🤯🤯🤯
Here we are…
Before we are baptized, we BELONG to the Evil One
We BELONG to the kingdom of darkness
We ENTER INTO the waters of Baptism and COME OUT THE OTHER SIDE with FREEDOM and with LIFE
SO THAT IS THE ALLEGORY!!
So David marches into Jerusalem
The LITERAL SENSE is that David marches into Jerusalem
The ALLEGORICAL SENSE is that it is a TYPE (TYPOLOGY!!) of Jesus coming into Jerusalem as the King of Kings on Palm Sunday!! 🤯🤯🤯
The King ready to take his RIGHTFUL THRONE
In this case, the THRONE Jesus assumes is THE CROSS!! 🤯🤯🤯
In the ALLEGORICAL SENSE there is a TYPE that is FULFILLED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
OR…
FULFILLED IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH!!
The MORAL SENSE is what we should apply to our own lives so that we act JUSTLY
So David marches into Jerusalem
Could be a sign of Jesus Christ entering Jerusalem himself
The MORAL SENSE could be David worshiped before he led the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem
He made SACRIFICES in order to guarantee the Ark of the Covenant was brought in a God-honoring way into the city of Jerusalem
In the same way, we too have to SACRIFICIALLY WORSHIP THE LORD to truly honor Him
Something like that
We are applying it to our own lives
The ALLEGORICAL SENSE applies to Jesus
The MORAL SENSE applies to OUR LIVES
The ANAGOGICAL SENSE applies to the END OF TIMES
So David enters the city of Jerusalem
JUST LIKE JESUS WILL COME BACK ONE DAY!!
And when Jesus does come back…
He will establish an ETERNAL KINGDOM
He will establish an ETERNAL THRONE
Where He will have DOMINION
Where He will have a KINGDOM THAT LASTS FOREVER
So the ALLEGORICAL SENSE = how does it relate to Jesus?
The MORAL SENSE = how does this relate to us and how can we apply it to our lives?
The ANAGOGICAL SENSE = how does this apply to the end of time?
SO THESE ARE THE WAYS WE READ SCRIPTURE!!
KEEP THAT IN MIND!!
LITERAL SENSE
SPIRITUAL SENSE
ALLEGORICAL = JESUS
MORAL = YOU AND ME
ANAGOGICAL = THE END TIMES
IT IS REMARKABLE!!
If you ever go back and read the Early Church Fathers and how they did this
They paid attention to the LITERAL SENSE because it’s so important
They would DIVE DEEPLY into the ALLEGORICAL, MORAL, and ANAGOGICAL SENSES
IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!
IT IS SO POWERFUL!!
St. Augustine’s quote is SO REMARKABLE
It almost leads into tomorrow’s section when we will talk about THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE
St. Augustine lived in the 4th and 5th Century AD
“But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.”
St. Augustine lived CLOSE ENOUGH to the original events of Christ’s Life, Death, and Resurrection
He KNEW that the Church predated the New Testament
We rely on the New Testament based on the AUTHORITY of the Church that Jesus Christ HIMSELF established 🤯🤯🤯
That is why it is SO POWERFUL to realize that this GIANT OF THE FAITH
THIS GIANT OF INTELLECT
THIS GIANT OF HOLINESS
THIS GIANT OF A MAN
St. Augustine said, “I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.”
The authority of THE CHURCH comes BEFORE the authority of THE BIBLE
NOT NECESSARILY IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE!!
Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are EQUALLY IMPORTANT!!
BUT…
The reason that we KNOW there are 73 books in The Bible is based on the AUTHORITY that Jesus gave to the Catholic Church
Does that make sense?
That sounds so BOLD!!
If you aren’t a Catholic Christian, it might sound BRASH!!
It might even sound RUDE!!
BUT…
IT IS THE HISTORICAL REALITY!!
“Gosh, ok Lord. That is the TRUTH.”
Tomorrow we will dive more deeply into the Canon of Scripture
The 73 books of the Bible
46 books of the Old Testament
27 books of the New Testament
You already know all about them!!
Because you read the Bible with us!!
Or maybe this is the first time you are joining us
BUT…
If it is…
Or if it isn’t…
It doesn’t matter because Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
Scripture References & Reflections
- compiled by Andrew Adamany
Bible Translation - RSVCE
CCC 116 "The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal."
Exodus 14:21–30
"Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down upon the host of the Egyptians, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel; for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its wonted flow when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled into it, and the Lord routed the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not so much as one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore."
CCC 117 "The spiritual sense (subdivided into three senses):
1. The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian Baptism.
1 Corinthians 10:1–2
"I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea"
Romans 6:3–4
"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."
1 Peter 3:21–22
"Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him."
2. The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly.
Colossians 3:1–4
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
3. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.
Ephesians 2:4–10
"But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
CCC 119 "For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God."
Matthew 18:17
"If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."
1 Timothy 3:15
"if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth."
But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me."
1 John 4:6
"We are of God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and he who is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."
Ephesians 4:11–14
"And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles."
Hebrews 13:17
"Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you."
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