A Sermon on the Letter to the Galatians

Papal Address to Rome's Major Seminary at San Giovanni Laterano

"Let us now see what St. Paul says to us with this text: 'You were called to freedom.' At all times, freedom has been humanity's great dream, since the beginning, but particularly in modern times. We know that Luther was inspired by this text of the Letter to the Galatians, and his conclusion was that the monastic Rule, the hierarchy, the magisterium seemed a yoke of slavery from which he had to free himself. Subsequently, the age of the Enlightenment was totally guided, penetrated by this desire for freedom, which it was thought had already been attained. However, Marxism also presented itself as the path to freedom."

Hope according to the Apostle Paul and Thomas Aquinas

Thanks to Mark of Joe versus the Volcano for the post named below:

• Aquinas on Hope.
  

Hebrews 6:18-19 (especially)

"... we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us. This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil ..." (snippet from the NAB - click for the full context).

and if you do look at the context you will see another example of what Msgr. Giussani reminds us of, that "the word hope is always connected with Jesus" (Is it Possible to Live this Way? 2: Hope, 7).

Hope according to the Apostle Paul and Fr. Giussani

Over at Is it Possible blog, I've collected a series of quotes that Fr. Giussani cites in beginning his meditation on hope: The Apostle Paul on Hope.

The Apostle Paul and St. Thomas Aquinas

One of the best kept secrets of the Catholic Church is how profoundly Pauline she is. Do a bit of research and you'll discover the deep Pauline vision that informs teaching on ecclesiology, marriage, the Holy Spirit, Christ, and so much more. The Church does not reduce the Gospel to a few passages of Paul's letters, but listens to St. Paul in concert with the entire canon of Scriptures and with the experience of the Church over time.

A new resource has opened up for those interested in verifying the Church's claim to preach the same Jesus Christ whom Paul preached:

"The Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal of Ave Maria University has made available a number of Aquinas's commentaries on the epistles of St. Paul, putting them online. In particular, his commentary on Romans contains one of his most important discussions on the matter of predestination." 

Hat tip to Matthew of Nel Mezzo del Cammin di Nostra Vita, who begins his investigation with Aquinas's commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Here's the list so far:

• Hebrews - Section 1 (845kb)
• Hebrews - Section 2 (1.06mb)
• 1 Corinthians (1.82mb)
• 2 Corinthians (1.36 mb)
• Colossians (454kb)
• Ephesians - entire group (1.84mb)
  • Introduction (210kb)
  • Prologue (79kb)
  • Chapter 1 (227kb)
  • Chapter 2 (188kb)
  • Chapter 3 (190kb)
  • Chapter 4 (240kb)
  • Chapter 5 (212kb)
  • Chapter 6 (158kb)
    
• Romans (1.4mb)

I'm Like Paul, and You're Like Timothy...

Over at La Perruque, I was provoked a bit by this comment, which asserts that "For Paul, this irruptive even is precisely not about him: it is constitutive of ecclesia."

In Galatians 1:11-12, St. Paul writes that "the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ" (NAB).

In Acts 1:21-22, however, St. Peter proposes electing an Apostle to replace Judas, with the following criteria: "Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection" (NAB).

In Galatians, St. Paul claims that his office as Apostle was received through a special revelation of Jesus Christ whereas in Acts an Apostle is chosen to succeed Judas (who was never an Apostle but one of the Twelve) according to criteria set by the Church and with a reliance on God's grace to perfect this criteria. In the Catholic Church, the bishops are the successors to the Apostles (as teachers of the faith). And yet, the bishops have taken a decidedly pastoral role of local governance, while the bishop of Rome, the Pope, still bears a universal responsibility, that is, apostolic succession. Not surprisingly, the election of a new pope is reminiscent of this scene from Acts.

In congregational Protestantism especially, this Pauline apostleship is taken as normative. That is, anybody at any time can announce that they have been selected by Jesus Christ to bear responsibility for the whole Church. And so it happens that a Bible study teacher believes himself called and starts a new congregation. The group that I met in college was started in order to relive the freshness of the Church as recorded in Acts. At that time, some left to begin again since the existing group was already becoming too institutional.

In Catholicism, however, we have had many men and women who have received a special prophecy from the Holy Spirit which even as it does not add or change the tradition received from the Apostles, yet allows the central person of Jesus Christ to shine forth in a new and splendid way (just as the revelation which St. Paul received brought a distinctive perspective on the work of Christ). These prophetic charisms are inspired in the most diverse people within the Church: women and men, servants and free, of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds and educations. Some of these Christian prophets live a hundredfold paternity, with their spiritual children witnessing to the same prophetic gift for hundreds of years: like Elisha, these spiritual sons and daughters inherit the prophetic gift of their founder. And like St. Paul, these visionaries have often had blind spots which were healed by submitting to the pastoral leaders of the Church as St. Paul did to Ananias in Damascus. It is this phenomenon which accounts for much of the rich diversity and vitality of the Catholic Church — which makes it catholic instead of parochial.

The disruptive irruption of prophetic apostles is an essential characteristic of the Church and is  truly generative — reviving the love of the Baptized for Jesus Christ. St. Paul is inimitible and unique, as are the many founders of orders and movements — and yet they share a common goal: that Christ may be followed.

Sermon on 1 Corinthians 7

Deacon Scott has just posted his homily for today, which preaches on the second reading 1 Corinthians 7: a beautiful homily that I would have loved to have heard in person. Here is one sentence: "It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to understand that the circumstances of our lives are not distractions."

A History of Surprising New Charisms in the Church

At Inhabitatio Dei, Halden takes up a reading of Balthsar which sees the Petrine mission in the Church as having priority over the Pauline, Johannine, and Marian traditions. This reading construes the Petrine as normative and the others as exceptions. 

The Petrine certainly has its place, but Christ is the conductor of the symphony, not Peter. Did you catch the critical aside Balthasar makes regarding the Petrine: that is, "a certain absence of New Testament prophecy" (GL 1, p354)?

On the other hand, "the threefold archetypal experience of Christ [Peter, Paul, John], which is conferred by the Apostles on the Church for its use, remains permanently sustained and undergirded by the Marian experience of Christ, which in its depth and simplicity is quite beyond the power of words. But the Marian experience existed prior to the apostolic experience, and it thus wholly conditions it, for Mary, as Mother of the Head, is also Mother of the Body" (GL 1, p362). 

John is also a strong point of unity, as his testimony "constitutes something like a synthesis of the Petrine and Pauline elements" (GL 1, p 357).

What jumps out at me is the form of the Pauline mission in the Church through history: that is, the Holy Spirit's repeated irruption in history of new charisms: Benedict, Francis, Ignatius, etc. The Catholic Church is increasingly reflecting upon her history as profoundly Pauline, and this can be understood by reading the official documents on the laity, religious life, consecrated life, etc.

Cross-posted from the comments at Inhabitatio Dei.

The Pauline Tradition and the Surprise of New Charisms

Balthasar is an inherently pluralistic or symphonic theologian. Thus, the Pauline tradition is complemented by the Petrine, the Johannine and the Marian traditions (352-365). Balthasar's reading in these sections is profoundly both scriptural and ecclesial.

What's fascinating about the Pauline tradition is that it includes the surprise of new charisms, something that makes the Church ever more pluralistic as she abides in history. In this section, Balthasar explicitly includes Augustine and Newman as examples of new charisms. Elsewhere he discusses Antony of Egypt, Benedict, Francis, and Ignatius - all founders of ecclesial communities with monastic/ missionary tasks.

A "charism" as Balthasar discusses it here (also in the documents of the Catholic Church) could be described as a personal prophetic charism that opens up new avenues to the heart of revelation: Jesus Christ. It has also been observed that the Holy Spirit bestows these charisms according to particular circumstances and times in history.

And what was Paul's gift? "Jesus is the Torah in person; I have the whole of it when I have Jesus. This substitution of the name Jesus for the word Torah is Paul's 'Gospel'; it is the content of his doctrine of justification" (Ratzinger, Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism, 54).

Cross-posted from the comments at La Perruque

St. Paul: the Type of the Charismatic Apostle

Acts 9:17 "So Ananias went and entered the house; laying his hands on him, he said, 'Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit.'" (NAB)

One wonders what would have happened had Saul (in Life of Brian fashion) had not submitted to the Church in [Damascus] and been healed of blindness by Ananias, but had started his own sect... Instead, we have a fascinating situation. The zealot confesses his blindness to the pastoral authority. The representative of the Church for his part is filled with a certain trepidation. And yet, these opponents are brought together in obedience to the Lord: the Church conquers the Gentiles, and Europe will hear the Gospel preached.