Reading notes of the Introduction book

Preface

The author claimed that there's few Catholic have actually read the Bible, and he explained why:

There are lots of historical reasons for this Catholic state of affairs in the
middle of the twentieth century. The church had an exaggerated fear of
private interpretation of the Bible. Couldn’t reading one’s own Bible lead to
all sorts of false understanding? Better to let the church teach us what we
needed to know.

but I think the main reason is lazy or "fake faith" in Catholicism——You know nothing about this religion, why should you believe in it?

Although I'm not a Catholic and I have no plan to become one, I still want to have a systematic understanding of the Bible and Catholicism. That's why I started this note, and I will begin to read Bible at the same time.

The Bible as God's self-revelation

The Bible is a primary and honored expression of this self-revelation of God. It is about how God shows the divine presence through words and deeds in history. The Bible shows us that God is not as interested in giving us information about himself as God desires to show himself to us personally. Because the Bible is a means of God’s self-revelation to us, we can come to know God more fully through the words of the Bible.

In Catholic doctrine, the Bible is indeed regarded as part of God's revelation, and the other part is the "holy tradition". The Bible is the medium of God's self-revelation. It is not merely a human work but "inspired by God", that is, God wrote it through human authors and expressed His will in human language. So it is not merely a "projection", but more like a testimony of the collaboration between gods and humans.

God Entered into an Ongoing Covenant

God discloses the divine presence to us in order to enter into a personal relationship with us. This relationship that God has entered with us is called the covenant. The whole Bible is the expression of this covenant, this ongoing relationship that God began with people centuries ago and continues now in our own lives. This covenant relationship is a two-way street: God reveals, and God’s people respond:

God entered into covenant with the Hebrew people and disclosed his presence to them. God chose them by a free act of love to be his own people, and they responded with faith and love. Through the covenant God promised many blessings to his people, and they agreed to certain responsibilities that flow from that relationship. God first revealed this relationship to Abraham, promising countless descendants, a special land, and abundant blessings. Abraham’s response changed his life and changed human history. Through Moses, God made the people of Israel his own people and revealed the terms of their relationship. The covenant was renewed many times throughout history through the kings and prophets of Israel. Finally, God entered into the fullest relationship possible with his people by sending his Son. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus ratified the new covenant, the completed and fullest relationship between God and humanity.

The Bible as a whole can be understood as a "history of covenants". It shows how God gradually formed a series of covenants with humanity in the history of salvation. From Noah, Abraham, Moses, David to Jesus Christ, God constantly revealed Himself and expressed His plan of salvation through these covenants.

In these covenants, God voluntarily bestows grace, guidance and redemption upon humanity, and humanity is called to respond to His call with faith and obedience. Such a relationship can be analogized to a structure of "grace and response" : God bestows salvation with love and authority, while humanity freely chooses whether to acknowledge His sovereignty with love and faith, and to practice His will through life and behavior.

Therefore, reading the Bible is not merely about acquiring religious knowledge, but about entering the history of salvation established by God. To believe in Catholicism means to formally participate in the "new and eternal covenant" established by Christ through baptism, the sacraments and church life.

The ultimate goal of this process is not only personal redemption but also for all of humanity: God's will for salvation is universal, to bring blessings to all nations through Christ.

---

Q: Catholicism assumes a situation: there is an omniscient and omnipotent being who is completely out of compassion and mercy and wants to save humanity, but in return, he needs humanity to act according to his will. Since he is all-knowing and all-powerful, why doesn't he directly influence humanity or bestow blessings directly, but rather achieve it through making a covenant?

A: God is not a server. It doesn't mean that whenever humans have needs, He will provide them. Of course, God can "bestow blessings directly", but in that case, humanity would lose its freedom and the dignity to respond. He chose to establish a relationship of love with Him in freedom through the means of "covenant", so that humanity could become a collaborator in the salvation plan rather than a passive recipient.

The Old Testament

The Old Testament presents the process by which God initially revealed Himself to humanity, making people aware of the existence of God. The authors who were inspired by the Old Testament recorded and explained the gradual unfolding of God's redemptive plan. The Old Testament is more like a background description or a prequel. The word "old" is a respectful and respectful title for these ancient classics. It doesn't mean at all that these books are outdated or no longer applicable. In fact, the covenant that God made with Israel has not and cannot be annulled. Just as Paul wrote about God's election of the Jews:

"The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable" - Romans 11:29

The New Testament

God’s saving plan, manifested in the Old, comes to fulfillment in the New.

In the fifth century, St. Augustine expressed the church’s belief in the unity of the whole Bible: “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old becomes clear in the New.” Since God is the inspirer and primary author of both testaments, they fit together in a wonderful unity of promise and fulfillment. In coming to appreciate the value of each part of God’s word in Sacred Scripture, we can grow to understand God’s total plan as it was gradually revealed through the history of Israel and Christ’s church.

From Genesis to Revelation, the biblical books reveal the single, overarching plan of God to share his life with the world.

About the Bible

• First, the Bible is not just one, overwhelmingly large book. It is a small library of books. Every book of the Bible is different and unique.
• Second, the Bible was never meant to be difficult. It was written mostly by simple people, like fishermen, tentmakers, and shepherds. The biblical books were written about human experiences to show God’s presence and guidance, and they were never intended to contain any mysterious language. The Bible expresses the faith of imperfect people very much like ourselves—people who believe that God cares about them and acts in their lives.

The word of God in Christian life

Christianity is a sacramental religion. As the visible and tangible expression of Christ’s continuing presence with us, the church is the sacrament of Christ’s presence in the world.

Christ is also truly and uniquely present to his people in the words of Sacred Scripture. Through hearing and reading the Bible, we are brought into the transforming presence of Christ. This experience of the Lord in both word and sacrament is mirrored in the human experience of love. To truly know that we are loved, we need to both feel it and hear it. The sacraments are the touch of God’s love; the Scriptures are the words of God’s love. Together, God’s word and the sacraments of his church offer a wondrous experience of God’s ardent and personal love for us.

In the Catholic Eucharistic Liturgy(感恩礼仪), the entire Mass is divided into two main parts: the Liturgy of the Word(圣道礼仪) and the Liturgy of the Eucharist(圣祭礼仪).

The liturgy of the Word centers on the reading of the Bible, including the readings of the Old Testament, psalms(圣咏), epistles(书信) and the Gospel(福音), as well as the sermons of priests(神父讲道), the Creed and the prayers of the faithful(信经与信友祷词).

The significance of this part lies in enabling believers to understand God's salvation plan by listening to His Word and respond to His call with faith.

The liturgy of the Eucharist centers on the offering and reception of the Body and blood of God, including the preparation of bread and wine(饼酒), the consecration of the Eucharist Prayer(圣体祷词的祝圣), and the receiving of the Eucharist by the faithful(领圣体). This is the peak of the Mass, where the faithful personally participate in the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ and become united with Him.

The liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist echo each other: the former nourishes people's faith with the Word of God, while the latter nourishes people's lives with the Body and blood of Christ. The Sacrament, as a visible sign of grace established by Christ, enables people to truly receive God's grace through specific liturgies. For this reason, the reading of the Bible in the sacraments is not merely a "prelude", but rather a way for Christ to truly be present in the Word, helping believers to take root in the history of salvation and prepare themselves to enter the liturgy of the Eucharist with faith and to be deeply united with Christ in the Eucharist.

Commitment to God's word

The central idea of this part is that you should not read the Bible only when you need it, nor should you only pick the parts you like. God can use any part of the Bible, even the most obscure ones, to speak to us. The best way to deepen our relationship with God in Christ is by reading the Bible every day. If we only read the Bible when we are confused and troubled, we can only share a part of God's life. Love grows in constancy, loyalty and dedication. Whether in good times or bad, daily communication is the key to lasting love.

The Transforming power of the word of God

In the Bible, no word is uttered casually; they are all expressions of personality, conveying the speaker's individuality and authority. Words reveal the deepest self within a person, while words spoken to another establish a relationship with that person. The word of God is different from any other word. The word of God possesses power, conveying His healing power and redemptive authority. When we bring God's word into our lives, we can expect to be transformed.

Unlike human words, God's words are not fleeting but eternal and effective.

Though the grass Withers and the flowers fade, the word of our God endures forever. - Isaiah 40:8

In a world where everything seems to vanish and is increasingly disposable, we can be certain that the Word of God, as the source of our unchanging truth, is eternally valid.

When we study the sacred scriptures, the Word of God can work within us. The influence of the words in our hearts is usually subtle and genuine. The more we remove obstacles - our fears, impatience, temptations, difficulties, misunderstandings - the more we will experience the transformative effect of words. Usually, we do not experience overwhelming enlightenment or spiritual ecstasy. More often than not, we gradually realize that the fruit of studying the Bible is the fruit of the Holy Spirit:

Love, joy, peace, patience, love, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control - Galatians 5:22-23

When we start to notice the fruits we experience in our daily lives, we know that the Word of God is at work and transforming our hearts.

The role of the Holy Spirit

Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the words of the Bible come alive when we read them. The Holy Spirit transforms those pages of paper and ink into the living word of God. The Holy Spirit is the link between the world of the Bible and our world.

The first disciples of Jesus realized that they were unable to understand all that God had revealed to them. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they continuously deepened their understanding of the words they knew in Jesus. This is precisely what Jesus referred to as the work of the "Spirit of truth", who said:

He will guide you to the source of truth. - John 16:13

To make our Bible reading a genuine communication with God, we should pray to this Holy Spirit. Before reading the Bible every day, we can ask the Spirit of God to breathe in our hearts, give us inspiration and guide us as we read. The Holy Spirit helps us read the Bible in several different but interrelated ways:

• First of all, the Holy Spirit enables us to read the Bible as the Word of God - fully understanding the background and perfectly grasping the meaning of the text, yet still possibly not regarding the text as the Word of God. Similarly, we can learn a lot about the text and think we can explain its meaning, but we may still not regard the text as the message that God conveys to us.

• Secondly, the Holy Spirit guides us to understand the true meaning of the Bible. The Holy Spirit first opens our minds and then gradually enables us to understand the meaning that God wants to convey for our growth and life. When we do not sincerely open up and submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it is very easy to impose our own selfish will on the scriptures. But when we humbly entrust our lives to what God desires to bestow upon us, the words of the Bible will guide us towards understanding God's will for us.

• Thirdly, the Holy Spirit reveals our response to God's Word. The Holy Spirit works within us, enabling what we read to have an impact on us and gradually transform us. Reading the Bible with the Spirit of God will not keep us neutral. If God is truly communicating with us, then we must respond in some way.