Franciscan at Home

Fr. Richard Conrad, O.P., unfolds the meaning of “grace” as the loving God’s transforming presence in Sacred Scripture and Catholic theology.

To speak about God’s grace is to speak about God’s kindness and God’s gifts. In Catholic theology, and thus in formal religious education, it has become the cus­tom to reserve the term “grace” for the more special form of God’s kindness and the more special gifts He gives. God has a kindness towards all His creatures; but He has a special kindness - a love which can be called friend­ship - towards those angels and human beings He invites and draws to share His own happiness eternally. The purpose of this article is not to develop a systematic explication of the Catholic theology of grace, nor is it intended to unfold the history of this doctrine. Rather, this article will instead focus on the theological foundations of the Catholic doctrine of grace, and its basis in Sacred Scripture, for it is only by understanding the fundamental principles of the Catholic faith that we can reflect the gratuitous nature of God’s grace in our catechesis.

Catechesis on the parables is a central element in our catechesis on the Kingdom of God. Here we consider the meaning of the parable of the faithful steward.

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find him so doing. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed’, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will punish him and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. Matt. 24:45-51. See also Luke 12:42-46

The placing of this parable within the cycle of Gospel readings for the Church’s Year gives us our first clue for how we are to interpret this parable. There are two renderings of the parable, in the Gospels of Matthew and of Luke, and in each case the Church places it so that we can understand that it concerns the end times and the second coming of Christ. These are themes that appear, interestingly, both at the beginning and at the end of the Church’s Year.

The placing of this parable of the wise and faithful, or conscientious, servant within each of the Gospels, of Matthew and Luke, provides us with our second clue. Both Matthew and Luke set the parable in the context of teachings by Jesus on the need to be ready for the Master’s return. Matthew and Luke share one element of this Gospel context in common: immediately preceding the parable is a reference to a burglar who comes and steals from the house. Then, preceding this mini-parable, the two Gospels offer us different perspectives: Matthew’s Gospel records Jesus’ saying about the days of Noah before the Flood, while Luke presents us with a parable of men waiting for the Master to come for the wedding feast.

You are the salt of the earth, if the salt looses its flavour what is there to make it salty again? It is good for nothing and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men. (Matthew 5:13)

¿Cómo podemos ayudar a las personas a comprender la Biblia?

El estudio bíblico se emprende por muchas razones: como parte de un curso teológico, para fines apologéticos, para el consuelo y la dirección personales, como evidencia histórica, por la belleza de la literatura; aún, tristemente, como herramienta para usar en contra de los demás cristianos. La Iglesia no se espera a que todos sean eruditos de las Escrituras. El estudio que se lleva a cabo en aislamiento sin referencia a la enseñanza de la Iglesia sobre el cómo leer la Escritura puede a veces conducir a una lectura individualista y subjetiva de los textos – una que puede entrar en conflicto con las interpretaciones de los demás y con los de la Iglesia.

En esta serie de artículos sobre las parábolas, hemos buscado implementar los principios de la interpretación de las Escrituras que se delinean en el Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica (CIC 109-119).

Se ha elegido para esta edición de The Sower la parábola del fariseo y el publicano. La Biblia de Jerusalén ofrece dos referencias cruzadas en el Antiguo Testamento: Proverbios 21,2: “Al hombre le parecen rectos todos sus caminos, pero es Yahveh quien pesa los corazones”, y Proverbios 28,13: “Al que encubre sus faltas, no le saldrá bien; el que las confiesa y abandona, obtendrá piedad.” El Catecismo también recoge los mismos dos temas en referencia a esta parábola – el párrafo 2559 habla de la virtud de la humildad en la oración, mientras que el párrafo 2613 enfoca la actitud básica [que se debe de tener en] oración para pedir la misericordia de Dios.

Los evangelistas nos dicen que tras su Resurrección, Jesús abrió las mentes de los discípulos para que pudieran comprender la Sagrada Escritura – en otras palabras, el Antiguo Testamento – poniendo en evidencia cómo todo el Antiguo Testamento hablaba de Él mismo. También se hizo más y más patente a la Iglesia primitiva que Cristo había establecido una identidad entre sus seguidores y sí mismo.

Como consecuencia, la Iglesia comprendió que este abrir de sus mentes también abarca la capacidad de ver al Antiguo Testamento como la revelación de la Iglesia, ya que ahora Cristo no es simplemente un personaje histórico, sino que es el totus Christus – el Cristo cabal; Cristo y su Cuerpo, la Iglesia. Además, la Iglesia primitiva también reconocía que la realidad de Cristo, la Cabeza y sus miembros, es en sí una imagen de la realidad celestial última que será completa solo después de la segunda venida. La identidad de Cristo y la Iglesia en la Tierra es prefigura del totus Christus en el Cielo.

Es conveniente, entonces, analizar una parábola que expresa la realidad del totus Christus y que nos invita a reflexionar sobre nuestra vida en la Iglesia como una preparación y prefigure de la vida en el Cielo en la cual nuestra transformación en la semejanza de Cristo tendrá su plenitud.

Jesus called God his ‘Father’, and has enabled his disciples to do the same. The whole Church can now pray to ‘our Father’ (Matt.7:9). This also puts many catechists or teachers, however, on the spot: how do we provide Catholic teaching on human fatherhood and on God the Father without appearing judgmental of the various individual instances of inadequate fatherhood which many children experience?

I began this series of articles on the Parables of Jesus by drawing attention to the fact that Jesus indicates that the parable of the Sower was a key to interpreting all the parables. The Sower parable seems to provide a process in which the Word of God, engaging with a human mind and heart, gradually overcomes various obstacles and eventually becomes fruitful. The fruitfulness is precisely the transformation of the human person (mind and heart) that takes places when the Word of God is permitted to play a leading role in our lives and to challenge ways of thinking and behaving that arise from our fallen self or from the patterns of society that have been absorbed.

It is significant that Jesus relates other parables about seeds growing as well as related parables about planting a vine in a vineyard. Perhaps all of these parables are linked to the parable of the Sower but highlight particular dimensions that are contained in the Sower in order to draw out the greater depths of the Sower parable. Thus, for example, the parable of the darnel or weeds is linked to the ‘thorny soil’ of the Sower parable. The parable of the Mustard Seed perhaps reveals more about the fruit of the ‘productive soil’. The parables of the Vine, the Vineyard and the Tenants, take us a step further and highlight the social dimensions of the Kingdom – Israel, the Church and our joint responsibilities for the Gospel message.

How can we help people to understand the Bible?

Bible study is undertaken for many reasons: as part of a theological course, for apologetic purposes, for personal comfort and guidance, as historical evidence, for the beauty of the literature; even, sadly, in order to use as a tool against other Christians. The Church does not expect everyone to be Scripture scholars, but to everyone who wishes to study the word of God, she offers clear criteria. Study carried out in isolation without reference to the Church’s teaching on how to read Scripture may sometimes lead to an individualistic and subjective reading of the texts – one that may conflict with the interpretations of others and with those of the Church.

In this series of articles on the parables we have been seeking to implement the principles of interpretation of the Scriptures outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 109-119). The Catechism itself is a summary of the living tradition of the Church, and as such, represents the Church's interpretation of Scripture.

We have chosen for this issue of The Sower the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. The Jerusalem Bible offers two cross-references in the Old Testament: Proverbs 21:2 "A man's conduct may strike him as upright, Yahweh, however, weighs the heart", and Proverbs 28:13 "He who conceals his faults will not prosper, he who confesses and renounces them will find mercy". The Catechism also picks up the same two themes in reference to this parable - paragraph 2559 speaks of the virtue of humility in prayer, while paragraph 2613 focuses on the basic attitude of prayer for God's mercy.