Miracles and Gospels: A Task Remaining
No miracles of Jesus? No effective apologetic for the divinity of Christ. No apologetic for the divinity of Christ? A seriously weakened catechesis. We cannot have an effective apologetic for the divinity of Christ unless we defend the historical truth of his miracles as recounted in the Gospels.
The formation of catechists should enable them seriously to address the historicity of Jesus’ miracles.
Using the Bible in Catechesis
Dr Linnig explores both common pitfalls in using the Scriptures in catechesis and how we can foster an authentically Catholic use.
‘[T]he ministry of the word… (should be) healthily nourished and (should) thrive in holiness through the word of Sacred Scripture’ [Catechesi Tradendae 27, citing Dei Verbum 10 and 24.]
Pope John Paul II asserts in Catechesi Tradendae (CT) 27 that the Word of God is the living source for catechesis. How, then, can we use the Bible and transmit this ‘Word of Scripture’ so that it may be a life-long source of strength and nourishment for those we catechize?
Before embarking upon a discussion of this question, it may be useful to consider a few preliminary difficulties that many catechists confront as they use Sacred Scripture in their catechesis.
Miracles of Jesus: The Healing of the Man Born Blind
In this series we have been following, initially at least, the approach to miracles adopted by C.S. Lewis in his classic book, Miracles. His was an attempt to show the rationality of miracles. It is a rationality based on the truth that what we know as Nature cannot be the whole of reality. As we have seen in previous articles, Lewis categorised the miracles of Christ into Old Creation and New Creation miracles. This time we want to consider the healing of the man born blind in the Gospel of John, chapter 9.
Catechesis on the Parables of Jesus: Parables of the Kingdom
Fr. Paul Watson discovers treasures old and new in teaching the parables. Two of the shortest parables are to be found in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. The parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl of great price. In this chapter in Matthew there are several other parables in which Jesus says ‘the kingdom of heaven is like …’. This article will explore two of these parables.
