The Synod on the Word

Sept. 29,America 2008 THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY $2.75 The Synod on the Word

Richard J. Sklba Richard J. Clifford John R. Donahue

Pheme Perkins John B. Klassen Ronald D. Witherup shops. For a couple of seasons, the Big America Apple Circus set Published by Jesuits of the United States up its tents there. Eventually, it grew as a cultural center with a museum, art Editor in Chief galleries, a theater Drew Christiansen, S.J. and artists’ ateliers. Starting in 1977, EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT the Staten Island Managing Editor Botanical Garden Robert C. Collins, S.J. began to establish a Editorial Director series of thematic gardens there, the Karen Sue Smith most intriguing of Online Editor which is the New Maurice Timothy Reidy AILORS’ SNUG HARBOR was a resi- York Chinese Scholar’s Garden. Associate Editors Modeled on a 14th-century garden dence for retired merchant sea- Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J. outside Suzhou, China, it replicates the men located on the north shore George M. Anderson, S.J. kind of ex-urban retreats Chinese man- of Staten Island along the Kill Dennis M. Linehan, S.J. SVan Kull, the narrow strait separating the darins (scholar-bureaucrats) created for James Martin, S.J. island from New Jersey. Established in themselves during the Ming (1368-1644) Matt Malone, S.J. 1833 through a bequest by Robert and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. An art- James T. Keane, S.J. Richard Randall, a wealthy New York ful blend of architecture, plants, water Peter Schineller, S.J. merchant who died in 1801, the Harbor and stone, the walled garden teases and was the site of pleases the Literary Editor one of the imagination at Patricia A. Kossmann most distin- every turn. Poetry Editor guished sets of Of Many Things There are vis- James S. Torrens, S.J. Greek revival tas and invit- buildings in the country. When Snug ing, half-hidden aperçus. Unpaned win- Assistant Editor Harbor was built, Richmond Terrace, the dows of every design frame charming Francis W. Turnbull, S.J. waterside avenue along the north shore, views. There are porches and towers, Design and Production was a tree-lined boulevard populated with bridges and pathways paved in changing Stephanie Ratcliffe more Greek revival mansions, the sum- designs made of oblong, white and black mer residences of wealthy New Yorkers. river pebbles. There is a stream, three BUSINESS DEPARTMENT As a boy I visited the Harbor a few ponds, a waterfall and a canal. In addi- Publisher tion, there is natural stone, sometimes months before it closed. The farm ani- Jan Attridge mals that had grazed its 83 acres had with the appearance of contemporary been sold off, and the snugs, as the sea- sculpture and at other times clearly part Chief Financial Officer men were called, were preparing to of a Chinese aesthetic intended to bring Lisa Pope depart for North Carolina, where costs mountain landscapes inside the garden Marketing were cheaper and the weather milder. and to contrast the solidity of the stone Eryk Krysztofiak What caught our boyish sense for yucky with the fluidity of the water. Advertising curiosities were the spittoons, a fixture of The curators provide guide boards— the snugs’ recreation room but by then in English and Chinese—on the plant Julia Sosa unknown in most private homes. In addi- life, water and stone, calligraphy and tion, a model ship museum and especially architecture, so visitors can do several a collection of ships in bottles astonished walkabouts with a different focus each 106 West 56th Street us. To this day, the secret craft of build- time. I must confess that as a Westerner, New York, NY 10019-3803 ing a ship in a bottle continues to fasci- I have sometimes found Chinese aesthet- Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596. nate me. ics, and especially its symbolism, strained; E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]. The Harbor lay boarded up for nearly but after a couple of guided walks Web site: www.americamagazine.org. two decades until local preservationists through the garden, I find myself taken Customer Service: 1-800-627-9533. began raising funds to save the buildings. in. The Scholar’s Garden is a miniature © 2008 America Press, Inc. For 14 years my mother volunteered world-within-a-world in which a harried there, helping with bake sales, collecting urbanite is wrapped in tranquility and a admission and event tickets, and taking in religious Westerner easily learns the spir- the culture. There were local and nation- itual comforts of Eastern aesthetics.

PHOTO: STATEN ISLAND BOTANICAL GARDEN al art shows, concerts and craft work- Drew Christiansen, S. J. Cover photo Shutterstock/Milos Luzanin www.americamagazine.org Vol. 199 No. 9, Whole No. 4828 September 29, 2008 Articles 24 ‘Nourished and Ruled 10 By Sacred Scripture’ Richard J. Sklba The Original Testament 15 Richard J. Clifford ‘A Hymn With Many Voices’ 18 John R. Donahue Sowing the Word 24 Pheme Perkins Ever Ancient, Ever New 28 John B. Klassen From Council to Synod 31 Ronald D. Witherup Current Comment 4 35 Editorial The Word and Mission 5 Signs of the Times 6 Reflection Place 8 Thoughts From a Spiritual Toolkit Margaret Silf Poem Clotheslines Camille D’Arienzo 27 Faith in Focus 35 Pomp and Simplicity James Martin Book Reviews 39 Original Sin; Yours, Jack; Little House, Long Shadow; World Made by Hand Letters 45 The Word 47 God’s Vineyard Daniel J. Harrington

This week @ Drew Christiansen, S.J., previews the Synod on the Word of God on our podcast, and the editors pose questions for the first presidential debate. Plus, from America Connects the archives, the editors on Dei Verbum. All at americamagazine.org. Current Comment

were not for the fact that from 2006 to 2007 the number Reading Paul of people who receive Medicare grew by one million. One of the less dramatic, though no less necessary, issues Military health coverage also increased significantly during the upcoming Synod of Bishops is likely to address is the same period. But the biggest jump of all was in how to make the second Sunday reading intelligible to Medicaid, which increased by 1.3 million users. Ron the congregation. As Pheme Perkins explains in this Pollack, executive director of the nonprofit health advoca- issue, even some well-instructed lectors do not seem to cy group Families USA, has pointed out the irony in the know what to make of the Pauline and other epistles Bush administration’s attempt to cut back Medicaid. that parishioners hear read on Sundays and feasts. Some President Bush made two attempts to veto legislation exegetes favor reading longer passages to provide greater intended to expand the Children’s Health Insurance context. But longer readings by themselves will be no Program, and yet Medicaid’s biggest increase was for chil- help without more knowledge of the early church and its dren. The number of children covered either by the latter theology. or by the Children’s Health Insurance Program grew from Informed biblical preaching by the homilist on the 20.1 million to 20.9 million. The next president will need epistles and Acts of the Apostles at intervals, or at the to tackle affordable health care as among the most press- beginning and end of a given sequence of readings, might ing of domestic priorities. Health care reform is long over- increase biblical literacy among the faithful. From time to due, with too many Americans looking to hospital emer- time, a series of homilies on a particular letter or on a the- gency rooms as their only resource for health care. ological question or theme, rather than on the Gospel reading, would also contribute to greater understanding. Failing that, brief introductions, as found in many missals, A Neighbor in Need could provide a minimalist solution. Of course, there is The widespread poverty in Haiti has for too long stood as also the option given to bishops’ conferences to omit one a stark reminder of the failure of Western powers to rescue of the readings before the Gospel but that would undercut a neighbor in need. The poorest country in the Western the Second Vatican Council’s goal of acquainting people hemisphere, Haiti now faces almost unimaginable hard- with more of Scripture. ships as hurricanes have ravaged the country’s crops and The second reading represents an important part of left tens of thousands of people displaced. The United our liturgical heritage; texts presented there amount to States has offered $10 million in emergency assistance and more than half the New Testament. Without some seri- has sent a naval ship equipped with planes and helicopters ous reconsideration, the proclamation of the second to help deliver relief to hard-to-reach areas. This is a com- reading is at risk. Like the washing of the priest’s hands mendable response, but Haiti will require much more help after the preparation of the gifts, it could become a vesti- from its Western neighbors, and the United States in par- gial rite from another time that no longer speaks to ticular, if it is to recover from these natural disasters and Christians today. emerge from the decades-long grip of poverty. What is needed is a long-term financial commitment from Washington and other Western powers to the Worsening Health Coverage Haitian cause, something akin to a Marshall Plan for Poverty in the United States increased in 2007, according Haiti. Imagine leaders from the United States, Mexico and to the Census Bureau’s annual report released on Aug. 26. maybe even Venezuela putting aside their differences in a A Catholic Charities USA spokesperson has said that of common mission to eradicate hunger and disease in this the 800,000 more people living in poverty, half a million corner of the Caribbean. Money alone will not transform a are children (see Am. 9/15). But it is not poverty alone country as politically unstable as Haiti; yet a grand human- that has made life more difficult for many Americans. The itarian endeavor led by the United States would send a census report also notes that health coverage for working strong signal that this country is as committed to the war Americans has declined. At the turn of the present century, on poverty as it is to the so-called war on terror. Haiti is almost 65 percent of the public was covered by employer- only a short flight from Florida, but for reasons of lan- based insurance. But even prior to the 2008 economic guage, and perhaps race, it has too often been treated as if downturn, that percentage had dropped to below 60 per- it were much farther away. The island upon which cent. Columbus first set foot in the “new world” deserves more The health coverage situation would be still worse if it of our attention and assistance.

4 September 29, 2008 America Editorial The Word and Mission

HE UPCOMING SYNOD OF BISHOPS on the (No. 37). Preachers should include pastoral considerations Word of God includes in its working doc- as they suggest applications of the text, in order to help ument, the instrumentum laboris (IL), a the faithful to carry out their mission of “building the phrase that will present a powerful chal- Kingdom” (No. 57). Similarly, lectio divina is not simply for lenge to the bishops and theologians gath- the inner spiritual enrichment of the individual or the Tered in Rome in October: “The Word of God should lead community. Pope John Paul II affirmed that through this to love of neighbor.” As participants discuss the general practice the living Word “questions, directs and shapes our notion of “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of lives.” The Word of God becomes the source of conver- the Church,” they will have before them two important sion, justice, hope, fellowship and peace. Jesus Christ, the questions. First, how does God’s Word shape the life of Word of God made flesh, “transforms the lives of those the individual and the community? Equally important, who approach him in faith” (No. 24). how does God’s Word shape the mission of the individual The document also speaks positively of “a libera- and the community? tionist approach to the Bible” (No. 58), rejoicing to see We hope that at this synod, mission will become a the Bible in the hands of people of lowly condition. It larger principle that will animate the whole discussion, as points to the many insights that the poor can bring to the well as the apostolic exhortation that will most likely be interpretation and actualization of the Word of God. IL issued sometime after the synod by Pope Benedict XVI. A then repeats a question routinely asked in Bible study careful reading of the working document reveals that in groups as they reflect on Scripture passages, a question several places it lays the foundation for how the Word of the synod will also face: “How do we go from our every- God can lead to a serious commitment to mission. day lives to the Bible text and from the Bible text to our The text rightly refers back to a key document of the everyday lives?” Finally, quoting Pope Benedict’s encycli- Second Vatican Council, the “Dogmatic Constitution on cal “Saved by Hope,” the working document affirms that Divine Revelation,” which emphasized that the Word of “the Gospel is not merely a communication of things God is read in the events and signs of the times through that can be known—it is one that makes things happen which God manifests himself in history. The church has a and is life-changing” (No. 39). duty to pay attention to these signs and to interpret them in the light of the Gospel. The working paper refers to REFLECTIONS ON THE LETTER OF JAMES could add to these ele- movements and new communities of lay and religious life, ments and give impetus to the synod with its strong state- as well as to particular churches in Africa and Latin ment on the transforming function of the Word of God America, where study and reflection on the Bible have for the mission of the church. We read in James that we come to the fore, as examples of communities that demon- must be not only hearers of the Word, but doers of the strate that the encounter with the Word is not limited to Word (1:19-27), and that faith that does not lead to works hearing. Instead, a true appreciation of the Word of God is dead (2:14-17). leads to commitment by individuals and communities to Participants and observers alike might hope that the the poorest of the poor, who are a sign of the Lord’s pres- synod will clarify how the Word of God nourishes, ence in our midst. strengthens and maintains the life of the Christian com- As noted in a previous editorial (7/7), two topics in IL munity. We may also hope its members give the church deserve closer attention: the importance of preaching and and the world a strong and inspiring reflection on the abil- the value of the practice of lectio divina for enriching spiri- ity of the Word of God to press us to go further, into the tual lives. Both should also lead to discussion of mission. realm of mission and “building the Kingdom.” The vision The working document affirms that preaching should not of Vatican II’s “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the only be faithful to the biblical text, but also provide the Modern World” remains true today, and the Word of God faithful “assistance in interpreting the events of their per- must continue to shed light on “the joy and hope, the grief sonal lives and historical happenings in the light of faith” and anguish of the men and women of our time.”

September 29, 2008 America 5 Signs of the Times

Bishop Calls for End “Time and time again, the prophetic Department of Health and Human to Immigration Raids voice of faith has allowed our members to Services. The comments came in a six- anticipate emerging areas of corporate page letter Sept. 12 to Brenda Destro in If federal immigration officials cannot responsibility in investment policy as well the H.H.S. Office of Public Health and create more “humane” conditions when as in social, economic and environmental Service from Anthony R. Picarello, making enforcement raids against undoc- policy,” said Laura Berry, the center’s U.S.C.C.B. general counsel, and Michael umented immigrants, then “these executive director. F. Moses, associate general counsel. enforcement raids should be abandoned,” Expressing “strong support for the pro- said Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake ‘Growing Hostility’ posed rule,” the U.S.C.C.B. letter noted City, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ that an earlier leaked version of the Committee on Migration. The raids, to Rights of Conscience H.H.S. proposal had prompted “negative conducted by the Immigration and Proposed regulations protecting the con- public reaction...by pro-abortion groups Customs Enforcement division of the science rights of individuals and health and some editorial writers.” It said, “The Department of Homeland Security, care institutions are especially needed in adverse reaction demonstrates, at best, a “reveal, sadly, the failure of a seriously light of the “growing hostility on the deplorable lack of understanding about flawed immigration system,” Bishop part of some professional organizations the federal legislative rights of con- Wester said Sept. 10. “The humanitarian and advocacy groups” to those rights, the science on which the proposed regula- costs of these raids are immeasurable and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops tions are based, at worst outright hostili- unacceptable in a civilized society,” he said in public comments to the ty to those statutory rights.” added. “Our current policies do little to solve the problem of illegal immigration to this country—they simply appear to do Catholics Worldwide Reach Out to Haiti so, often at the cost of family integrity and human dignity.” Bishop Wester noted that after Congress failed to pass a comprehensive immigration bill last year, Homeland Security started conducting mass raids, mostly at workplaces.

Faith-Based Investors Raise New Concerns Members of a coalition of faith-based investors said Sept. 10 they had warned of a potential mortgage crisis 15 years ago, long before it became headline news. Now they question why more was not done to avert the crisis and have issued a whole new set of warnings on other issues that they say put not only individual investors at risk but communities as well. During a teleconference, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate U.S. military personnel unload emergency supplies from a U.S. Navy ship in Gonaives, Haiti. Responsibility in New York highlighted Catholic relief agencies and parishes already struggling with rising living practices they said are “just below the worldwide are responding to the devas- costs,” said Patrick Nicholson, a radar” that need to be addressed, includ- tation in Haiti, which has been bat- Caritas spokesman in Vatican City. ing the use of sweatshop workers for tered by four severe hurricanes. Caritas “Caritas has already begun helping the major U.S. brands and retailers, contin- Internationalis, the umbrella organiza- worst-affected people despite it being ued pollution of the nation’s waterways tion for 162 national Catholic charity difficult to reach cut-off communities.” from factory-farm waste, and human traf- organizations, is seeking $4.3 million Officials with the U.S. bishops’ devel- ficking. The Interfaith Center on in donations for relief aid to the poor- opment and aid agency, Catholic Relief Corporate Responsibility is a 38-year-old est country in the Americas. “The Services, said they are mobilizing international coalition of 275 faith-based series of natural disasters affecting workers in Haiti, where more than a institutional investors. Among them are Haiti comes at a critical time, as the million residents have been displaced religious communities, pension funds, vast majority of the population is by the storms. health care corporations and dioceses.

6 America September 29, 2008 Signs of the Times

Cautious Optimism Pope at Lourdes: Mary Leads to Christ Over Deal in Zimbabwe was a true path to Christ. The pope The power-sharing deal signed by said Mary had appeared at Lourdes to Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe invite everyone who suffers, physically and the opposition leader Morgan or spiritually, to “raise their eyes Tsvangirai is a “most welcome develop- toward the cross of Jesus” and recog- ment,” a church official said. The deal, nize a love that is stronger than death by which Mugabe and the opposition or sin. “The power of love is stronger will wield equal power in a unity gov- than the evil that threatens us,” he said ernment aimed at ending the southern Sept. 14. The pope traveled to African country’s political and econom- Lourdes, a town in the French ic crisis, “provides a structure for ser- Pyrenees, to celebrate the 150th vice delivery that we desperately need,” anniversary of Mary’s appearances to said the Rev. Frederick Chiromba, sec- St. Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year- retary general of the Zimbabwe old peasant girl. After days of rain and Catholic Bishops Conference, in a Sept. cool weather, sunshine broke through 16 telephone interview. “It also puts a the clouds over the pilgrims who filled structure in place to begin the constitu- a grassy field near the sanctuaries. tion-making process that the bishops Pope Benedict XVI prepares to anoint a nun They applauded as the pontiff pro- have called for,” said Father Chiromba, with holy oil during a Mass for the sick at cessed to an altar covered with a sail- who watched the Sept. 15 signing of the Marian sanctuaries of Lourdes, France. shaped canopy. In his sermon, the the agreement at Harare’s convention pope placed himself among the pilgrim center. Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass population, saying he, too, had come for 150,000 international pilgrims at to pray at the feet of Mary, “eager to the Marian sanctuaries of Lourdes and learn from her alongside little Forced Conversions told them that humble prayer to Mary Bernadette.” of Christians in Orissa Suresh Nayak, a Catholic from the Symposium Examines Kandhamal district of the state of Honored Sociologist Orissa in India, cannot overcome the Pius XII and World War II of Religion Dies experience of being forced, under Pope Pius XII has been demonized and Dean Hoge, who in the 34 years since threat of death, to convert to his legacy of helping Jews during World he first joined the faculty of The Hinduism. “We lost everything, but the War II has been poisoned by inaccurate Catholic University of America in humiliating ceremony to disown our and incomplete historical accounts, said Washington, D.C., became one of the Christian faith still haunts me,” Nayak the Jewish founder and president of Pave country’s experts in the sociology of said at a refugee camp in Cuttack, the Way Foundation. “We have to religion, died Sept. 13 at age 71 after a about 20 miles from Bhubaneswar, change history” and tell the world the long struggle with cancer. Though not Orissa’s capital. Thousands of truth about this wartime pope “who himself a Catholic, Hoge was a leading Christians in the region have been sub- saved so many lives,” Gary Krupp, foun- scholar of the American Catholic jected to conversion ceremonies under dation president, told Catholic News Church. threat of violence and death, said the Service. He spoke at the start of a Sept. A memorial service was scheduled for Rev. Mrutyunjay Digal, secretary to the 15-17 symposium that studied the papacy Sept. 27 at the Takoma Park archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. In of Pope Pius XII and unveiled new evi- Presbyterian Church in Takoma Park, many places Christians are required to dence of the pope’s hidden acts aimed at Md., a Washington suburb. Hoge was a burn Bibles and join in torching saving Jews from the Nazis. The sympo- professor in the department of sociolo- churches or the houses of other sium, sponsored by the U.S.-based foun- gy at Catholic University from 1974 Christians to prove they have forsaken dation, featured Catholic and Jewish until his recent retirement. From 1999 Christianity. Church activists have con- speakers and video footage of interviews until 2004, he was director of the uni- firmed that 28 Christians, most of them with people who were saved from the versity’s Life Cycle Institute. He wrote Catholics, have been killed by Hindu Holocaust through the church’s interven- over 20 books on American religious mobs in Kandhamal after a prominent tion. Krupp said scholars and historians life and was also a frequent and valued Hindu leader was murdered Aug. 23. “have failed, they’ve simply failed” over contributor to America. Maoists have claimed responsibility for the last 45 years to retrieve and present the killings, but Hindu radical groups firsthand accounts from eyewitnesses. From CNS and other sources. CNS photos. continue to blame Christians.

September 29, 2008 America 7 Reflection Place

tographs of objects that have disappeared. It can become addictive. We can get

Thoughts From a hooked on focusing on everything that

might have been: “If only....” The result can be that we fail to see what actually lies Spiritual Toolkit‘ in front of us and around us. We lose the present to the past. The gift of hindsight is a gift wrapped in thorns. It can help us What a wonderful device an make better choices in the future. But it apostolic‘ lens might be. can easily lock us into a past that is no longer helpful. It needs to be used with care, and with gentleness and hope. Jesus HERE ARE GALES of way round, facing out into the world, was constantly reminding people to face laughter in the community eager to absorb all the new impressions forward, to follow him and to allow him to room of the Jesuit retreat that are beaming in on her. take them beyond the shackles and illu- house. One of the senior The apostolic lens would be a bit like sions of the past. team members there is a that. Held one way, it would draw our Perhaps the least helpful tool for our Tkeen photographer. He has just been out gaze to God. With a quiet heart we could spiritual journey is the notion that God is for a long walk on the hills in search of contemplate the source of our being and some kind of satellite navigational aid on photo opportunities. Specifically, he has draw peace and love from simply being the dashboard of our life’s vehicle. If we been trying to catch some good shots of consciously held in God’s presence, as a listen hard enough, we sometimes think, the local bird population. A colleague asks baby gazes at its mother and drinks in we will hear the divine signals coming him how the project is going. He is only peace and love at her breast, never ques- through: keep right, take the next exit; too eager to enlighten us all and adds, with tioning the security of the strong arms that take a left in half a mile. But it is not so a convincing air of technological savoir- hold her. Held the other way, it would easy! I was once driving through a sprawl- faire, that he has been able to get some draw our gaze to the world around us, ing city, and just crossing a wide river, spectacular results using his “apostolic challenging us continually with the ques- when the navigation system suddenly lens.” We dissolve in merriment at this tion: In this situation, how do I apply the insisted that I should “take an immediate Freudian slip. Perhaps that is what comes love of God and the values and attitudes of right turn”—straight into the river! of trying to live the principle of turning Jesus of Nazareth? How do I live and God did not create robots that are contemplation into action. My Jesuit move in this world in a way that reflects programmed to follow instructions, but friend has managed to discover the secrets the mind and heart of God? human beings who are invited to follow a of his apostolate in the depths of his digi- We need both directions. We never person—the person of God revealed in tal camera. stop being babes in arms as far as God is human form. We have to make every He does not need to clarify the fact concerned, and we are helpless unless and choice ourselves, but not alone. The wis- that, of course, he means his telescopic until we draw on God’s love that is always dom we need is within us, not some add- lens. But it sets me thinking what a won- gazing down upon us, waiting to be on gadget. Not so much a G.P.S. tracker derful device such an “apostolic lens” engaged. Yet our call to discipleship also as a compass. God never promised us an might be, what an indispensable spiritual asks of us that we grow up and turn our easy ride, with all decisions made for us by tool. An everyday example comes to mind. sights beyond ourselves, committing our- some divine Web site in the sky. But God My very small granddaughter is the con- selves to address the needs of the world promises to travel with us, every mile of tented occupant of a stroller that reminds around us. Perhaps my Jesuit friend’s slip the way, helping us to read the compass me a lot of the apostolic lens. It is so of the tongue has something important to that lies deep within our hearts. designed that when the baby is very tell us about this delicate balance between As fall approaches, it might be a good young, she lies in the pram facing the per- contemplation and action. time to check out the contents of our spir- son who is caring for her. This means that While the apostolic lens would be a itual toolkit. A bit of stock-taking could she can gaze at her parent and allow the marvelous gadget to have in our spiritual reveal those techniques and practices that parent’s gaze to fall constantly upon her. toolkit, a more ambiguous implement is are helping us move closer to God, to our- When she is a bit older and becomes more the mythical device we might call the “ret- selves and to one another. On the other of a toddler, the pram can be turned into a rospectroscope.” The retrospectroscope is hand, we might find notions and attitudes baby carriage, and now she rides the other constantly pointing backwards. It rebukes lurking in the dusty corners that are worth us with the knowledge that we could have jettisoning. The Gospel is about “making MARGARET SILF lives in Staffordshire, achieved very much better results, been so all things new.” What tools help us coop- England. Her latest books are Companions much happier, healthier, wiser. “If only we erate in that great vision, and how might of Christ: Ignatian Spirituality for Everyday had known then what we know now.” The we use them more effectively? Living and The Gift of Prayer. retrospectoscope is always taking pho- Margaret Silf

8 America September 29, 2008 The Word of God Today

From the fifth to the 26th of October, representative bishops from around the world will meet in Rome for the 12th Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the body proposed by the Second Vatican Council for ongoing discussion of challenges facing the church. This year’s topic will address a yet uncompleted reform of the council: to make the Scriptures truly, “the church’s book,” known, prayed and studied by the whole church. The formal topic of the meeting is “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” In this issue, America has asked six well-known church leaders and scholars to write about aspects of making the Bible central to Catholic life. We hope this special issue will whet the appetite of readers for the work of the synod and encourage them to explore still other dimensions of the theme, including the Word of God in culture and history, as well as in the faith of other Christian believers.

September 29, 2008 America 9 ‘Nourished and Ruled By Sacred Scripture’ Reflections for the 2008 General Synod of Bishops

BY RICHARD J. SKLBA

ULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS tell us that tion of the sacred liturgy are to be achieved, it is necessary one of the characteristics of our postmodern to promote that warm and living love for Scripture to age is a disregard for history. Catholicism which the venerable tradition of both Eastern and itself, however, exists in a tradition that rec- Western rites give testimony” (“Constitution on the ognizes doctrinal development in history. Sacred Liturgy,” No. 24). COur best Catholic theologians will remind us that the In 1965 the council fathers reminded pastors that “all church’s attention to the unfolding truths of revelation the preaching of the church must be nourished and ruled by makes history radically important for us. Moreover, under- Sacred Scripture” (“Dogmatic Constitution on Divine standing Scripture as a witness to salvation history confirms Revelation,” No. 21). Unfortunately, serious study of for Catholics their understanding that the past builds Scripture at the parish level is often compromised by a con- toward the present, and the present is developed from the gregation’s preoccupations with catechetical needs or the past. To understand practical programs of the forthcoming any given Sunday’s Synod of Bishops on Study of Scripture at the parish liturgy, as well as by the Word of God, we the busyness of peo- must appreciate its level is often compromised by ple’s lives throughout continuity with the the week. An authentic past. preoccupations with catechetical homiletic use of Scrip- Throughout the ture clearly requires four years of its delib- needs or the programs of any more than bland and erations, the Second tiresome exhortations Vatican Council re- given Sunday’s liturgy, as well as that “God is love.” peatedly confirmed by the busyness of people’s lives In another context the fundamental that same conciliar importance of the throughout the week. document insisted that Scriptures for every Scripture must remain dimension of the church’s life. A brief review of the more “the soul of sacred theology” (No. 25). This fundamental recent milestones of that journey into the Bible, demon- principle had been affirmed in 1893 by Pope Leo XIII in strating both continuity and development, provides a help- Providentissimus Deus and again in 1920 by Benedict XV in ful background for the discussions that will take place in the Spiritus Paraclitus. Each of these encyclicals addressed the synod this autumn in Rome. need for the renewal of the scholastic rationalism of 19th- century theology. A Quick Look Back In 1943, as a 50th-anniversary commemoration of Leo At the heart of the liturgical reforms promulgated by the XIII’s teachings, Catholic understanding of the centrality of Second Vatican Council in 1963, for instance, was the the Word and the value of scientific exegesis was confirmed admonition that “if the restoration, progress and adapta- in Pius XII’s landmark encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu. A half-century of often contentious debate, which led to some THE MOST REV. RICHARD J. SKLBA is auxiliary bishop of the unfortunate casualties among Scripture scholars, had pro- Archdiocese of Milwaukee. duced general agreement.

10 America September 29, 2008 The efforts of distinguished and faithful Catholic schol- movement among Protestant neighbors and co-workers. ars, like Marie Joseph Lagrange, O.P., at the École Biblique in Jerusalem, were finally given public papal recognition Preparatory Documents for the Synod and official approval. The importance of distinguishing lit- In late spring of 2007, the usual early draft of the council’s erary forms was widely accepted, and the fundamental agenda, called the lineamenta, was issued to offer some responsibility of Catholic broad outlines for dis- exegetes to search out the cussing the proposed syn- original historical mean- odal topic for the 12th ing of the inspired texts Ordinary General and the intentions of their Assembly of bishops. An authors was recognized. initial study of that docu- Out of that history ment leaves one with sev- what could be called a eral impressions: it honest- renewed second common ly acknowledged that language was restored to ignorance of the Bible is the church; Scripture was still pervasive among many proposed by the docu- Catholics; it recognized ments of the Second the need to respond to the Vatican Council as the lin- more aggressive forms of gua franca for all Catholic evangelical proselytism, teaching, preaching and sometimes blatantly anti- praying. As a result, soon Catholic; and it clearly after the council, a lec- emphasized the practice of tionary with many more lectio divina. The docu- selections from the Old ment seemed to emphasize and New Testaments was an individualistic approach published. The Sunday to the Scriptures rather and weekday eucharistic than evoke communal life of the church was experiences. Many refer- enriched. More recently ences to past papal encycli- the theologian John cals seemed to encourage a Cavadini of the University more spiritual use of of Notre Dame praised Scripture, neglecting the the Catechism of the importance of historical- Catholic Church (1992) for critical methods. The the remarkable manner in enthusiastic invocation of which it uses the language past patristic ages seemed of Scripture so pervasively to favor allegorical in presenting the faith of approaches to the under- the universal church. standing of Scripture. Debates within the Responses and reflections exegetical community continued. What was the relative were submitted from around the world. Biblical scholars importance of literal translations as opposed to translations noted the document’s limitations and flaws. that were more dynamic (but conceptually faithful) and In June of 2008 the instrumentum laboris, as the custom- aimed at providing access to the witness of ancient worlds ary next phase in preparation is called, was published invit- very different from our own? New exegetical methods ing further reflection. The document emphasized the Word inspired by movements in the church like feminism and lib- as a person, not merely a printed text, and clearly endorsed eration theology challenged the hegemony of historical- the “application of every scientific and literary method critical approaches. A deep hunger for biblical literacy available.” If the earlier text seemed to suggest reservations began to flourish in Catholic lay circles, possibly encour- about the importance of historical criticism, that caution aged both by people’s liturgical experiences on the weekend was now less pronounced. The treatment of all the issues

ART BY JULIE LONNEMAN and by the growing popularity of the American evangelical related to “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the

September 29, 2008 America 11 Church” seemed exhaustive. Nevertheless, it was still clear ability of enthusiastic novices to appreciate. The result can that the more devotional lectio divina was emphasized and be loss of interest. The church needs the scholarly work of that the authors of the text did not have a full, professional Catholic academics, but also the pedagogical and catecheti- background in the Catholic study of Scripture. cal skills of those who can find solid pastoral nourishment in biblical scholarship. The Landscape Today At the same time, if the catechists, for all their enthusi- By definition synods are convened to offer counsel to the asm, are recent converts from a more evangelical and pope in the pastoral governance of the church. Their rec- Calvinist background, their presentations may not always ommendations simply provide the raw material from which embody the fullness of the Catholic tradition. They can a post-synodal apostolic exhortation is written and promul- remain rooted in another very different ecclesial perspec- gated by the pope. As part of our own preparation for those tive. As a teacher and pastor I recognized that danger in the discussions, which should engage the entire Catholic com- early charismatic movement, and I see it again in some of munity worldwide, I the biblical materials offer from the promoted at the parish American scene three level. For that reason I cautions and one As part of our preparation, I emphasize the follow- hope. ing convictions. Caution One: the offer from the American scene It is also profound- Patristic Revival. One three cautions and one hope. ly Catholic to want to of the great blessings know the history of of Catholicism has any given biblical con- been the fact that the cept and the way in church has long held in great esteem the literal meaning of which its meaning was deepened and developed over the the text, but never been held hostage to it. Early third- and centuries. Granted, the oldest expression is not necessarily fourth-century debates between the more literal the best, but the earliest should be kept in mind when Antiochenes and the more typologically oriented attempting to understand the root of our most cherished Alexandrians recognized the differences. Medieval schools expressions of faith. This caution is particularly valuable of thought continued the debates, especially as a clear bibli- when ecumenical eyes are brought to a text and the prism of cal foundation was sought for Marian doctrines. More the church’s various understandings over the years is recently, the strong commitment of Catholic scholars to explored. Under grace ideas mature and deepen. historical criticism has been supplemented by more literary It is also profoundly Catholic to want to understand approaches, asking, “What does this passage say in its cur- the literary context of each statement and the type of lit- rent context and nuance?” The contemporary interest in erature in which it is expressed. But biblical history alone, reclaiming the fruits of the patristic commentaries, howev- like the Bible history booklets used in my own childhood er, requires considerable caution. The early fathers often catechetical experiences, does not nourish the faith. Those developed brilliant Christian theology, but their interpreta- who have merely transferred their biblical knowledge tions of the Bible were not always grounded in a sure read- from one Christian tradition to the Catholic communion ing of the text. Patristic exegesis was often creative and without an appreciation of Catholic literary analysis, litur- imaginative but not always grounded in the text itself. gy and devotional tradition will be very limited in their If the deliberations of the coming synod neglect the seri- ability to communicate the riches of our Catholic biblical ous scholarship of the past century, it will be a great disser- tradition. vice to the church. A recovery of patristic exegesis can sup- Fundamentalism—the preoccupation with the literal plement our understanding, but the literal historical mean- wording of the text without regard for its historical context ing of the text is also “spiritual,” and any suggestion to the and isolated from the life and teaching of the church com- contrary is simply erroneous. munity—can be dangerous. A recent document from the Caution Two: Contemporary Popularization. As a result of Pontifical Biblical Commission in Rome called that mindset the renewal of the church in recent decades we have been “intellectual suicide” (The Interpretation of the Bible in the blessed by a new influx of popular teachers whose exposi- Church). tions of biblical topics have been warmly welcomed by cat- Caution Three: Canonical Contexts. Sometimes the echists and the general Catholic population alike. People inspired books of Scripture speak to one another as well as to are hungry for the Word. The academic world, however, the casual reader. It is not by accident that the church early can sometimes speak on a technical level that is beyond the on bound the individual scrolls into a single codex. The

12 America September 29, 2008 Book of Job can serve as a clear reminder that simplistic teachers who never allude to such differences shortchange invocation of blessings for the faithful and punishments for our people’s early introduction to the Scriptures. the wicked, as the Deuteronomic theologians once asserted, A great deal more care must be given to the Catholic simply does not explain the mystery of evil or the way God critique of materials used at the parish level. In a capitalistic actually works in the day-to-day lives of people. Or again, society, popularity and availability often rule without solid the narrow accent, for example, on the purity of Jewish iden- critique or assessment from the standpoint of the full tity upon return from Babylonian exile needs to be balanced Catholic tradition. by the remarkable witness of the Ninevites, who responded so enthusiastically to Jonah’s preaching (to his chagrin and A Concluding Hope disgust, as the tale points out), or by the devotion of the for- If the synod is to embrace the full scope of the Word of God eigner Ruth to her mother-in-law, Naomi. in the life of the church, then the question of liturgical The uniting of books from the First and Second translations, both biblical and sacramental, cannot be rele- Testaments links the experience of the synagogue to that gated to the margin of the bishops’ deliberations at this of Christianity, and it is also profoundly Catholic to rec- moment in our history. The Word must be clearly intelligi- ognize the difference as well as the continuity. Although ble when proclaimed orally and faithfully expressed in lan- we may see hints of Christ in the former, they must be guage that is not stilted, clumsy or wooden. allowed to speak in their own terms. Hasty spiritualization Access to the fullness of our Catholic tradition is a fun- must never be allowed to obscure the Jewish character of damental right of our people. They should not be short- our biblical heritage. changed by reducing the message of the Gospel to a sim- It is profoundly Catholic to insist on the differences ple spiritual inspiration, which inevitably fails to go among the literary forms found in the inspired library we beneath the surface level of the Word’s life-giving call the Bible, and to allow each to speak in its own voice. promise. A In our quest for understanding, it matters greatly if the purported teaching is found in poetry, legend, moral exhortation or even in the inspired catechetical reminis- Drew Christiansen, S.J., previews the Synod on the cences that we proudly call the Gospels. Popular biblical Word of God, at americamagazine.org/podcast. AMERICA’S PODCAST good people Featuring weekly CALLED TO SERVE interviews with the magazine’s editors PASTORAL CARE DIRECTOR NEEDED and writers Responsibilities: đŏŏ(*/Čŏ+.#*%6!/ŏ* ŏ %.! 0/ŏ0$!ŏ,.+2%/%+*ŏ+"ŏ Hosted by Online ,/0+.(ŏ .!ŏ/!.2% !/ċ đŏŏ *#!/ŏ* ŏ(! /ŏ0$!ŏ+,!.0%+*/ŏ+"ŏŏ)1(0%ġ/%0!Čŏ Editor Tim Reidy %2!./!ŏ0!)ŏ+"ŏ $,(%*/ċŏŏ đŏŏ.!0!/ŏ* ŏ ++. %*0!/ŏ0$!ŏ!(!)!*0/ŏ+"ŏŏ/,%.%01(ŏ /1,,+.0ŏ%*"./0.1 01.!ŏ .+//ŏ %/,.0!ŏ +.#*%60%+*(ŏ+1* .%!/ċŏŏ đŏŏ!2!(+,/ŏ* ŏ)%*0%*/ŏ*!3ŏ%*%0%0%2!/ŏ0$0ŏ/1,,+.0 0$!ŏ/,%.%01(ŏ*!! /ŏ+"ŏ,0%!*0/Čŏ")%(%!/Čŏ/0ûŏ* ŏ +))1*%0%!/ċ

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September 29, 2008 America 13 The Original Testament A Catholic approach to the Hebrew Bible

BY RICHARD J. CLIFFORD

OR THE TOPIC OF the October Synod of Bishops in Rome, Pope FBenedict XVI has chosen “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” The agenda committee, after polling bishops and others, published a working document known as the instrumentum laboris. High on its list of topics was the Old Testament, which, the committee frankly acknowledged, “seems to be a real problem among Catholics, particularly as it relates to the mystery of Christ and the Church” (No. 17). As a professor of Old Testament for many years at Weston Jesuit School of Theology (now part of the new How does the Old Testament fit in the Christian Bible? Boston College School of Theology and Ministry), I would The question should be reversed: How does the New like to contribute to the synod by posing and answering four Testament fit in the Christian Bible? The short answer is frequently asked questions: How does the Old Testament fit that the Old Testament reaches its climax there (though it in the Christian Bible? How should we understand its continues beyond). Modes of divine activity and communi- depictions of violence and hatred for the enemies of Israel? cation depicted in the Old Testament—word, wisdom, spir- Did all its miraculous events actually occur, or are they lit- it, glory, Davidic kingship—are expressed in the New erary inventions? What should we call the Hebrew books in Testament in a full and personal way in Jesus. the Christian Bible: the Old Testament, the Hebrew Biblical authors were storytellers, not essayists; their Scriptures, the First Testament? books present narratives, not arguments. Modern-day men and women tend to use stories to illustrate a point or to

RICHARD J. CLIFFORD, S.J., is professor of Old Testament and entertain, but biblical authors viewed the story itself as sig- dean of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry nificant because it expressed God’s action in the world. (founded in June 2008). A former editor of The Catholic Prizing their history as revelatory of God, they sometimes Biblical Quarterly and past president of the Catholic Biblical described it in different versions, for, to them, God’s activi- Association, he has written extensively on biblical interpreta- ty was far too subtle and complex to be caught in one ver- tion. His most recent book is a commentary on the Psalms sion. Yet, despite the variety, biblical writers never lost sight

(Abingdon Press). of a single divine intent from creation to consummation. ART BY JULIE LONNEMAN

September 29, 2008 America 15 The biblical story began with the creation of the world mental; they lend depth and meaning to biblical events. populated by the 70 nations (the number given in Genesis 10); it continued with the calling of Abraham’s family out of How should we understand the Old Testament’s depictions those nations and, somewhat later, with the establishment of of violence and of hatred for the enemies of Israel? the nation Israel as God’s special people (Exodus- The two major reasons for the Old Testament’s depiction of Deuteronomy). The historical books (Joshua to Kings) and violence are the nature of human beings—prone to evil the prophets tell and interpret the subsequent history—the schemes and violence—and the nature of the Old periods of the judges, the Testament God—just and kings and the exile in the compassionate and involved. sixth century B.C. In the dramatic world of the Chronicles and Ezra- Bible, the compassionate God Nehemiah develop exilic iblical authors were hears the cry of those themes and history. B oppressed by evildoers and in In the mid-second centu- storytellers, not essayists; justice responds to rectify the ry before Christ, the Book of situation. God “judges” the Daniel saw history from a their books present world (the Hebrew word has different angle and spoke in the sense of ruling and gov- veiled language of the end of narratives, not arguments. erning) by upholding the righ- earthly kingdoms and the teous and putting down the definitive coming of God’s kingdom. Daniel, and books like wicked. Evil in the Old Testament is imagined concretely— it, ignited Jewish dreams of the imminent arrival of God’s embodied in particular people and embedded in institutions kingdom; these persisted for the next three centuries. The and systems like families and nations. Not surprisingly, the community at Qumran, whose library is known as the Dead Lord is frequently portrayed as a warrior who roots out evil Sea Scrolls, nurtured dreams of a new exodus and conquest and rescues Israel by defeating its enemies. But the divine of the land, and the definitive establishment of God’s king- warrior is not a nationalist. God turns against Israel when it dom. Adapting this apocalyptic framework, Jesus preached rebels. the kingdom of God, and New Testament writers under- Four things soften this seemingly harsh portrayal. First, stood Jesus as the culmination of the history described in the war imagery is not the main purpose, which is to show the ancient Scriptures. If one understands this view of his- God “judging” (i.e., ruling) justly. Second, when the tory, one understands how the New Testament fits in the psalmists cry for “vengeance” (a divine righting of wrongs), Christian Bible. they place entirely in God’s hands both timetable and Since biblical writers were convinced that their history implementation. Third, the Old Testament reveals a God exhibited an overarching divine plan, they saw connections who is merciful as well as just. When the two are in conflict, among events in that history. A biblical event or person it is mercy and compassion that usually win out (see Exodus could foreshadow a later one or, conversely, echo or “fulfill” 32-34 and Hos 11:9). Fourth, the Old Testament concern an earlier one. Sometimes these cross-references are called for justice inspires Jesus’ program of God’s rule, which “typological,” part of a network of hints. The network can means the elimination of unjust structures and the building operate between the New and the Old Testament or within of a righteous and obedient community. each Testament. An example of typology is the portrait of Perhaps the most succinct comment on God’s justice Moses in Exodus, which echoes the portrait of Joseph in was passed on to me by a friend from Georgia, who quoted Genesis: both Joseph and Moses are shepherds-turned- an elderly janitor of a poor black church: “If the Lord rulers; both were separated early from their families, sur- doesn’t come back with power, he won’t do me much good.” vived conspiracies to murder them, endured exile, married daughters of foreign priests and fathered two sons; and Did all the miraculous events narrated in its books actual- both, one dead and the other alive, left Egypt together (Ex ly take place, or are they literary inventions? 13:19). The typology shows a mysterious power operating I will here simply illustrate the difference between modern in the lives of the two leaders. The typology continues in ways of describing extraordinary events and the biblical the Gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus is portrayed as shar- writers’ ways. (For a more extensive treatment of biblical ing some traits of Moses (the slaughter of the innocents in historicity, see Am. 1/2/06.) I suspect that if we witnessed Matthew 2 echoes the slaughter in Exodus 1; Moses and something entirely out of the ordinary and had no idea of its Jesus both teach on a mountain). The cross-references cause, we would describe it in two paragraphs. Our first among Genesis, Exodus and Matthew are not merely orna- paragraph would objectively describe the phenomenon, and

16 America September 29, 2008 our second paragraph would discuss possible causes, psy- Semitism of modern times. Christian scholars today avoid chological, physical or epistemological. If we believed in derogatory references to Jews and highlight the Jewish God, we would also add divine intervention as a possible matrix of Christianity. Some Christians opt for “less impe- cause. In other words, when we report unparalleled events, rial” terms than “Old Testament” and use instead “Prior we tend first to give an objective description and then to Testament,” “First (and Second) Testament” or “Shared provide an interpretation of the event. Testament.” But biblical writers go in a different direction. A number of Christian scholars (I among them), howev- Preferring the narrative form to the essay, they give their er, use “Old Testament” without apology. We find substi- interpretation as they tell the story. They describe and tute terms awkward and unable to resolve the main difficul- interpret in one paragraph; they are “one-paragraph” writ- ty, which is supersessionism, the view that the Christian ers. For example, the author of the account of Elijah’s church supersedes or replaces the Jewish people as God’s miraculous ascension into the heavenly world in 2 Kgs 2:1- chosen people. All Catholic biblical scholars that I know 18 incorporated narrative features that interpreted it: Elijah fully embrace Pope John Paul II’s famous rejection of super- was “taken up” like Enoch in Gn 5:24 and the righteous sessionism when he affirmed that God’s bond with Judaism psalmists in Pss 49:16, 18 and 73:24. Like Moses, Elijah’s is “the covenant never revoked.” The Jewish New final resting place was unknown, and like Moses’ successor, Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine in The Misunderstood Joshua, Elijah’s successor, Elisha, used his master’s cloak to Jew: The Scandal of the Jewish Jesus (Harper, 2007) also split the Jordan River and cross over. Through purely nar- affirms the validity of “Old Testament” on the grounds that rative means, the attentive reader learns that Elijah was the books were not all written in Hebrew, that Orthodox accepted by God as righteous, that he authentically contin- Christian Churches use the Old Testament in Greek trans- ued the mission of Moses, and that Elisha, his successor, will lation, and that Protestant and Catholic Churches differ carry on his work. Modern readers interested in “exactly somewhat in their list of books. “Old,” therefore, is good (as what happened” are bound to be frustrated by the account. it would have been in the ancient world) as long as we In short, biblical writers were one-paragraph people for regard “Old” as synonymous with accepted and revered, whom narrative details communicated both the event and and “New” as synonymous with renewed and brought to a its significance. Modern people, however, typically need new stage. A two paragraphs, one to describe the event and another to give the meaning.

What to call the Hebrew books in the Christian Bible? New Testament writers customarily refer to their sacred library as “Scripture” (graphe sometimes in the sense of “this CATHOLIC CAMPUS MINISTER, scriptural passage”), “the Scriptures” (graphai), “the Law FULL-TIME and the Prophets,” but never as “Old Testament” (or New Jersey Catholic womenís college in the liberal arts tradition seeks a “Covenant”). “Old Testament” and indeed “New full-time Director of Campus Ministry to address the spiritual, religious and ministerial needs of college students. The Campus Minister will Testament” as designations of a collection of books came develop and execute programs and initiatives including Roman into use only in the late second century, when Christians Catholic, ecumenical and interfaith liturgies, social justice education and action, spiritual reflection, community service and RCIA. The realized that their sacred writings formed a collection with successful candidate must have experience with program development, a table of contents, with certain books included and others retreats, and the training and leadership development of peer ministry. Additional experience with alternative spring break and outreach excluded. The use of the word “testament” for books was service projects is preferred. The successful candidate must based on texts such as 2 Cor 3:14, “for to this present day demonstrate an ability to respond creatively, collaboratively and with flexibility to the evolving needs of the student population. the same veil remains unlifted when [the people of Israel] A masterís degree in Theology, Pastoral Ministry and equivalent read the old covenant, because through Christ it is taken experience is required. Applicant should be a practicing Catholic and have experience in campus ministry or pastoral experience that away.” Another influence was the Letter to the Hebrews, complements the mission of campus ministry at a religiously, which asserted that the new covenant is superior to the old. culturally, and ethnically diverse college. The successful candidate should also possess excellent interpersonal, organizational and Many scholars today avoid the term “Old Testament” on communication skills, and must be committed to the mission & the grounds that it implies supersessionism, the replace- values of a Catholic college in the liberal arts tradition. Interested applicants may submit a resume along with a personal ment of Old Israel by New Israel. The word “old” in our theology of ministry statement and three letters of reference to culture often implies worn out and ready for replacement. [email protected], or to: College of Saint Elizabeth, Office of Human Resources, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, NJ 07960; Since the Holocaust, Christians have rediscovered their Fax No. (973) 290-4495. Review of applications to begin deep bonds with the Jewish people and realized that the immediately and continue until position is filled. anti-Judaism in Christianity fueled the catastrophic anti- The College of Saint Elizabeth is an Equal Opportunity Employer

September 29, 2008 America 17 ‘A Hymn With Many Voices’ Communicating God’s presence through preaching and proclamation

BY JOHN R. DONAHUE

ARDINAL CARLO MARTINI, S.J., Archbishop of More than any previous document, the working paper Milan and a biblical scholar who promoted the emphasizes the pastoral application of Scripture. Each study of Scripture in the pastoral renewal of his expository section is followed by a number of “pastoral diocese, observed in 1993 that there is still some implications.” Cresistance to the biblical renewal in parts of the church. He Two interrelated concerns about Scripture have risen proposed that a synod of bishops be called to consider how time and again in discussions after the Second Vatican the church has responded to Dei Verbum (the Second Council. The first is the challenge to respect the prime rule Vatican Council’s “Dogmatic Constitution on Revelation”). of interpretation articulated since Divino Afflante Spiritu, His hope may be realized in the 12th Ordinary Assembly of namely that the intention of the text in its original histori- the Synod of the Bishops on “The Word of God in the cal context must guide all later reflection, even as we relate Mission and Life of the Church,” which will be held in Scripture to contemporary spiritual hungers. A second con- Rome from Oct. 5 to 26, 2008. cern, reflected in virtually every survey of Catholic opinion, To judge from the working paper prepared for the is the quality of preaching. Both concerns receive attention synod, the Rome meeting will constitute the most extensive in the working document, but I will address its implications reflection since Vatican II by an official body on Scripture as for preaching. Since the document is long (12 times the the Word of God and its importance to the life of the length of Dei Verbum) and theologically complex, any sum- church in liturgy and the proclamation of the Word. The mary of even one of its concerns must be limited. working paper does not constitute a set of authoritative The Word of God, the working document tells us, is norms. It is possible that its “like a hymn with many observations will not appear voices,” but its primary in any document that comes Despite constant calls for focus is Trinitarian: “The out of the synod, but the Word of God abides in the paper does reflect the current better formation in biblical Trinity, from which it state of the question as seen comes, by which it is sus- in the concerns of bishops studies and homiletics, tained and to which it and other groups in dioceses returns. The Word of God around the world. many seminaries offer is the enduring testament to Two fundamental con- inadequate preparation. the love of the Father, to the cerns run through the docu- work of salvation of the Son ment: Scripture must be Jesus Christ and to the fruit- given a higher priority in the church, and Catholics need to ful activity of the Holy Spirit” (No. 9, a). Through the recognize that “the Word of God is Jesus Christ, an aware- Incarnation this Word assumes a Christological identity and ness that lends a sense of mystery to the reading of every also an ecclesial one since the church comes forth from the word in the Bible.” The document pays particular attention Word. The Bible is then “the Word of God recorded in to the Christological dimension of the Word and the under- human language” (No. 15, c). standing of the church as born from the Word of God. To Preach the Bible JOHN R. DONAHUE, S.J., is research professor in theology at The document clearly recognizes that the ministry of the Loyola College in Baltimore, Md. He wrote The Word column for Word is broader than preaching: “The Word continues its America from 1999 to 2002. course through vibrant preaching and its many forms of evan-

18 America September 29, 2008 gelization, where proclamation, catechesis, liturgical celebrations and the service of charity hold a high place. Preaching, in this sense, under the power of the Holy Spirit, is the Word of the living God communicated to living persons” (No. 9, original emphasis). “In the homily, preachers need to make a greater effort to be faithful to the biblical text and mindful of the condition of the faithful, providing them assistance in interpreting the events of their personal lives and historical happenings in the light of faith” (No. 37). This latter observation echoes the description of the homily in the still important document of the U.S. bishops, Fulfilled in Your Hearing (1982): “a scriptural interpretation of human existence which enables a community to recognize God’s active presence, to respond to that presence in faith through liturgical word and gesture, and beyond the liturgical assembly, through a life lived in conformity with the Gospel.” While constantly emphasizing the intimate connection between preaching and the life of the Word in the church, the document expresses some concern about the quality of contemporary preaching and offers sugges- tions for improvement. Are those who preach sufficiently familiar with Dei Verbum and with the Bible itself? Do they recognize difficulties in understanding biblical texts, solid formation in the pastoral use of the Bible and a true especially the Old Testament? Are they able to relate the and proper initiation into biblical spirituality” (No. 49). Bible to doctrinal and moral teaching? Is sufficient attention paid to the proper liturgical proclamation of the readings? Points for Dialogue Are the liturgical homilies faithful to the Scriptures while By issuing the working paper well in advance of the synod, sensitive to the actual condition of the lives of the faithful? the Council for the General Secretariat of the Synod invites Concrete recommendations balance criticism. Citing responses not only from bishops and delegates but from the Vatican II, the document states that all clergy “ought to wider church. The following observations are part of this have continual contact with the Scriptures, through assidu- dialogue and an invitation to readers to join the conversa- ous reading and attentive study of the sacred texts, so as not tion. to become idle preachers of the Word of God, hearing the Even as the church has been significantly renewed as a Word only with their ears while not hearing it with their Bible-reading and Bible-praying community, there is con- hearts” (No. 46). Further, “In every diocese a biblical pas- stant need “to renew the renewal” at all levels of church life. toral program, under the guidance of the bishop, can insert The proclamation (reading) of the Word in liturgy, which the Bible into the church’s great initiatives in evangelization began with enthusiasm after Vatican II, has often devolved and catechesis.” Seminary formation should stress “a into ill-prepared readers who really do not understand the

ART BY JULIE LONNEMAN greater, up-to-date knowledge of exegesis and theology, a texts they are reading. The ministry of lector should be

September 29, 2008 America 19 renewed by following the recommendations in the General edicts stream from Rome. But the working paper for the Instruction of the Roman Missal, especially in regard to the synod rightly insists that attention be given to better and training of lectors and the public appreciation of their work. continued preparation for preaching. This should be a spe- Some dangers are occupational hazards for homilists: cial concern of the diocesan bishop, and it will demand time homilies too often can move away from the Scriptures, and resources for renewal programs. become overly moralistic (the challenge is to preach the It is inevitable that recommendations on Scripture for a good news, not simply give good advice), with too much world church will often be phrased in abstract terms, with emphasis on specific issues that may be of little concern to few references to other church statements or patristic the majority of a congregation. In the original Greek, homil- authors. Though good preaching ultimately rests on good ia means first “close association, social interaction or com- scholarship, the working document at one point alludes to a pany,” and is used to describe “conversations.” The Sunday kind of biblical scholarship that can pose a problem for “homily” occurs in the company of Christ the Word, and is interpretation. The document ignores the efforts of a gen- a three-way conversation among the Scriptures, the one eration of writers who mediated solid scholarship through preaching and those to be nurtured by Scripture. less technical publications: commentary series, periodicals Despite constant calls for better formation in biblical and published homily aids. The recommendations that will studies and homiletics, many seminaries offer inadequate follow the synod could profitably urge local church officials preparation. Special attention also should be given to better to make use of the resources available in the existing corpus training in biblical studies for those dedicated persons who of excellent works on biblical spirituality that can make the are called to the permanent diaconate. Even when well pre- Word of God vital to people’s lives today. pared and devoted to preaching, working pastors, both the The working paper, unfortunately, reflects a clerical newly ordained and veterans, are often so overwhelmed by tone that may also be inevitable. An example of this is the pastoral demands that the necessary continuing formation instruction that “the proclamation of the Word in the can be neglected. In a few years pastors may also be preoc- liturgy is an office proper to the instituted ministry of lec- cupied with trying to train their parishioners to respond, tor. In his absence, a qualified lay man or woman can pro- “and with your spirit,” or “under my roof,” as new liturgical claim the readings” (No. 50). Proclaiming the Word, in other words, is doled out to laypeople by way of exception. Near its conclusion the working document, in discussing “The Task of the Laity,” while acknowledging that “all members of the Church through baptism are sharers in Christ’s priestly, prophetic and royal office” and that “the laity have the responsibility to proclaim the Good News to mankind in the everyday circumstances of their lives,” nonetheless identifies the laity’s “special tasks: the Bible in the Christian initiation of children; the Bible in the pastoral care of youth, for example, in World Youth Days; and the Bible for the infirm, soldiers, and those in prison” (No. 51). This seems unnecessarily limiting. There is no recognition in the document that, at least in the United States, much of the best scholarship and contribution to biblical interpretation has been offered by laypeople. Given the continuing shortage of priests, the synod might recom- mend more creative norms for homilies to be given by trained and competent laypeople. A fond hope for the synod is that the words of Isaiah invoked by St. Paul (Is 52:7, Rom 10:16) may echo throughout our church: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation.” A

From February 1966, the editors on “The Council and the Word,” at americamagazine.org/pages.

20 America September 29, 2008 Sowing the Word Scriptural understanding has flourished since Vatican II, but challenges remain.

BY PHEME PERKINS

S THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS reflects on the chal- who are terminally ill in selecting the readings for a funeral lenge in the Second Vatican Council’s “Dogmatic Mass allows a deeper affirmation of our belief that “in death Constitution on Divine Revelation” (Dei Verbum) life is not ended” than do routine platitudes. Many of the to integrate the Word into the liturgical and spir- seniors in our parish’s weekly Bible study group have select- itualA life of God’s people, it should also appreciate the sub- ed readings for their own funerals already. Non-Catholic stantial gains made since the encyclical Divino Afflante family and friends accustomed to the blander fare of memo- Spiritu was published in 1943. Today’s problems ought not rial services often are surprised by the proclamation of the obscure all that has been achieved. The working paper pre- Word of God during the Catholic funeral liturgy. That pared for the synod does not affirm these foundations clear- liturgy incorporates the Word as part of the believer’s sacra- ly. They should be the basis for moving forward. I single out mental life, which began with baptism and was nourished by here four areas of accomplishment: restoration of liturgical the Eucharist. balance, renewal of Catholic spirituality, development of Spirituality. Scripture has also played a key role in revi- Catholic biblical scholarship and participation in ecumeni- talizing Catholic spirituality since Vatican II. Translations of cal dialogue. As a result of these developments, Catholics the Psalms based on a scholarly understanding of their lan- who have grown up in the post-Vatican II church now guage and poetic forms, along with revised readings for the assume that Scripture is as fundamental to a Christian life as Office of Readings, make the Liturgy of the Hours educa- are the sacraments. tive, schooling in the Word all those who pray it. Whether they participate in an eight-day retreat or a day of recollec- Celebrating Our Accomplishments tion, Catholics find reflection on Scripture at the heart of Liturgical Balance. Such liturgical reforms as the new the process. Many lay Catholics regularly take part in sum- Lectionary, the location from which the Word is pro- mer Bible institutes or in parish-centered Scripture study claimed, and participation by members of the worshiping programs. When asked to bring their Bibles, Catholics now community as lectors have enhanced the importance of the produce as good a collection of well-worn Bibles as those Word. A celebration that allocates equal time to the procla- found in Protestant churches. Most parish renewal pro- mation of the Word and to the Eucharist provides an appro- grams have a scriptural component. Even at the mundane priate balance. At celebrations where the children leave for level of parish committees, an opening prayer incorporates their own liturgy of the Word and return for the Creed or a reading of the Word, usually the Sunday Gospel. the presentation of the gifts, one sees those who have heard Biblical Scholarship. These substantive gains draw upon God’s Word being gathered to receive the Word (Jesus) pre- the efforts of Catholic biblical scholars, who have mastered sent in the sacrament. Parishioners who drift back to our a wealth of data about biblical languages, surrounding cul- parishes after a few years attending Protestant services speak tures, archaeology and the literary forms in the Bible. of having felt incomplete without the Eucharist. Bible read- Thanks to scholars who pursued the emerging philological ing, sermons, music, prayers and social engagement with and historical knowledge despite official censure prior to others might be of superior quality in other Christian con- the mid-20th-century change in direction, Catholics were gregations, but receiving the body of Christ remains essen- able to catch up quickly as the church recognized how tial to the Catholic soul. important it is to hear the Word of God being spoken to The funeral ritual marks another pastoral gain in litur- those in specific historical situations. Those who are ideo- gical renewal. Engaging family members or the persons logically opposed to rigorous, historical scholarship allege that it undermines faith when it points to the gap between PHEME PERKINS, professor of New Testament at Boston dogmatic proof-texts, the Latin Vulgate or patristic exegesis College and author of Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels and what the Bible was saying to the faithful in its own cul- (2007), is a parishioner at St. Zepherin church in Wayland, tural situation. The great patristic exegetes like Origen or Mass. Jerome or Chrysostom, however, would have employed our

24 America September 29, 2008 new methods just as they used the best scholarship of their Ecumenical sensitivity to the special place of the Jewish own time. By ignoring the rich diversity of interpretation people in God’s plan of salvation leaves us still struggling to among patristic authors, church documents can create the find appropriate language when we speak of the “Old false impression that the church fathers gave a single mean- Testament” section of the Christian canon. Terms such as ing to particular passages. “Jewish Scriptures,” New translations of the “Hebrew Bible” and church fathers and historical “prior covenant” fill in the studies of their theologies gaps but confuse many have contributed much to readers. Chain bookstores, our understanding of how for example, often shelve the Word of God has the New Jerusalem Bible in shaped the church. the Judaica section. Contemporary academic Churches that employ commentaries include a lectionary have worked patristic commentaries on toward a common cycle of the text. Sunday readings, and this Current Catholic bibli- facilitates ecumenical cal scholarship is second to Bible study. My writing for none in all areas of academ- Protestant homiletic ser- ic research. Exegetes have vices and preaching in met the challenge of trans- Protestant pulpits, though, lating the Bible into modern constantly reminds me languages, using the best that each church is differ- research into ancient texts ent in some way. The first and languages. Annotated reading, the psalm text and Bibles and study materials even the Gospel may shift exist for use at all education- on a given Sunday. The al levels. Meetings of the Catholic canon, which professional associations of incorporates books not Catholic biblical scholars found in the Protestant combine the highest level of “Old Testament,” provides technical proficiency with a wider range of first read- equally spirited discussions ings than those available in about making the Word other churches. Differ- available to the people of ences aside, these ecu- God. Even more important menical efforts have made as the center of gravity in the church shifts away from it possible for Christians from all denominations to share North America and Europe, students trained in our doctor- faith based on the Word of God. Parishioners in my home al programs from South America, Africa, Indonesia and Asia parish sometimes bring non-Catholic visitors to our weekly are beginning to make their own contributions to biblical Bible study; sometimes parishioners participate in opportu- research. nities provided by Protestant churches. Sharing the Word Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. Vatican II encour- with other Christians does not weaken Catholic faith. It aged Catholics to enter into genuine dialogue with their fel- confirms the genuinely biblical foundations of our liturgical low Christians and with the Jewish community. Our ability and theological heritage. to unite around a shared appreciation for the Word of God has played an important role in eradicating centuries of hos- Quick Fixes and Fundamentals tility. Catholics, Protestants and Jews work together on With such a solid record of achievement, why call a synod common Bible translations, annotated editions, dictionaries of bishops to discuss the Word of God? There are several of the Bible and commentaries. As we create and share com- reasons. Unlike the sustained interest in Bible study among mon resources for unlocking the meanings of the sacred Catholic laity, clergy participation in workshops that could text, we also acknowledge the role that each community’s refresh their knowledge of Scripture has declined. The

ART BY JULIE LONNEMAN liturgical and theological tradition plays in the life of faith. paternalistic tone of Dei Verbum, which imagines the cele-

September 29, 2008 America 25 brant initiating the faithful into the Word of God, can often Even those who have never heard of golf could bear in sound out of date. Some Catholics at Mass have spent more mind a lesson from the L.P.G.A. teaching division. Ask stu- time with the Sunday readings in study and/or prayer than dents to articulate their issues; get them to commit to a goal has the homilist. and proceed accordingly. Some swing-flaws you work An effective homily combines several factors: exegetical around. Physical problems or psychological resistance can insight into one of the texts read, an application that con- make change impossible. For the student who needs to play nects the Word addressed to “our ancestors in faith” with well tomorrow, look for the quick fix, with the understand- our contemporary situation, and a homilist who speaks to ing that it will not last. Rebuilding from the foundations is the people in the pews. When those requirements are met only for the seriously dedicated and often leads to worse on a college campus, even undergraduates who are half play as swing-changes are put in place. Getting the right asleep on Monday morning will remember at least some- clubs and using all 14 in the bag can be taxing: some are thing said at Mass on Sunday. Of course, theology majors in comforting; others produce anxiety. an exegesis course may catch a mistake if a preacher has used outdated reference materials. That too is a learning Miscues From the Lectionary opportunity when students check out the facts. In short, the Most preachers fall back on a limited repertoire of insights, Word preached must be a social issues, pieties Word worth opening—that or stories that they is, inviting further thought, I like to remind academic tie to most any questioning and discussion. Gospel passage. My sister, a teaching pro advocates of multiculturalism Some even manage member of the Ladies to find a link to the Professional Golf Associa- that the Bible is not a Western, generic theme in tion, proposes two options European or modern book. the first reading. for those with a problematic The second read- golf swing: a quick fix that ing, an epistle read will get you through a round or two but breaks down in the more or less in sequence, might as well not exist. Despite long term, and “rebuilding the fundamentals,” which will the laudable goal of introducing the faithful to their Jewish take time and dedication but lasts. With the many excellent heritage and to the unique insights of the individual evan- print and online resources devoted to lectionary-based gelists, the Lectionary does not come close. Its selections preaching, there is no excuse for failing to obtain an exeget- are a bit like playing golf with assorted clubs from the ical quick fix. The rebuilding of poor fundamentals, howev- garage—okay and awful. er, is another issue. In other words, some of the problems for preachers and the faithful are related to the Lectionary itself. Many of the selections are too short to represent the literary and theological sense of the passage. Other selections have been san- itized by not including the harsher sections or the specific details that point to the concrete realities that the biblical author was addressing. I know from working with a weekly Save the Date parish Bible study for 17 years that restoring a historical context provides the most exciting points of contact with America Centennial Mass 21st-century experience. Pious generalities get old fast. April 18, 2009, 2 p.m. Seeing how God’s Word spoke to real people in a different Church of St. Ignatius Loyola time and culture is not only exciting, it often makes today’s challenges seem easier by comparison. For that reason, a 84th Street and Park Avenue few of our parishioners are convinced that in the first cen- New York, N.Y. tury C.E. they would have been Pharisees. Since on Sundays the first reading is meant to correlate Presider: Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Permanent with the Gospel and the psalm text picks up a related image, Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations there is more integration among those texts. The liturgical Homilist: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop use of the Old Testament, however, is a heavy crosswind Emeritus of Washington, D.C. blowing against the Jewish faith of the biblical authors. Catholic supersessionism—the idea that the new covenant

26 America September 29, 2008 replaces altogether the old covenant and the church dis- social and personal identities formed among God’s people places the Jews as the people of God—is alive and well. freed them from slavery to dominant political powers and From the pulpit, the Old Testament reading appears to be cultural ideologies. Many of these insights should help with at most a preparation for the Gospel, not in itself a mature a serious task facing the church in the 21st century: becom- expression of faith. A homily can correct for the errant ball ing a global faith without imposing or transferring the flight if the homilist makes a conscious effort to highlight North American and European cultural hegemony of past the enduring value of the Jewish tradition. But more dia- centuries. logue with Jewish believers on both the academic and per- As the Synod of Bishops assembles to consider the Word sonal level is required to sort out the liturgical difficulties of of God in the life and mission of the church, it should cele- speaking about the scriptural texts we both revere. brate the substantial achievements of the 20th century. The Contemporary exegesis of Paul’s Letter to the Romans pro- foundations of liturgical renewal, biblical spirituality, out- vides one possibility: Paul reads Scripture as God’s promise. standing scholarship and ecumenical dialogue provide an The Gospel does not annul the Law and prophets but excellent base for meeting the challenges now facing a glob- shows God’s fidelity to that word of promise. al church. Whatever comes from the synod, one can hope Our parish provides lectors with the Workbook for Lectors that it expresses the transforming power of the Word (Liturgy Training Publications) as a background resource. expressed in Is 55:10-11: “As the rain and snow come down But even with this to help them, they say, “I don’t have a clue from heaven and do not return there until they have what that’s about.” Though it may offend liturgists, many of watered the earth….so shall my word be…It shall not them opt out of presenting the second reading altogether. return to me empty.” A Attempting to see the text from their point of view, I have concluded that the problem is twofold. The selections are detached from the readings that surround them, and they are not rhetorically complete units. More lector training will not Clotheslines solve that difficulty. Truth be told, our Bible study group often shortchanges the second reading too. Some of the problems with Lectionary selections could I feared the bugs in Nicaragua be fixed quickly if the Lectionary were revised to include more than invading contras. slightly longer passages. Bigger concerns about the overall shape and depiction of Jewish faith, however, belong in the “rebuilding the swing” category. Other foes, omnipresent dust and drought, Good players also change the set of clubs in the bag to rendered remarkable the clotheslines, adjust to different course conditions. In a global church the regional conferences of bishops have a major responsibility to see to it that the tools for proclaiming the Word of God clean garments flaunted flag-like are appropriate to local conditions. Since the homily has a before the enemy. specific function within the larger liturgical celebration, it should not be treated as a “cure-all” for problems in Catholic identity formation, catechesis or detailed knowl- Strong women skilled at washing edge of church teaching. Good preaching can contribute by highlighting identity formation and what it meant to be grime and blood and tears God’s people in biblical contexts; it can also articulate basic would not succumb to dust. Catholic teaching appropriate to the readings of the day. Major renewal of faith communities with respect to other features of Catholic belief and life, however, requires sus- Each washing pledged them to tomorrow tained initiatives beyond the liturgy. for their children.

The Word for a Global Church Camille D’Arienzo I like to remind academic advocates of multiculturalism that the Bible is not a Western, European or modern book. CAMILLE D’ARIENZO, R.S.M., is a member of the Mid- Scholars have worked hard to describe the diverse cultural Atlantic Community of the Sisters of Mercy of the values and understandings of human life with God found in Americas. the Bible. Recent studies have focused on how the new

September 29, 2008 America 27 Ever Ancient, Ever New Lectio divina is not just for monastics anymore.

BY JOHN B. KLASSEN

N WRITING THIS SHORT reflection on lectio divina in and the flow of the text can be discerned. The reading is fol- relationship to the coming Synod of Bishops. I was lowed by a period of silence, in which one can focus on a again forcefully reminded of the great watershed word or a phrase that resonates strongly. The text is read that the Second Vatican Council has been for Roman out loud again: if in a group, a different reader voices it. ICatholics and for all other Christian churches. For 400 Again it is followed by a period of silence. I usually use this years following the Counter- time to reflect on what grace might be in the words or Reformation, the church hesi- phrase that struck me. Others tated to make the Scriptures may choose to place this in the accessible to lay women and person of Christ. The text is read men out of fear that the biblical a third time, followed by a peri- text might be misinterpreted od of silence and the question, because of a lack of proper tools “What is this text asking me to or methods for approaching it. do?” This point in the process With the creation and publi- provides a rich opportunity for cation of the “Dogmatic Consti- prayer: for oneself, for the tution on Divine Revelation” church, for another member of (Dei Verbum), the church the group, for the needs of peo- changed course and once again ple of our time. Finally and urged the faithful to return to importantly, there is time to rest the Scriptures as a source of spir- in silent contemplation, to imag- itual nourishment. “Let all the ine to oneself resting in God’s Christian faithful learn ‘the sur- love. passing knowledge of Jesus Lectio divina is a Spirit-filled Christ’ (Phil 3:8) by frequent practice for encountering the reading of the divine scriptures. mystery of God in the ‘Ignorance of the scriptures is Scriptures, in part because it is ignorance of Christ’” (Dei utterly simple and flexible. Since Verbum No. 25). The constitu- there is no one right way to do it, tion also acknowledges the groups and individuals will need importance of prayer when read- to explore and to trust their own ing the biblical text, so that the dialogical character of this intuitions about what is most appropriate for them. Lectio practice is apparent. There is, however, no explicit mention divina is not a technique. Rather, it is an engagement of the practice of lectio divina. By contrast, the working paper between the meaning of the text and the narrative of God’s (instrumentum laboris) for the synod devotes a whole section saving action in one’s own life. This engagement is sensory: (No. 38) to lectio divina. What a difference 43 years make! reading, listening, sensing the words, breathing, being silent, dwelling, praying and being silent again. It takes What is Lectio Divina? time. Lectio divina is reading a passage from the Scriptures (usual- Certainly, the practice is powerful because it goes ly 7 to 10 verses) in a slow, reflective manner, either alone against the grain of contemporary culture. So much of our or within a group. Usually the text is read out loud so that world is driving, hammering, shouting, screeching, clamor- words can be savored, phrases can receive their full value ing for attention, ramping things up for one exaggeration after another. The engine of continuous, expanding con- JOHN B. KLASSEN, O.S.B., is the abbot of St. John’s Abbey in sumption uses excess stimulation and noise for fuel. Like

Collegeville, Minn. the plant in “Little Shop of Horrors” that needs ever more ART BY JULIE LONNEMAN

28 America September 29, 2008 fresh human blood in order to live, so a consumption econ- is central to that effort. omy needs speed, noise, hype, impulsive buying and using Still other groups are exploring the use of a combination things up in order to live. of lectio divina (holy reading) and visio divina (holy looking). Much in the contemporary world is truly outstanding, Since most people are visual learners, visio divina taps into of course. We need to love our world as much as God does their visual archive of memory to provide an immediate in creating it, in sending the Word to become flesh, in bless- entree into their life experience. In this example, an ing it with the Holy Spirit. As the monastic writer Michael Episcopalian pastor created a Lenten program for groups. Casey points out, lectio divina is a low-pitched daily practice Each Sunday a passage from the Lenten Gospels was cho- that allows for the gradual uncovering of our egocentrism sen and members of the group did individual lectio divina and its transformation into other-centered living by the with it over the next three days. On Thursday, the group Holy Spirit. This kind of self-awareness, which does not came together for a group lectio session; then they explored collapse into egocentrism, is hard to come by in a world of the layers of meaning by looking at an illumination of the overstimulation. text from the Saint John’s Bible (a new richly illustrated Bible being produced by artists in Collegeville, Minn.). Useful Examples This combination of intensive indi- Teachers in some Catholic elementary Three Resources vidual lectio, followed by group schools have begun to use lectio divina in reflection and interaction with a the classroom. One third-grade class Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of multilayered illumination proved to practices it every Monday and Lectio Divina, a helpful, readable and be a rich, prayerful and imagination- Wednesday, as the teacher invites the comprehensive book by Michael opening experience. students to assume a prone position on Casey, a Cistercian monk of Tarrawarra Clearly, lectio divina is not just for the floor during a 15-minute session. Abbey in Australia. monastics anymore. With a group of very young learners, a Bible Reading for Spiritual Growth, a teacher might play meditative music in fine, short handbook by Norvene Vest, Why Does Lectio Divina Matter? the background as they quiet down. A a lay oblate of Saint Andrew’s Abbey in As the synod’s instrumentum laboris short passage from the Scriptures is read Valyermo, Calif. notes: “lectio divina is not confined to and the usual group process for lectio is Praying the Bible: An Introduction to a few, well-committed individuals followed. These young students find Lectio Divina, by the Benedictine among the faithful nor to a group of that lectio divina helps them to quiet Archbishop Mariano Magrassi, weaves specialists in prayer. Instead, lectio is down (“It feels as if God is right beside the patristic foundation for lectio into a necessary element of an authentic you the whole day after you do lectio”), the narrative. Christian life in a secularized world, and they learn something about the Each of these is a fine resource for which needs contemplative, atten- Scriptures (“You feel like you were there reading about lectio divina. They carry tive, critical and courageous people in the Bible story”). a danger, however, that we will read who, at times, must make totally Some elementary-grade teachers about lectio rather than picking up the new, untried choices.” This is a who have used lectio divina acknowledge Bible and actually doing it. strong statement. Lectio divina mat- that at first they did not think it would ters because it provides a contempla- work; they doubted that their young tive, Scripture-based foundation for charges would be able to settle down and focus on the text. a thoughtful Christian response to our world. This response Most of the time, however, they could, which is what most comes as Scripture touches human experience with the adults also experience with lectio. What matters is persever- “mysterious stirring” of the Holy Spirit. By making the ance, trusting the Spirit to help one learn to listen while one Scriptures more accessible to lay men and women, the attends prayerfully to the text. church has provided a powerful source for spiritual growth A Benedictine school in Chile has prominently put a and transformation. Bible on a stand in every classroom. Students practice group In particular, group lectio has a powerful, unique impact lectio divina at the beginning of every day, using a general rit- because faith-sharing is implicit in the practice. As ual, but with enough freedom to foster the creativity and Christians we can draw enormous encouragement, hope, imagination of students. To be sure, the approach grows in insight and courage from listening to the witness of anoth- sophistication as students move through the grade levels. er’s lived faith experience. By praying out of our own lives There are no Benedictine monastics in this school. Lay for the good of another in response to the biblical word, our women and men have worked to introduce Benedictine val- hearts expand—we long for holiness and for unity with each ues and practices into the school’s entire program, and lectio other and with Christ. A

September 29, 2008 America 29 From Council to Synod What the world’s bishops have learned from Vatican II’s “Constitution on Divine Revelation”

BY RONALD D. WITHERUP

HE SYNOD ON THE WORD OF GOD is truly a mon- ops after the publication of the lineamenta, an early draft of umental event for the church. Now that the final the synod’s agenda, in April 2007. Just as DV might be agenda for the synod is available with the called a product of collegial consultation with the publication in May of its working world’s bishops, IL too is the result of a col- Tdocument (called in Latin an instru- legial polling of the world’s bishops to mentum laboris, IL), it is useful to help refine the synod’s agenda. In consider how the agenda can fact, the introduction to IL by help implement the church’s Archbishop Nikola most important modern Eterovic, general secre- doctrinal teaching on tary of the synod, high- the Word of God, the lights certain groups Second Vatican that were consulted Council’s in preparing the “Constitution on document, includ- Divine Revelation” ing bishops of (Dei Verbum, 1965, both Eastern and DV). Western rites, the Roman Curia and Comparison and the Union of Contrast Superiors General. Whereas DV is a Unlike DV, howev- constitution promul- er, in which one can gated by an ecumenical often detect the influ- council, with consequent ence of experts who formal authority in the gave advice to the bishops church, IL is a nonauthorita- during the council, it is not tive working document for a known what experts may stand synod of representative bishops, behind IL. In fact, it is unclear meant to be a guiding statement, not a whether the Pontifical Biblical definitive product. Commission, the church’s expert consultative IL is about five times as long as DV and consists of eight body on Scripture, had any input at all. chapters, divided into introductory sections, three major Both are rich and inspiring documents. The IL is so divisions and a conclusion. The history of DV shows that it lengthy, though, that I will not be able to do justice to it in was to a considerable degree a compromise document hotly such a short article. Nonetheless, some observations can be debated among the bishops at Vatican II. IL, on the other made with brevity. hand, was prepared by the general secretariat of the Synod of Bishops based upon input solicited from the world’s bish- Context Before addressing the content of IL in relation to DV, a RONALD D. WITHERUP, S.S., recently became superior general of word about context is essential. DV was promulgated more the Sulpicians and is the author of Scripture: Dei Verbum than 40 years ago, and stands as the church’s most impor-

(Paulist, 2006). tant modern statement on divine revelation since the First ART BY JULIE LONNEMAN

September 29, 2008 America 31 Vatican Council. The goal of DV was to foster a proper moves from an analysis of divine revelation to the impact of understanding of God’s Word in modern times, with a view that revelation in the life and mission of the church. The to promoting more accessibility to and familiarity with the movement is outward. One receives the Word of God as an Word of God in the church and the world. In other words, act of personal communication from a God who desires to it was a refined theoretical document with an eminently share himself with the world, but who also invites the pastoral goal. church to share this revelation with others by its life and IL specifically draws attention to the fact that although mission. many more people read the Bible now and the church has Most important is the common starting point of the two made more explicit use of documents. God’s revela- the Word of God in its life tion to humanity is of pri- and liturgy, nonetheless The context of the synod’s mary importance. God ini- there is a lack of familiarity tiates a dialogue by means with DV itself and a less working paper is more of this gracious and myste- than complete use of the rious gesture. Both docu- Bible in people’s ordinary concretely pastoral than ments quote Heb 1:1-2 lives. In this sense, IL’s (among other significant intense pastoral goal is evi- Dei Verbum, but both share passages), which empha- dent. Unlike DV, which for a focused desire to make the sizes Jesus Christ as the pri- the most part placed the mary way in which God has pastoral dimensions of the Word of God a genuinely spoken definitively. Both Bible in its last chapter on documents are centered on Scripture in the life of the fruitful encounter with the God’s revelation through church, IL has specific pas- Christ and develop this toral recommendations at God of revelation. through pneumatological the end of every chapter or and ecclesiological perspec- major section. This technique causes a certain amount of tives. The view is profoundly Trinitarian. The Bible, God’s redundancy, but one cannot miss the desire to promote the Word inspired by the Holy Spirit, is a message from God, overt pastoral application of Scripture in the life of the mediated through the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, who church. The title of IL confirms this: “The Word of God in is the precious embodiment of this sacred communication. the Life and Mission of the Church.” IL also quotes DV (No. 2) in noting that God speaks to IL also draws attention to other contextual influences. humanity as “friends.” This highlights one of the aspects of There is concern about the ongoing gap between biblical DV that was so remarkable, namely, that God’s self-revela- scholars and nonspecialists, who often do not have access to tion is nothing less than the mysterious, invisible God of all current research in a digestible format. Moreover, the influ- creation seeking to make himself known within the world, ence of secularism and religious and cultural pluralism in the arena of human history. This highly personalized sometimes interferes with healthy encounters with the view of revelation in DV helped counterbalance previous Scriptures, and some desire to have the Scriptures’ message propositional views of revelation predominant at the of liberation be more explicit in helping to alleviate poverty Council of Trent and Vatican I. and suffering. This deeply Christological orientation shows itself in The context of IL is thus more concretely pastoral other ways. IL quotes St. Bernard, for instance, that the than DV, but both share a focused desire to make the Incarnation is the center of the Scriptures (IL, I.1.B). It Word of God a genuinely fruitful encounter with the God also repeats the oft-quoted dictum of St. Jerome, as does of revelation. DV, that “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” The primary setting for this encounter with Christ is the Intersections of Dei Verbum and the Instrumentum church’s liturgy, where Word and sacrament meet. The IL By my count, IL quotes or cites DV some 65 times in the emphasizes the dual aspects of “hearing and proclaiming text and twice in the notes. The titles of the three main sec- the Word of God,” a repetition of DV’s own teaching tions of IL also indicate a close relationship to DV: Part I: about the importance of the liturgical setting for the Word The Mystery of the God Who Speaks to Us; Part II: The of God. Word of God in the Life of the Church; Part III: The Word At times IL does not so much deepen the insights of DV of God in the Mission of the Church. as reiterate them. One important example of this is the dis- This outline follows the basic pattern of DV, which cussion of the complex relationship between Scripture and

32 America September 29, 2008 Tradition (IL, I.2.A.; see DV, Nos. 9-10). This is one of the IL also mentions the danger of fundamentalism, some- thorniest problems to arise from DV. On the one hand, the thing not explicitly addressed in DV. It warns that funda- relationship between Scripture and Tradition has been an mentalism “takes refuge in literalism and refuses to take important and distinctive Catholic principle since at least into consideration the historical dimension of biblical rev- the patristic era. On the other hand, how this relationship elation.” This echoes the warning issued by the Pontifical works has never been definitively explained. DV acknowl- Biblical Commission in The Interpretation of the Bible in the edges this principle explicitly and IL repeats it, yet neither Church (1993). It is clear from the context, though, that resolves the issue of how they operate together concretely. the target of this warning is certain Christian “sects” that Church Tradition interprets Scripture, guaranteeing its view the Bible in a literalistic fashion that does an injustice authenticity, yet does so as the “servant” of the Word, not to its historical context. its master. Perhaps this will be one of the themes the bish- Another divergence is in reference to the historical-crit- ops will discuss at the synod. ical method of biblical interpretation that has been charac- When it comes to pastoral application, IL makes spe- teristic of most 20th-century exegesis, both Catholic and cific recommendations—for example, to those who ful- Protestant. In DV this method is more implicit than explic- fill various offices in the church, like bishops, priests, it. The council fathers noted the importance of using every deacons, catechists, various ministers of the Word, reli- possible scientific means to study Scripture and also adopt- gious and seminarians, and to laypeople. As one might ed a nuanced view of how the Gospels came into being in expect of a document intended to promote discussion, three stages and thus do not reflect “history” in the absolute IL often goes far beyond DV in making observations or sense, but DV does not discuss the methodology explicitly. recommendations of this kind. It notes, for instance, the IL, on the other hand, mentions historical criticism by name need for improvements in the design of the Lectionary three times, each time favorably. But it also emphasizes that and in seminary instruction on preaching the Word, as this can never be the sole method of exegesis; it needs to be well as the need for creative use of newer methods of supplemented by other methods designed to lead to the communication and media (like CD’s, DVD’s, the deeper, more profound meanings of the Word of God that Internet). The IL even suggests, tentatively, that the nourish and strengthen one’s life. Word of God could be better understood at Mass “if the This acknowledgement of historical criticism is impor- lector made a brief introduction on the meaning of the reading to be proclaimed.” This is occasionally done in Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos some parishes, but it requires extra training of lectors, something the www.jrclosaltos.org document also encourages.

Divergences Jesuit Retreat Center Our Retreats As much as IL makes use of DV’s prima- of Los Altos Ignatian ry teachings, there are some noteworthy 300 Manresa Way Married Couples divergences. One is the synod docu- Los Altos, CA 94022 Young Adults ment’s consistent call for a reappropria- PH: 650-948-4491 En Español tion of the ancient prayerful meditation FX: 650-948-0640 36-Day & 8-Day of Scripture called lectio divina. This [email protected] Individually Directed term appears some 30 times in IL, and two large sections are devoted to an explanation of the practice (II.4 and Giving the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola since 1925 II.5). Although IL gives some preference to time-tested monastic practices of lectio divina, it does not affirm any one method as predominant, and it acknowledges equally the value of both personal and communal exercise of this devotional practice. Clearly IL sees this as one of the most pastorally important ways to www.jrclosaltos.org promote Scripture.

September 29, 2008 America 33 tant because this is a particularly neuralgic =FI;?8D :@FE 8E; :LCKLI< point in current biblical studies. Some blame ?<8;C@E< =FILD this method for discouraging use of the Bible for spiritual enrichment or for undermining people’s faith in the Scriptures as historically Kfikli\ Xe[ 8d\i`ZXe :lckli\1 accurate. Basically, IL is not offering any- 8e @ehlìp Xe[ I\Õ\Zk`fe thing new here. It is merely suggesting what other church documents have done since at Kl\j[Xp#)(FZkfY\i)''/#(Æ,g%d% least 1943 when Pope Pius XII’s famous =fi[_Xd Le`m\ij`kp CèZfce :\ek\i :Xdglj encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu encouraged DZEXccp 8dg_`k_\Xki\ (+' N% -)e[ Jk% E\n Pfib :`kp Catholic scholars to use all available means to study Scripture and help people learn its The photographs that revealed the torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners at message. Historical criticism, properly Abu Ghraib shocked the world. Further revelations of CIA rendition policies, applied, is still essential, though it cannot deaths in custody, Guantanamo detainees and government secrecy raise give the last word on any given meaning of a critical questions about U.S. culture and the conditions that have fostered biblical passage. the resort to torture. This forum will examine two issues The Work of the Spirit 1.What in U.S. culture predisposes us to torture or a tolerance for torture? The IL is indeed a rich document. We have 2.What strengths and weaknesses have U.S. leadership groups (political, barely scratched the surface here of what it military, religious, medical, psychological, legal, etc.) exhibited in responding offers the synod participants, who in any case to the current controversies over torture? will have three weeks to discuss its contents at length. The synod’s goals—to foster a bet- J\jj`fe@1(Æ)1(,g%d% ter familiarity with DV, promote more fre- GfglcXi:lckli\#>iXg_`ZI\gi\j\ekXk`fejf]Kfikli\Xe[M`fc\eZ\ quent use of lectio divina and increase the impact of the Word of God in pastoral min- DF;Xim\p#\[`kfi$ Kf[[>`kcè#gif]\jjfi#:fcldY`XLe`m\ij`kp è$Z_`\]#9ljk\[?Xcf#fecè\dX^Xqè\ JZ_ffcf]AflieXc`jd istry—are all admirable. Whether they will G8EcfYXcI\jfliZ\j>iflg had been given on key issues like theories of ;\gXikd\ekf]GjpZ_fcf^p I\c`^`fe1;i\n:_i`jk`Xej\e#J%A%#\[`kfi# G8E

34 America September 29, 2008 Faith in Focus Pomp and Simplicity The wonders of Lourdes in its jubilee year BY JAMES MARTIN

HE MEMBERS OF THE Order far lower number, the crowds seemed Lourdes is a marvelous mix of pomp of Malta, or at least its much grumpier, and my appreciation for and simplicity. For the pomp, few places American branches, concluded what happens in Lourdes deepened con- outside Rome can match the pageantry of their annual one-week pilgrim- siderably.) the pontifical Masses celebrated in the vast Tage to Lourdes in May. As in underground concrete church, the past few years, I partici- the Basilica of St. Pius X. That pated as a guest of (and chap- worship space, the site of the lain for) the “Federal largest Masses in town, is saved Association” of the order, from looking like a 1960s-era which makes its home in parking lot only by the immense Washington, D.C., but draws banners with pictures of saints its membership from farther from around the world. (I seem afield. Accordingly I shared regularly to find myself seated Masses, Marian processions under the picture of St. and meals with a diverse and Josemaría Escrivá, the founder accomplished group of men of Opus Dei.) Besides the and women from Maryland 25,000 pilgrims and the hun- and Virginia, to be sure, but dreds of priests and deacons, the also from Texas, Georgia and assembled dignitaries included Florida. Cardinals Pio Laghi and Roger This year is a jubilee year Mahony, not to mention in Lourdes, the 150th Archbishops George Nied- anniversary of the apparitions erauer of San Francisco and of the Virgin Mary to St. Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee, Bernadette Soubirous, a and Bishops William Lori of young girl living in squalor in Bridgeport, Conn., William the small town in southern Murphy of Rockville Center, France. Signs of the jubilee N.Y., and Michael Cote of were everywhere, the most Norwich, Conn. obvious being the gargantuan Other prelates, despite the number of people. Yet long list of names of episcopal despite the massive crowds, personages on the program, life in Lourdes was, as always, remained somewhat mysterious cheerful, calm and well orga- to me. I walked up to one bishop nized. (Compare that to my and complimented him on his first sight of Pennsylvania lovely homily, only to find out Station in New York on my later that he hadn’t spoken at the return, where, despite their Mass at all! (Fortunately, he LINDON

spoke little English and gleefully C JAMES MARTIN, S.J., is associ- accepted my words of praise.) At ate editor of America and Sunday’s Mass, Fra Matthew author of Lourdes Diary: Festing, the order’s new grand Seven Days at the Grotto of master, offered the prayer of the

Massabieille. Order of Malta in Latin, and PHOTO BY BURNS M

September 29, 2008 America 35 though the good-natured Englishman con- Jesuit and I were pulling a cart carrying organized. The French M.C. silently fessed that his command of the language one of the malades (the French word used handed me a little Mass booklet, so that was no better than that of an “idle school- in all languages for those seeking healing when Pio Laghi peered at me over the boy,” it sounded fine to me. at Lourdes) into the underground basili- stone altar, I could look like I knew what I ca when we got stuck in the crowd and was doing. My First Latin Mass ended up at the tail end of the proces- As with the rest of the Catholic Speaking of language proficiency, while sion. There were a few extra seats in the Church, in Lourdes the personal makes its my schoolboy French miraculously first row, and I was politely pulled up to home alongside the public, and the pow- returns each year in Lourdes, my Latin the very first seat. The priest behind me erful rubs up against the powerless does not, for the simple reason that I laughed and muttered, “I hope you know (though who is which is always a good don’t know any. Nonetheless I celebrat- your Latin, because you’ll probably be question). At the center are those whom ed (or rather, concelebrated) my very brought up onto the altar.” Bishop William Curlin, retired bishop of first Latin Mass in Lourdes, which is a I was. Fortunately, all the official litur- Charlotte, N.C., always calls “our beloved fine place to ring in the old. Another gies in Lourdes are astonishingly well malades.” On our pilgrimage this year I met dozens of malades, their families and friends, as well as the knights and dames of Malta, who were there to help accompany the malades to the baths, push their carts so that they could get a good spot in the grot- to during Mass, fetch them a drink of water, make sure that they got their coffee and croissants in the morning, and, most of all, pray with them. To mark this jubilee year, Pope Benedict XVI granted a plenary indulgence to those who, while in Lourdes, visited four sites: first, the Grotto at Massabielle; second, Bernadette’s home at the time of the apparitions (called the “Cachot,” after the French word for “jail,” which is what the place had been before the Soubirous family took up residence); third, the church of her baptism; and fourth, the “hospice” where she made her first Communion. This two-hour-long pilgrimage (along with confession) seemed, while arduous, not too high a price for the full remission of temporal punishment for my sins. It was the object of some humor that the sole street that the town seems to have chosen to repair this year is the one leading to the Cachot. This meant not only that the helpful white line painted along the streets to enable pilgrims to find their way simply stopped, but also that wheelchairs and carts would find it hard to make their way to one of the central spots of worship in the town. “Gee,” said a friend, “why didn’t they repave the grotto while they were at it?” My own plenary pilgrimage was completed on a sultry day, and I felt happy when I finally received the last of four stickers to affix to the little blue paper disk that I had been given by an official in the sanctuary. (I imagined presenting my little disk to God when I get to heaven, saying,

36 America September 29, 2008 “Do you accept these here?”) The next day at Mass, though, we all received an indulgence, courtesy of the Bishop of Tarbes, Jacques Perrier. It made many of us wonder what we would do with two plenary indulgences. The answer from a Jesuit friend: offer one for a deceased person. This I did, for my father.

A Miracle? What was the best part of the trip? That’s easy: being with the generous knights and dames, the tireless volunteers and companions, and especially the hopeful malades. Each of the malades comes to Lourdes for different reasons. As a group, they are at different places with their illnesses. (This year I heard anger for the first time, which struck me as bracingly honest and real.) But all were hoping for some sort of healing—physical, emotional or spiritual. With all the good humor and faith of the malades, it’s sometimes easy for me to forget the deep emotions that lay just underneath the surface, but conversations can quickly turn serious over breakfast, lunch or dinner, or while you’re waiting in line for a bath. Tears come quickly at Lourdes and flow as fast as the Gave River, which runs silently past the grotto. Spiritual healings come quickly, too; but after I return people always ask me about the physical ones. Were there any miracles? Yes, though maybe not as dramatic as the 66 authenticated ones. For example: One man in our group had suf- NEW DIRECTIONS fered from injuries during the first SABBATICAL Persian Gulf war and, as a guest of the Renew your spirit in a Order of Malta, had come to Lourdes Renew your spirit in a seeking healing. His eyesight, never ﬂexible program, a global good, had deteriorated since being community, and the scenic injured. He told me, while we were wait- San Francisco Bay area. ing in line for the baths, that as soon as Enjoy a wide range of he landed in Lourdes his eyesight some- spiritual, recreational, how seemed to get even worse. Someone and academic resources. suggested he take off his eyeglasses to let his eyes rest. A few minutes later, he told me, he could see perfectly well. “Look,” he said, “I can read your nametag from here.” And he did, from a few feet away. “I haven’t been able to see that well for 25 years!” JESUIT SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY at Berkeley What do you make of that? Well, as a member of the Graduate Theological Union one character says in the film “The Song of Bernadette,” for those without faith no 1735 LeRoy Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709 • (800) 824-0122 • (510) 549-5000 explanation is possible; for those with faith Fax (510) 841-8536 • E-mail: [email protected] • VISIT US AT WWW.JSTB.EDU no explanation is necessary. A

September 29, 2008 America 37 G. K. Chesterton and the rest of Jacobs’s Book Reviews Explaining Evil luminous cast of characters ought not to be corralled into a single, overly static sin and human depravity and cupidity Original Sin historical narrative. It seems unhelpful, could sometimes have a surprisingly posi- A Cultural History for instance, to refer to Pelagius as tive cultural, political and intellectual By Alan Jacobs “something like the Tony Robbins of his impact. Such beliefs could fuel a pragmat- HarperOne. 304p $24.95 time.” ic political realism and form the basis of a ISBN 9780060783402 This major cavil aside, Original Sin has sophisticated, robust, even comforting a great deal to offer both the general read- devotional attitude. Such results might not Alan Jacobs’s new book is best read as an er and those already well versed in this have been to everyone’s taste. In the polit- intellectual jeu d’esprit: a playful, wide- most controversial of theological arenas. ical realm, for instance, belief in original ranging, erudite meditation on the nag- Many of the grand battles in the debate sin usually encouraged a conservative, ging question of whether human beings about original sin—St. Augustine versus even reactionary outlook; but this does not enter the world predisposed to evil and Pelagius, 17th-century Jansenists versus diminish the fact that those few sentences sinfulness. Jacobs, a professor of literature the Jesuits, the leaders of the Great in Genesis, as filtered through the thought at Wheaton College, deploys a staggering Awakening and their of thinkers like Augustine, range of literary, theological and cultural critics—are recounted possessed an extraordinary sources—from Odilo of Cluny to the with economy and pre- cultural creativity. movie “Hellboy,” from the rabbis of 17th- cision. Jacobs also Original Sin includes century Amsterdam to his own experi- strives to be even- many intriguing digres- ences in 1990s Nigeria. The result, while handed. He is perhaps sions, but it is at its best constantly entertaining, is sometimes a little charitable when when it enters solidly theo- chaotic. it comes to analyzing logical terrain. The The author’s approach is unwavering- the hugely influential, accounts of how religious ly diachronic. His book stresses the idea some would say hugely thinkers have sought to that, mutatis mutandi, we have been having debilitating, thought of conceptualize the stain of more or less the same debate about human Augustine of Hippo; man’s first disobedience nature for several millennia. Perhaps so, but he makes the excel- and hammer out its conse- perhaps not: but the role of contingency, lent point that those quences are often extreme- of specific historical circumstances, in that who argued from the ly well wrought. Readers debate ought not to be underestimated. opposite perspective— will sometimes be distract- Jumping back and forth from Augustine to those who stressed the ed by the author’s inability C. S. Lewis to Milton, from this century importance of human to resist a good story, how- to that century, as though all such peoples free will or even ever tangential it might be, and times were engaged in an identical dreamed dreams of human perfectibility— but they will also be reminded that, far intellectual endeavour, is sometimes were no less likely to take up dogmatic, from being an arcane theological con- instructive (and demonstrates just how unflinching, even fanatical positions. The struct, the doctrine of original sin is at widely Jacobs has read), but it can also be message of Augustine’s great rival least “an intellectually serious attempt” to misleading and a bit reductive. One is Pelagius, for instance, with its insistence answer that abiding question: where does reminded of those critics of the cognitive on the role of free will in the salvific econ- all the wrongdoing come from? scientist Stephen Pinker, quoted by omy, might seem at first blush to encour- Jonathan Wright Jacobs, who, dismayed by Pinker’s sugges- age a decidedly optimistic, empowering tion that a tendency toward aggression is worldview. In fact, Jacobs suggests, it The Reviewers placed the “terrifying weight of complete part of our genetic legacy, accused him of Jonathan Wright, who writes extensively reinventing Augustine for a new age, of freedom on the individual” at every on early modern religious history, is the producing a “jumped-up, down-market moment, which was just as likely to engen- author of God’s Soldiers: A History of the version of original sin.” There is endless der anxiety, excessive asceticism and a Jesuits (Doubleday, 2004). room to debate the virtues of Pinker’s the- “creed for heroes” to which few people Emilie Griffin, who lives in Alexandria, La, orizing, but it has to be understood on its could measure up. Admittedly, Jacobs fas- has described Lewis’s conversion in her own, historically determined terms, not tens upon some conspicuously soft targets book Turning: Reflections on the Experience simply as a rehashing of a hackneyed idea. in making this point (Pelagius, Rousseau, of Conversion (Doubleday, 1980). Jacobs rightly scolds the sneering tone of and so on), but his point is still a good one. Pam Kingsbury, the author of Inner Voices, some of Pinker’s critics, but he sometimes Positing a neat division between bleak, Inner Views: Conversations With Southern comes close to imitating their errors of mean-spirited believers in original sin and Writers (Enolam Group, 2005), lives in oversimplification. their jolly, optimistic opponents is often Florence, Ala. The thought of people as different as entirely misguided. Gerald T. Cobb, S.J., is associate profes- St. Paul, Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Into the bargain, the seemingly devas- sor in the English department at Seattle Charles Grandison Finney, Coleridge, tating consequences of a belief in original University.

September 29, 2008 America 39 viduals, whose names will be unfamiliar to Psalms. Further counsel: “Don’t worry if ‘Don’t Bother most readers—Rhona Bodle, Vera your heart won’t respond: do the best you Mathews Gebbert, Michael Edwards, can.” Soon we find that Lewis has made a About Thrills’ Genia Goelz, Mr. Green and others, some connection for Mary Neylan with his own of whom have coded names like “Mrs. confessor and spiritual director, Father Yours, Jack Lockley.” Of these, the only correspon- Walter Adams, a Cowley father in Oxford. Spiritual Direction From C. S. Lewis dent recognizable to me Roman Catholics can Edited by Paul F. Ford at once is Sheldon be at ease with Lewis’s HarperOne. 400p $23.95 Vanauken, who received spirituality. Yet in some ISBN 9780061240591 11 of the letters in this letters he reveals his collection. (Vanauken Protestant sensibility. In This new selection of C. S. Lewis’s letters became an author in his June 1952 he writes to on spiritual matters makes good reading own right.) Lewis sup- Mary Van Deusen, who even for someone already conversant with ported people during has inquired about Lewis’s life and work. Compiled by the their illnesses and saw incense and Hail Marys: longtime Lewis scholar and enthusiast them through grief, “Incense and Hail Marys Paul F. Ford, Yours, Jack is reader-friend- helping them to navigate are in quite different cate- ly. The subtitle suggests that the collec- prickly relationships gories. The one is merely tion comprises Lewis’s letters of spiritual with pastors and recur- a matter of ritual: some direction—that is to say, letters written to ring doubts about faith. find it helpful and others those he was advising in spiritual matters. Lewis’s own faith life is don’t….” For Lewis, While these do form a large part of the exposed here; the down- however, the Hail Mary collection, Ford in fact has included two to-earth simplicity of the “raises a doctrinal ques- other kinds of letters. Some are addressed letters is touching. tion: whether it is lawful to spiritual companions, like Bede There is no question that the “spiritu- to address devotions to any creature, how- Griffiths, one of Lewis’s former students al direction” letters can legitimately be ever holy.” Lewis advises it is not wrong to at Oxford and later a Roman Catholic classified as such. But it is equally plain offer a salute to a saint or an angel, and Benedictine monk. Another spiritual com- that Lewis did not regard himself as a spir- likens this to “taking off one’s hat to a panion is Lewis’s childhood friend Arthur itual director. In a letter to Mary Neylan friend.” But he cautions against addressing Greeves, with whom he kept up a lifelong (1941) he seems to equate spiritual direc- prayers to the Blessed Virgin, a practice correspondence of the heart. Other peer- tion with confession and absolution, while that he thinks may lead to treating her as a friends, like Lewis’s brother “Warnie,” are commending the practice. In an effort to deity. “And if the Blessed Virgin is as good represented as well. encourage Neylan he commends the prac- as the best mothers I have known, she does Still a third category includes Lewis’s tice of receiving holy Communion: not want any of the attention which might letters to his own spiritual mentors, some have gone to her Son diverted to herself.” as exotic as Don Giovanni Calabria, with I suppose the normal next step, Nearing the end of his life, Lewis affirms whom Lewis corresponded in Latin. after self-examination, repentance in one of his final letters (1963) his simple Calabria, a Roman Catholic, has since and restitution, is to make your and literal belief in the Virgin Birth. So it been canonized a saint. Some early letters Communion; and then to contin- is clear that he honors the Virgin in a very date back to Lewis’s atheist days, so that ue as well as you can, praying as Protestant-leaning Anglican style. the whole collection serves to trace the arc well as you can…. This, I would How did Lewis fit these letters into his of his spiritual life (and religious beliefs) say, is the obvious course. If you full academic schedule and heavy writing from his late teens to the days just before want anything more—e.g. routine? Where did he find the time? his death in November 1963. Confession and Absolution which Apparently he saw such letter-writing as a The letters offer plenty of sound spir- our church enjoins on no-one but kind of Christian duty. Besides, he itual advice. A letter to Mrs. Ray Garrett leaves free to all—let me know enjoyed it. in 1960 indicates Lewis’s kind of balanced and I’ll find you a directeur. If you Yours, Jack provides only scanty infor- spiritual counsel: “We must not bother choose this way, remember it’s not mation about Lewis’s correspondents. To about thrills at all. Do the present duty— the psychoanalyst over again: the know more, readers may turn to The bear the present pain—enjoy the present confessor is the representative of Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis. Ford pleasure—and leave emotions and experi- Our Lord and declares His for- acknowledges his debt to these three mas- ences to take care of themselves. That’s giveness. sive volumes, letters “so admirably and the programme, isn’t it?” Lewis wrote lovingly edited by Walter Hooper.” His quite a number of letters like this, offering The director’s advice, Lewis adds, is of short collection is in fact drawn from wisdom and comfort to correspondents, “secondary importance.” In the same letter Hooper’s expansive one. In Hooper’s some of whom he never met, who had he recommends spiritual reading “in small meticulous work, each correspondent is asked for his advice. Yours, Jack includes doses”: The Imitation of Christ and Theologia given an exhaustive biography. (For more than 220 such letters to various indi- Germanica, the New Testament and the instance, Mary Neylan’s long association

40 America September 29, 2008 with Lewis is described in elaborate though the first book in the series was NEW FROM detail.) Ford’s collection, by contrast, is a published in 1935, a time when the cost of NEW YORK TIMES lighter, more manageable read. Even so, it owning children’s books was prohibitive, BESTSELLING AUTHOR provides real insight into one of the most the books have never gone out of print, genuine and persuasive spiritual writers of remain best sellers and are among the the last century. Emilie Griffin most frequently used texts in schools. KATHLEEN The Wilders—both Laura and her daughter Rose—were acutely aware of the NORRIS ways in which America’s Great Depression paralleled life on the frontier. More Than a The authors advocated less government interference in the personal lives of ‘Magical Series’ America’s citizens because they wanted to believe that most citizens, when left to Little House, Long their own devices, could better regulate Shadow the local community than could a govern- Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Impact on ment based hundreds of miles away. And American Culture so the novels served as morality tales, By Anita Clair Fellman whereby the “good” people made sure the Univ. of Missouri Press. 376p $34.95 “bad” people got their comeuppance. ISBN 9780826218032 The books’ popularity has led to the stories’ being adapted for stage and televi- The Little House on the Prairie series—in sion—both as a series and a mini-series book, television and, now, DVD—has (in England and America)—and as a car- long captured the imagination of readers, toon by the Japanese. From the first pub- writers and teachers. Many readers look lication, teachers and families have read back on the collection with great affection Little House on the Prairie aloud as a form and nostalgia, believing the writing sug- of entertainment. (Ronald Reagan was a gests a simpler time. In the introduction to huge fan of the television series. Little House, Long According to Fellman’s Shadow, Anita Clair research, he watched it Fellman (chair of nightly while eating din- women’s studies and ner from a television tray “Norris writes about associate professor of his- in the family quarters of tory at Old Dominion the White House.) religion with the University in Norfolk, Some educators have imagination of a poet.” Va.) admits that she “was even used the collection not a devoted fan of the as a starting point to —Chicago Tribune stories in childhood.” teach reading, history, But when the time came math and social studies. for her to read books to Students make sunbon- her own children, she nets, log cabins from was “determined to foist” cardboard boxes, and the books on them and in participate in other activ- doing so became “capti- ities featured in the vari- vated.” Her involvement ous stories. There are with the works became online groups devoted to personal and political, in part because “the endless discussions of the way the televi- emotional appeal of the series is sion series deviated from the books. To formidable.” scrutinize such a beloved text in a scholar- ALSO AVAILABLE One of her many theses is that the ly fashion is risky. The great strength of IN PAPERBACK Wilder stories have enduring appeal Little House, Long Shadow is Fellman’s will- because they represent the American ideal ingness to present the multiple sides and Meet Kathleen Norris! Visit penguin.com/acedia of self-reliance. In her quest to find arguments, gently nudging the reader to for tour details. answers about the works’ influence, her keep context in mind. studies often led her into other people’s Even though the works were written Available wherever books are sold memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s col- in the third person, many readers assumed RIVERHEAD BOOKS A member of Penguin Group (USA) lection. It is important to note that even the stories were the tales of a truthful nar- RiverheadBooks.com

September 29, 2008 America 41 rator. There is always the question of finding it difficult to give the other credit. would have constituted literal truth in the whether or not Laura’s recollections were The two women seemed closest when liv- works, why readers still find resonance in composites, reliable narrative, or fell ing great distances apart. There is plenti- the works, and whether the works should under the heading of “remembering as an ful speculation that their difficult relation- be taken off school reading lists for rea- act of imagination.” During the first years ship is the basis for “Pa’s” role as the dom- sons of racial sensitivity. of publication, the narratives were classi- inant parent in the books. The lives of Little House, Long Shadow will appeal fied as non-fiction because they were women and the problems women faced to the reader who values accuracy as much being written down by Laura Ingalls are often ignored, presumably because as imagination. Fellman’s judicious inter- Wilder, who had lived through the migra- they were considered unimportant during pretation and critique of the Little House tion to and settling of the American the years the books were initially pub- series reminds readers that works of liter- Midwest. Her stories were taken to be lished (1932-45). ature often reflect the social and political autobiographical rather than representa- Political correctness has also prompt- mores of their time. She celebrates indi- tional. She was given some license to omit ed educators to reconsider the books. viduality—that most American of ideals. the painful details, such as the death of her Whites were not the first people to view Pam Kingsbury infant son. As scholars gained greater most of the territory about which Ingalls access to family history, the books are now writes, and teachers have had to find ways classified as “historical fiction.” to balance historical accuracy with the fic- More information about the compli- tional license taken by the authors. Apocalypse Now cated and multi-faceted relationship (Louise Erdrich cites the works as child- between Laura and her daughter Rose has hood favorites and is working on her own World Made by Hand also come to light with scholarly inquiry. correlated series, told from a tribal per- A Novel Letters and assorted family documents spective.) By James Howard Kunstler have established that Laura wrote the sto- Anita Clair Fellman argues convinc- Atlantic Monthly Press. 336p $24 ries while Rose edited them, found the ingly that Laura Ingalls Wilder has had a ISBN 9780871139782 publisher for them and took care of the significant influence on American culture, various literary duties associated with the children’s literature and readers world- James Howard Kunstler’s novel begins in writing life. Each woman apparently wide. Fellman’s research is impeccable. the pastoral setting of a riverbank, where resented the symbiotic work relationship, She delves into the questions of what the narrator, Robert Earle, and his best friend Loren Holder have concluded a successful fishing excursion. Although THE CASAGRANDE INSTITUTE FOR INTERFAITH CONVERSATION they are slightly intoxicated by the natural American Indian, beauty around them and by some home- made wine, they are also profoundly aware Buddhist,Christian, of the dire context of their lives: nuclear Jewish and Muslim perspectives attacks on Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., combined with a cutoff of oil to the United States, have ushered in an apocalyptic age. Kunstler is well known for his non-fic- OCTOBER 31 — NOVEMBER 2, 2008 tion work The Long Emergency (2005), WISDOM HOUSE RETREAT AND CONFERENCE CENTER whose subtitle reads: “Surviving the End of LITCHFIELD, CT • 860-567-3163 Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging [email protected] • www.wisdomhouse.org Catastrophes of the 21st Century.” In his new book Kunstler assumes these catastrophes have taken place, and he offers a stark por- TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW trait of the ensuing daily life of a small ❑ New subscription ❑ Renewal New York town. Yearly rates are $48 for each subscription. Add $22 for postage, handling and GST on Canadian orders. Add Kunstler’s version of the future is in $32 for foreign subscriptions. Payment in U.S. funds only. many ways a regression to the past, to the ❑ ❑ Payment enclosed Bill me “world made by hand” of the book’s title. On occasion America gives permission to other organizations to use our list for promotional purposes. If you The people of Union Grove must recover do not want to receive these promotions, contact our List Manager at our New York offices. some long-lost survival skills, and in fact For change of address and renewal: Please attach the mailing label from the front cover when writing about service or change of address. Allow 3 to 4 weeks for change of address to take effect. Thank you they do much better than just survive.

Name: Robert reflects, “You could argue that

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42 America September 29, 2008 sion and sexy advertising all the time. No needed, as Union Grove has become a more anxiety about credit card bills.” kind of Wild West wasteland menaced by With dramatically reduced effluents and several bad guys. One operates a huge sal- pollution flowing into waterways (virtual- vage market out of the former town dump, James Martin, SJ, ly all manufacturing has ceased), rivers and while another controls all commerce on streams teem with fish. Compared to the one stretch of the Hudson River. When a total annihilation portrayed in Cormac crew of townsfolk goes missing on the Answers McCarthy’s The Road, Kunstler offers a river, Loren and Robert form a posse that sobering but far less grim vision of post- is in effect a SWAT team on horseback. Life’s Biggest Armageddon America. Kunstler suggests Kunstler also bal- that much of the social Questions ances the harsh realities progress made over the of the new age with a last decades in the United rediscovery of a primal States would quickly Winner of a Catholic spiritual authenticity. unravel under the pres- Press Association First Prize One character bemoans sure of working simply to that “in the sight of God survive. Union Grove’s for Popular Presentation of we don’t matter,” but town trustees are all the Catholic Faith Robert counters that a male, because “As the sacred goodness of peo- world changed, we’d s ple resides, “In all the reverted to social divi- Named a Publishers Weekly abiding virtues. Love, sions that were thought ‘Best Book’ of the Year bravery, patience, hon- to be long obsolete. The esty, justice, generosity, egalitarian pretenses of kindness. Beauty too. the high octane decades Mostly love.” In this had dissolved and context there is a new nobody even debated it relevance for religious communities: anymore, including the women of our “Those of us who remained did not have town.” There are other disquieting diversions like television or recreational changes in the social fabric: Loren shares shopping anymore, and the church had his wife with the widower Robert, and become our get-together place in a way it only a single child has been born to the had ceased to be for generations.” entire community of Union Grove in the While Robert affirms a sense of the first eight months of the year. sacred in nature and in humanity, he also Anyone who has read Cormac expresses wariness about a band of retro- McCarthy’s The Road or Alan Weisman’s puritanical folk called the New Faith The World Without Us senses that topics Church of Jesus, led by the mysterious formerly labeled as “unthinkable” have Brother Jobe, whom Kunstler has now become a central preoccupation for a described in an interview as “a comically number of writers who wish to describe in dark figure who is a combination of Boss a compelling way the dystopias we will A Jesuit Off-Broadway Hogg [from “The Dukes of Hazzard”] avoid only if we can find a way to change Center Stage with Jesus, Judas, and Captain Ahab.” Brother Jobe pursues our lives and lifestyles significantly and Life’s Big Questions the classic American dream of building a enough. Kunstler plays on primal fears James Martin, SJ city on a hill. In this effort he preaches a about where we are going, but he also rais- $22.95sHcs2582-6s272 pp new emancipation, because he believes es primal hopes. A number of times in the Americans had fallen into material slavery: novel he describes fireflies flickering in the “They made themselves slaves to the car evenings, perhaps to suggest that even in and everything connected with it and it an apocalyptic time of darkness there are Two Easy Ways to Order: destroyed them in the end.” Jobe’s pro- likely to be remnant lights, however small, Visit www.loyolabooks.com nouncement is just one example of a to give us hope and motivation to come up recurring concern in the novel about with a brave new “world made by hand.” or call 800-621-1008 social and environmental collapse. Gerald T. Cobb Brother Jobe’s foil to some extent is Loren, the town preacher who is called The editors pose questions for the upon to become a constable, thus upholding both divine law and what’s left of presidential candidates debate, at human law. Loren’s services are certainly americamagazine.org/connects.

September 29, 2008 America 43 Classified DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT. The Franciscan THE HARVARD CATHOLIC CHAPLAINCY seeks a Friars, T.O.R., of Hollidaysburg, Pa., seek a full- qualified and experienced individual as a campus time Director of Development who is experienced minister. The chaplain’s primary outreach is Education in organizing and implementing a comprehensive directed toward Catholic undergraduates attend- OBLATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY offers an M.A. development program. This individual should ing Harvard College. The chaplain serves this degree in spirituality. Regular semester and inter- possess a bachelor’s degree and be well versed in community with a priest chaplain along with session courses. Visit www.ost.edu. development strategies for direct mail, capital, three other Catholic chaplains who minister to planned and major giving as well as e-commerce. the wider university community in various ways. The candidate should be a practicing Roman The candidate should have a mature, active Parish Missions Catholic who has an understanding of religious Catholic faith, be articulate in the pastoral appli- INSPIRING, DYNAMIC PREACHING: parish mis- life. Salary and benefits will be commensurate cation of church teachings and possess a wel- sions, retreats, days of recollection. www.sab- with experience. The Director of Development coming presence. Areas of responsibility include bathretreats.org. will work out of Hollidaysburg, Pa.; a relocation pastoral availability and organizational coopera- package will be available if needed. To apply, send tion with student leadership, fellow chaplains Pilgrimage cover letter, résumé and five references by Oct. and staff. The chaplain would be involved in 31, 2008 to: [email protected] or to Very Rev. planning and executing ongoing faith formation, VISIT BIBLICAL SITES and meet local Christians Anthony Criscitelli, T.O.R., St. Bridget Friary, student liturgical life, retreats and service trips. in the Holy Land. Small groups. Private rooms 3811 Emerson Avenue N, Minneapolis, MN The chaplain must also work with a Director of with bath in Christian guesthouses. Join a pil- 55412. Development in order to raise funds for the grimage in November, January or March. Ask Chaplaincy. The chaplain would be expected to about other dates and programs tailored for your DIRECTOR, Volunteer Program, Society of the attend regular meetings with the Harvard group. E-mail: [email protected]; Ph: Precious Blood. The Missionaries of the Precious Catholic chaplains as well as the meetings with (415) 452-9634 (Pacific Time); www.HolyLand- Blood, centered in Kansas City, Mo., is looking the interdenominational chaplains at Harvard Institute.org. for a qualified person to become the director of its University. Experience in serving undergradu- initial volunteer program, to be sponsored by the ates, particularly young Catholic women, is Positions province. The Precious Blood is an international required as well as relevant education to a mas- ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR LITURGICAL MUSIC, community that furthers the work of reconcilia- ter’s level. Interested persons should submit a Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Join growing tion, lay ministry and the mission of the Precious curriculum vitae and cover letter to: Rev. Robert Office of Worship staff serving 1.5 million Blood through parishes, retreats, education/ J. Congdon, Senior Chaplain, 29 Mount Auburn Catholics. Responsibilities: oversee liturgical teaching and emphasis on the Word of God. It is Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, or to rcong- music for nonparish episcopal liturgies at co- in 20 countries worldwide. [email protected]. cathedral and basilica; direct/develop/oversee The Director will be responsible for archdiocesan choir(s) and ensembles, liturgical recruitment, training and placement of volun- SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY invites applications musician formation; assist with preparation of teers, with the assistance of an advisory board. for a tenure-track, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR archdiocesan liturgies, projects and programs; Qualifications for the position include energy position in Jewish studies, with primary special- resource to parishes, organizations. and experience of volunteer programs, being ization in the modern and contemporary peri- Requirements: Practicing Catholic; M.A. in litur- Catholic, some flexibility for travel, an interest ods. Strength also desired in any of several gical music or comparable; five years’ experience in social justice and a willingness to work with fields, including biblical studies, ethics, and as parish music director; thorough knowledge of young people. Salary and benefits are commen- women’s and gender studies. Potential for supe- Roman Rite; proficient in organ/piano, conduct- surate with other directors. rior contribution to scholarship is essential, as is ing or vocal performance; MS Office and music For more information or to apply please con- excellence in undergraduate teaching. The ideal notation software. Bilingual (Spanish/English) tact Rev. Jim Urbanic, C.P.P.S., P.O. Box 339, candidate would demonstrate an interest in par- strongly preferred. Send résumé, cover letter and Liberty, MO 64069; Ph: (816) 781-4344. E-mail: ticipating in the department’s Local Religion salary requirements to: [email protected]. Open [email protected]. Applications and contact Project and also in the interdisciplinary Arabic, until filled. information submitted by Oct. 20, 2008. Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies minor. Ph.D. or equivalent to be completed by the time of hire. A letter of application, current vita and the names of three references should be submit- AMERICA CLASSIFIED. Classified ted by Oct. 10, 2008, to: Chair of the Search advertisements are accepted for publi- Committee, Religious Studies Department, cation in either the print version of Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053- America or on our Web site, 0335. Santa Clara University is a Jesuit, Catholic www.americamagazine.org. Ten- university located in the Silicon Valley in the word minimum. Rates are per word San Francisco Bay Area, and is an Equal per issue. 1-5 times: $1.50; 6-11 Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. For times: $1.28; 12-23 times: $1.23; further details, visit www.scu.edu/hr/careers. 24-41 times: $1.17; 42 times or more: $1.12. 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44 America September 29, 2008 Letters

Justice for Africa healing.” Although D’Arienzo carefully government has not put some pressure As someone who works to promote social acknowledges the huge impediments to on the Israeli government to act. justice in Africa, I applaud “Decline and forgiveness from those who were sexually It also raises the question of why the Progress in Africa,” by Peter Schineller, abused by clergy, she fails to cite one of American Catholic Church has not put S.J. (8/11). Schineller is absolutely correct the fundamental barriers for those more pressure on our government to take in suggesting that the solution to Africa’s abused, their families and even for the action on this matter. I can only hope problems must come from within Africa average person in the pews. Ivereigh’s article will be sent to many and that international institutions can do Truth and accountability are indis- members of Congress as well as the two more to support developing nations. But pensable for any threshold of forgiveness. presidential candidates in the hope that the role that the United States plays in Without them survivors are being asked something will be done to allow Catholic destabilizing as well as aiding the coun- to forgive not only their direct abusers priests in the Holy Land the same free- tries of the continent needs to be high- but also the very same hierarchical lead- dom that Jewish rabbis have in the lighted. ers who continue to abuse them through United States, and to assist Christians in Yes, Africa has received increased aid corporate defense strategies, secrecy Bethlehem in maintaining their presence to help with H.I.V. and AIDS victims, about the full extent of abuses and demo- at one of Christianity’s holiest sites. malaria and education. But many African nization of survivors whose only realistic Carl C. Landegger governments have also received substan- option for justice, however inadequate, is New York, N.Y. tial support from the United States in the civil suits and/or financial settlements. form of military aid. The true goals for The actions of hierarchical leaders Thanks, But No Thanks the United States in Africa may be to betray their own expressions of deep While reading “A Church Transparent” increase access to Africa’s oil, counter ter- apology and their expectations of forgive- (Thomas J. Healey, 9/8), the following rorism and offset China’s growing influ- ness. Perhaps a better formulation of the thought occurred to me: God save the ence in the region. Humanitarian aid has issue might be “truth and accountability church if it starts emulating the account- also become a business in many cases. could be the key to forgiveness.” ing practices and business principles of Budgets of many a nongovernmental Bill Casey the leading investment banks, Wall Street organization are greater than available Chair of the Board of Trustees firms and Fortune 500 companies. Voice of the Faithful national coffers. How can the solutions to Alexandria, Va. Ethical stewardship and financial and Africa’s problems come from within moral accountability were not invented when their efforts are undermined by by American entrepreneurs. How is it such external factors? Reciprocity that, given the financial debacles seen on True security and development in Thank you for “Bethlehem’s Wall,” by Wall Street in decade after decade, we Africa is dependent upon responsible and Austen Ivereigh (9/1). The practices he are not slightly more humble about the fair U.S. policies toward the continent. describes, as well as the fact that the gov- practices of American business, especially Increased military aid and support for ernment of Israel has still not implement- when it starts preaching to the church? illegitimate governments is not what the ed the agreement of 1993 with the Michael Manning people of Africa need and not what they Vatican, raise the question of why our Rumson, N.J. are asking for. To continue the substantial progress, Schineller notes, the United States must be a responsible without guile and real partner with the people and governments of Africa. Rocco Puopolo, S.X. Executive Director Africa Faith and Justice Network Washington, D.C.

The Threshold of Forgiveness The subtitle of “Mercy Toward Our Fathers” (Camille D’Arienzo, R.S.M., 8/18) says that “forgiving “I heard he was raised in a lab.” priests could be the key to CARTOON BY STEPHANIE RATCLIFFE

September 29, 2008 America 45 Letters

The Perils of Change Catholic Bishops. With a few honorable for research and discussion that should Re “Expressing Holy Things” (Bishop exceptions, the Catholic bishops of the “be weighed and judged with necessary Victor Galeone, 9/8): The church should United States failed to take a stand seriousness, moderation and measure.” be immensely hesitant to change any against British injustice in Northern Differently from Cottle, I see Catholic prayers that have become second nature Ireland. teaching as giving a qualified acceptance unless there is an absolutely certain rea- It’s almost enough to make this Irish- of evolution, asking us to use the richness son for the change (which is not the case born priest want to be a Protestant! of Catholic thought to examine the ori- with the recently approved changes to (Rev.) Sean McManus gins of human life and evaluate evolu- liturgical prayers, in my opinion). I know President, Irish National Caucus tion’s proposals. Washington, D.C. a chaplain who serves people who wor- This shows why some Catholics are ship in a community that made substan- interested in theories of intelligent tial changes to the text of the Lord’s Just Recognition design. While some theories are held Prayer, and those who are elderly and Thank you for the article by George M. captive to ideas about the earth being rel- having mental difficulties are no longer Anderson, S.J., on the recent appoint- atively young, others allow us to explore able to say the prayer with others because ment of Miguel d’Escoto as president of larger issues about life’s origins that align it is so hard to learn new forms of prayer. the 63rd General Assembly of the United with Catholic teaching. One change I would advocate would Nations (“A Transplant of the Heart,” William Hayward, M.I.C. be to the Creed. What is wrong with “for 9/8). His appointment was a historic Kenosha, Wis. us and our salvation” rather than “for us event that apparently went unnoticed men and our salvation”? Is there anyone everywhere else. Where’s the Beef? who is afraid that the “us” might be con- I cannot comprehend how Father Re “Dear Senator McCain,” by John fusing to those who might otherwise d’Escoto remains prohibited from per- Kavanaugh, S.J. (9/22): The Catholic think that the “us” also refers to our dogs forming his priestly functions, especially Church in the United States is great on and cats? because (as America noted in the same trying to make sure every pregnancy Patricia Gross issue) we are suffering from a “shortage comes to term. It is not so great on Arlington, Mass. of priests.” How many young men were making sure those babies and their discouraged by observing how cruelly mothers have access to affordable, con- Anything but Bold this great priest has been treated? How tinuous health care. The Republicans In “A Bold New Direction” (9/8), James many young men with powerful voca- do not care much about providing T. Keane, S.J., and Jim McDermott, S.J., tions were turned away from the priest- affordable health care either, clinging to report that until the dying days of hood a quarter of a century ago because a failed market-oriented approach that Richard H. Tierney, S.J., “the Irish they identified too openly and too doubles the cost per person for health Question remained a focus of the maga- strongly with Miguel d’Escoto and his care compared to a single-payer, univer- zine.” If so, poor Father Tierney must companions? sal system. have been spinning in his grave these past Charles Scanlon Where’s the beef? Do we want to Columbus, N.M. 40 years (the latest phase of the Troubles, take care of these babies or not? Forget or the “Irish Question”). Apart from a the “isms”; we are talking about the most few timid or safe comments, America Out of Alignment effective, cheapest way to provide health was by its silence complicit (like the U.S. In “Teaching Evolution” (9/15), Paul care to our brothers and sisters. Catholic press in general) in the British Cottle gives the impression that Catholic I would like to hear from the pulpit oppression of Catholics in Northern teaching offers an unqualified acceptance that we need to vote for politicians who Ireland. That, of course, merely followed of evolution. I don’t see this as the case— can 1) get us out of the Iraq war and 2) the lead of the U.S. Conference of Pope Pius XII, in Humani Generis, called give us a single-payer universal health care system in the United States. That To send a letter to the editor we recom- would give any demands for making abortion illegal a little more credibility. mend using the link that appears below Bob Bjorkman articles on America’s Web site, Omaha, Neb. www.americamagazine.org. This allows us America (ISSN 0002-7049) is published weekly (except for 11 com- to consider your letter for publication in bined issues: Jan. 7-14, 21-28, March 31-April 7, May 26-June 2, June 9-16, 23-30, July 7-14, 21-28, Aug. 4-11, 18-25, Dec. 22-29) both print and online versions of the maga- by America Press, Inc., 106 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019. Periodicals postage is paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing zine. Letters may also be sent to America’s editorial office (address offices. Business Manager: Lisa Pope; Circulation: Judith Palmer, (212) 581-4640. Subscriptions: United States, $48 per year; add on page 2) or by e-mail to: [email protected]. 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46 America September 29, 2008 The Word God’s Vineyard Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Oct. 5, 2008 Readings: Is 5:1-7; Ps 80:9, 12-16, 19-20; Phil 4:6-9; Mt 21:33-43 “The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel” (Is 5:7)

INES ARE TENDED and people in terms of a vine (“a vine grapes are picked in a vineyard. from Egypt you transplanted”), com- In ancient Israel grapes were a ments on the sorry state of God’s vine V major agricultural product, and asks God once more to care for and used especially for eating and for making protect his beloved vine. The psalmist wine. Throughout the biblical period the very likely had in mind Judah’s experience vineyard was part of everyday life for many of defeat and exile in the early sixth centu- under new and different leadership from in Israel. So it is not surprising that the ry B.C. Even though Isaiah’s warning had that of the Jewish chief priests and elders. vineyard became a biblical symbol for the been fulfilled, the vine remained the Nevertheless, through Jesus of Nazareth people of God. object of God’s care. the church retains its historical and organ- The most famous use of the vineyard The vineyard image appears also in ic relationship with Israel as God’s people. ART BY TAD DUNNE symbolism in the Old Testament appears Jesus’ parable in Matthew 21. As the text The problem that Jesus and Matthew had in Isaiah 5, where we are told, “The vine- now stands, the parable is clearly a kind of was not with the owner (God) or the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of allegory. The landowner is God, the vineyard itself (God’s people). Rather, it was Israel.” In his “song” of the vineyard Isaiah yard is Israel as God’s special people, the with the tenants (the leaders). The New recalls the careful and loving treatment tenants are the political and religious lead- Testament parable of the vineyard teaches that the owner (God) gave to his vineyard ers of Israel, the harvest is the fullness of us to look forward in hope to the fullness (Israel). Yet the vineyard yielded only wild God’s kingdom and the judgment that will of God’s kingdom under the guidance of grapes (sin and rebellion). Out of frustra- accompany it, the servants sent to collect the risen Jesus as Emmanuel, the one who tion the owner threatens to destroy the the landowner’s produce are the prophets, promises to be with us until the end of this vineyard (by means of the Assyrian army) and the landowner’s son is Jesus. age (Mt 28:20). and make it into a ruin. The parable begins by describing In the meantime Paul’s advice to the The historical context for Isaiah’s God’s extraordinary care for the vineyard Philippians can help us to promote peace song of the vineyard was an attack expect- in terms clearly alluding to Isaiah 5. When at the individual, communal and interna- ed against Jerusalem by the Assyrian army the tenants abuse the servants and the son, tional levels. Paul contends that peace of in the eighth century B.C. Isaiah foresaw the owner comes and destroys the wicked soul is a gift from God, that God’s peace that such an attack would have disastrous tenants. In Matthew’s context this is very surpasses human understanding and that effects for Judah, just as an earlier attack likely an allusion to the destruction of “the God of peace” will be with us. But had on the northern kingdom of Israel. Jerusalem not only in 587 B.C. but also in God’s gift of peace needs to be cultivat- The only way the disaster might be avert- A.D. 70. Note, however, that the vineyard ed through prayer, virtuous living and ed, according to Isaiah, was for Judah to itself is preserved and placed under new fidelity to the Gospel. put aside its sinful and rebellious ways, and management. Note also that the chief Daniel J. Harrington to try once more to do God’s will as the priests and elders of the people recognize chosen people of God. However, the way that the parable is being told about them. in which Isaiah’s song of the vineyard is They need to be replaced as the leaders of Praying With Scripture expressed held out little hope for such a God’s people. • What are the major similarities and conversion. These three vineyard texts insist that differences between Isaiah’s song of The vineyard image also appears in God remains in personal relationship with the vineyard and Matthew’s parable of today’s excerpts from Psalm 80. The his people, continues to care for and pre- the vineyard? psalmist describes Israel’s origin as God’s serve them and stays faithful even when • How can these vineyard texts con- the people fail to do so. Thus the vineyard tribute to our understanding of the DANIEL J. HARRINGTON, S.J., is professor of is an image of hope: it emphasizes God’s church? New Testament at Boston College School of continuing care for his people. Christians • What makes you especially anxious Theology and Ministry in Chestnut Hill, believe that through Jesus’ life, death and today? How do you deal with your anx- Mass. resurrection the people of God has come ieties? Does Paul’s advice help you?

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