You've Got To Read This Love Letter!

Thomas' good words about reading The Bible will help you think about your approach to reading God's Love Letter.  St. Jerome said that "Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ."  Don't be ignorant!


Thomas lays out the primary focus of Scripture - seeking the Truth.  Think back to Chapter 3, where this was explored at length.

Here is Chapter 5: On Reading the Holy Scriptures

1. The Truth is to be sought for in Holy Scripture, not eloquence.



St Jerome in Study



All Holy Scripture ought to be read with that Spirit with which it was written. We must seek insight in the Scriptures rather than for subtle expression. We ought to read the devout and simple books as well as those that are high and profound.

Do not let the authority of the Scripture writer put you off from reading, whether he was of little or of great learning, but let the love of pure truth lead you to read deeply. Do not ask 'who said this?', but rather attend to what is said.



Tattoo of Scripture Scholar



Thomas now cautions us to stay focused. Don't get bogged down in the "pots and pans" of Scripture. "Who wrote what...did I get that verse right?"  Indeed, he counsels us not to be "Scripture Scholars" by knowing chapter and verse as much as to know what God is saying to us and asking from us in His Great Love Letter. Which is not to say that memorizing Scripture is not a wonderful thing, rather it is a caution against obsessing over the letters of the law and missing the Spirit. So the approach is one of humility and openness to learning.  Think of Thomas' method as "God says" rather than St. Paul says in Galatians 6:17 * that ...."

2. Men pass away, 'but the truth of the Lord remains forever.' (PS 117:2 & 1 Peter 1:25). God speaks in many ways to us, regardless of who we are. Our curiosity often hinders us in reading the Scriptures when we attempt to understand and discuss that which should be simply passed over.

If we would receive insight from this, read with humility, simplicity, and faith; and do not seek the fame of being learned in Scripture. Ask after, and hear with silence the words of the saints; and be pleased with the parables of the ancients, for they are not spoken without cause (Sir 3:29).

*Gal 6:17 "From now on, let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus* on my body."

Some final thoughts on Scripture reading and study: 
First, Whenever someone quotes Bible Verses at you, I recommend reading the whole chapter from which the verse came.  Or at least 10 verses before and 10 after.  Think of all the interesting things we say in emails and how easily a line or two can be taken out of context.



St John Chrysostom

 Second, there are many profound insights on Scripture from the early Church Fathers (e.g. St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom) to St. Jerome to more modern scholars like Dr. Scott Hahn.  You can make a study of The Bible and it will benefit you greatly.  However, as Thomas says, don't get bogged down in some professorial interpretation of a text or book and miss the point.  Studying Scripture is one of my favorite things to do, and it is very easy to get distracted from the message when you are focused on acacia wood versus gopher wood!

God wrote us a love letter!  Read it and enjoy it.  Don't worry too much about what color ink He used, or on what day He wrote His Letter to you and me.  Write Him back, show Him you received His note via your daily actions.

Thanks for reading and praying along with me!

Until next time, be Imitators of Christ!
tim

Dear Prudence, Won't You Come Out to Play?

Book 1, Chapter 4:   Applying Prudence1 in What We Do.
In returning to Book 1, Chapter 4, Thomas guides us with this useful admonition On Applying


Prudence


Prudence to What We Do, especially in our relationships:

1.  We must be careful in giving credit to every word and suggestion by taking the necesssary time and attention to weighing the matter according to God's Standard.
  Alas!  we are so weak! We often readily believe and speak of another that which is evil rather than that which is good.
  But perfect men do not easily give credit to every report, because they know man's weakness, which is highly prone to evil and always subject to fail in words.

So prudence is applied to our situations involving what comes out of our own mouth and brain. There is a definite pragmatism to prudence: Think of this Cardinal Virtue as "Spiritual Cunning" in that there is a weighing of risk for a positive outcome that benefits not just ourselves, but the common good.

2.  It is great wisdom not to be rash in our actions; nor to be hard-hearted in our own opinion:  Nor should we believe every man's word; nor in-the-moment tell others the things which we have heard or believed.
  Consult with a wise and conscientious man (Tobit 4:18) and seek rather to be instructed by one who is wiser than to follow your own inclinations.
  A good life makes a man wise according to God, and expert in many things.  The more humble a man is in himself, and more subject to God, the more prudent he will be in all things and the more at peace.

Jesus Washes The Feet of His Disciples

The art of prudence, then, is tied closely with humility and reflecting our decisions against what The Lord tells us in Scripture and Tradition. We then balance that base line against the action in front of us, and He enables us to see the result which may seem overly cautious to others, but in reality is a thoughtful decision. Still for others, the decision may seem rash, until again, it is balanced against The Lord's view of things. Think here of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples (John 13). At first, it did not make any sense, especially to Peter. But Jesus clarified everything as he kept to his intent of showing how to lead.

May we be prudent, then, in measuring our thoughts and words toward one another, especially our family members, on this day.

Thanks for praying along with me.
Til Next time, be Imitators of Christ!

fn1 As much as I have issues with "The Beatles," they wrote a song called "Dear Prudence" which had no intent of musing about the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence, but rather was written to cajole a young woman with depression problems, to come out of her hotel room and socialize, I thought a similar cajoling may be necessary to tease Prudence back into our lives. She is in short supply these days, so perhaps this joyful song may bring Her out.

A short word on housekeepting: Turning Back to Book 1

I'm heading back to Book 1, and will resume the blog with a discussion of Chapter 4 in the next post.....probably over the weekend.

All the best! 

Keep praying!  Keep Imitating Him!  Wait, that's both at the same time!