Catholic Candy Store

Learning and loving the Bible and Catholicism

10/25/2019

Romans 7:18-25A Brothers and sisters: I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I cannot tell you how much I am thoroughly enjoying leading the bible study on the gospel of Mark. As I prepare for each session and learn more ab

out the Bible, I feel like a kid in a candy store – and the best part is the candy is free! Let me share two discoveries I have made lately that might surprise most modern Catholics, at least they surprised me.

First, did you know the original books of the bible did not have chapters and verses? Imagine reading the gospel of Luke (which has 24 long chapters) without any chapters or verses, and that’s how people read the bible for the first millennium (1000 years). Only in 1205 did Cardinal Stephen Langton create chapter divisions that we see in modern Bibles. Furthermore, only in 1551 did Robert Estienne, a French scholar and printer, include the verses to further divide the chapters. In other words, before the 16th century, no one could quote the bible by chapter and verse, because there weren’t any. All Christian were like modern Catholics who say: “You know, where it says somewhere in the bible to love your neighbor…” This is also why when St. Augustine (in the 4th century) and St. Anselm (in the 11th century) quote the bible, they do not use chapter and verse, just like me and you.

Secondly, the original Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament were written in all capital letters called “uncials.” The miniscules (small letters) were not included until the Middle Ages. Even more striking is the fact that there were no spaces between words, and not even any punctuation marks in the original manuscripts. No commas, no semi-colons, no periods. The punctuations were added later by editors of the Greek texts. That’s why when our poor lectors come up to the ambo to read at Mass, they might find Ephesians 1:3-14 which is one long run-on sentence, and their knees knock, they break into a cold sweat, and start to hyperventilate. Just be glad you were not a lector in the first century of Christianity where there were no periods at all.

The upshot of these discoveries is that Jesus did not drop the Bible from heaven in its complete, modern form as he ascended into heaven. Rather, the bible has undergone a mysterious and even miraculous evolution guided by the Holy Spirit and the Magisterium of the Church. Christians simply could not read the Bible today without the work of the Spirit and the Church.

Now let me say a word about one of the most intriguing passage of Sacred Scripture, namely, Romans 7:24, from our first reading. We read Paul’s anguished cry: “Miserable one that I am! Who will save me from this mortal body?” Now remember, before the Middle Ages, I would have said: You know, somewhere it says in Romans…” But thanks to Langton and Estienne, I can say that’s in Romans 7:24. In chapter 6 Paul talked about baptism and how that makes us new men and new women, indeed, we live “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). But St. Paul adds in chapter 7 that even though we are new in baptism, we still struggle with our old, fallen nature, with a tendency to sin called “concupiscence.” This is the constant battle of every Christian; we feel like the tug-of-war rope pulled between good and evil.

Therefore, Paul continues in chapter 8 to talk about the role of the Holy Spirit in Christian maturity. In other words, the Christian journey that began in baptism keeps hitting hurdles called concupiscence and sin, which can only be overcome by the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Confirmation. Can you see how Romans 6 sets the spiritual stage for Romans 7, which in turn paves the way for Romans 8? In other words, don’t miss the forest by focusing too much on the trees. In the same way, don’t miss the bigger picture in Scripture by quoting chapter and verse, and overlooking the larger spiritual point the Holy Spirit is making in the whole Bible. Nothing less than our salvation is at stake when we read the Bible.

The more I study the Sacred Scriptures the more I love the Scriptures. Why? Well, I am discovering that the Bible is a thoroughly Catholic book. It could not exist without the efforts of the saints and scholars up and down the centuries. It was given to us as a gift from God, from the Holy Spirit, the principal Author of the Scriptures, for our happiness and our holiness. The more you love the bible, the more you will love being Catholic. Every time you open the bible, I hope you feel like a kid who just walked into a candy store.

Praised be Jesus Christ!