Catechesis on . . .

“The Spirit of Advent.” (in Assembly Vol.7:1)

By Mark Searle

“Advent has a two-fold character, for it is a time of preparation for the Solemnities of Christmas, in which the First Coming of the Son of God to humanity is remembered, and likewise a time when, by remembrance of this, minds and hearts are led to look forward to Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time. For these two reasons, Advent is a period of devout and expectant delight” (Universal Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, 39).

Human beings cannot live without hope. Unlike the animals we are blessed – or cursed – with the ability to think about the future and to fear our actions to shaping it. So essential is this to human life, that human beings cannot live without hope, without something to live for, without something to look forward to. To be without hope, to have nothing to live for, is to surrender to death in despair. But we can find all sorts of things to live for and we can hope for almost anything: for some measure of success or security or for the realization of some more or less ambition; for our children, that they might be saved from our mistakes and sufferings and find a better life than we have known; for a better world, throwing ourselves into politics or medicine or technology so that future generations might be better off. Not all these forms of hope are selfish; indeed, they have been given dignity and purpose to lives of countless generations.

One of the reasons why we read the Old Testament during Advent is to learn what to hope for. The people of the Old Testament had the courage to hope for big things: that the desert would be turned into fertile land; that their scattered and divided people would eventually be gathered again; that the blind would see, the deaf hear, the lame walk; that not only their own people, but all the peoples of the earth, would be united in the blessings of everlasting peace. Clearly, their hopes were no different from ours or from any human being’s: lasting peace, tranquil lives, sufficiency of food, an end to suffering, pain and misery.

Focusing on the central figures in the Advent liturgy of John the Baptist and of Mary let us ask the questions: What new virtue(s) in our spiritual lives are we hoping for at this Christmas? And what practices of Advent are we embracing to achieve that which we hope for? 

To live without hope is to surrender to death in despair.

Exegesis versus Eisegesis 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#101-120) teaches that “in Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way.” Accordingly, to interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm and what God wanted to reveal to us by their words. The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it: Be especially attentive to the content and unity of the whole Scripture; Read the Scripture within the living Tradition of the whole Church; Be attentive to the analogy of faith (the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of salvation). 

Catholic Biblical interpretation is grounded in careful, faithful exegesis—drawing out the text's original meaning as intended by its authors under divine inspiration. From the Greek exēgeomai, exegesis means to lead out. It is the critical and systematic interpretation of the biblical text to uncover its original meaning through understanding the historical context, language, literary forms, and intended audience of the Scriptures. Exegesis is guided by several principles, including the literal and historical context of the text, the Spiritual sense of the text, how the text fits into the unity of the entire Scripture, how the text aligns with the faith handed down through the ages. 

In contrast, there is eisegesis from the Greek eis, meaning into, and refers to reading one's beliefs, ideas, or biases into the text rather than extracting its intended meaning. Eisegesis often distorts Scripture, leading to erroneous interpretations that can deviate from the true message of the Bible and the teachings of the Church. Among many challenges, eisegesis results in subjectivism, leading to interpretations based on personal feelings or opinions rather than objective analysis. It ignores context by taking verses out of context to support a preconceived notion and creating beliefs that contradict established Church teachings. The approach selectively quotes Scripture to justify a position without regard for the broader scriptural or doctrinal context.

Exegesis and Eisegesis represent two fundamentally different approaches to interpreting Scripture. Exegesis, grounded in tradition, seeks to uncover the text's original meaning, faithfully applying it to the life of the Church today. This method respects the Bible's literal, historical, and spiritual dimensions, ensuring that interpretations are in harmony with the faith as received and taught by the Church. 

On the other hand, eisegesis poses significant dangers by allowing personal biases to overshadow the text's true meaning, potentially leading to doctrinal error and spiritual harm. The Catholic Church, through the guidance of the Magisterium and the rich tradition of its exegesis, helps the faithful to read and interpret Scripture in a way that deepens their relationship with God and strengthens their understanding of His will as revealed in the Bible.

During the Sundays between (July 28-August 29), the Sunday Gospel passages will be taken from John 6, the “Bread of Life Discourse,” as part of the Catholic Church’s three-year Lectionary cycle to deepen reflection and meditation on Eucharistic theology. 

The Vatican Council II document, Lumen Gentium #11 and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC1407) teach that “The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body which is the Church.” The Eucharist nourishes the souls of the faithful and perfectly signifies and admirably realizes the unity of the People of God. 

Here are a few apparent reminders: Canon 912 of the Code of Canon Law rightly states that “any baptized person not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to holy communion.”

Canon 916: “A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case, the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible” (Cf. CCC 1415).

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul also said, “Therefore whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. . .. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Cor. 11:27, 29). 

The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is a central dogma of the Catholic faith: “The power of the words and the action of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, make sacramentally present under the species of bread and wine Christ’s body and blood, his sacrifice offered on the cross once for all” (CCC 1353).

Because the Roman Catholic Church believes and teaches that when we receive Communion, we participate in the body and blood of Christ, not just symbols of them, the faithful must profess this faith each time they receive the sacrament with an “Amen.” The Priest says, “The Body of Christ, to which we respond Amen.” By this Amen (which every Catholic who receives the Eucharist knows), we espouse publicly the faith and moral teachings of the Catholic Church and desire to live accordingly. It is the reason why non-Catholics aren't permitted to receive Holy Communion at Mass.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), the primary purpose of Catholic funerals is to pray for the deceased because we do not know if they died in a state of grace. Or, if they did, we do not know how much purification they need before they can enter heaven (CCC 1030-1031). In other words, Catholics pray for the dead because we know that they might be in purgatory.

Thus, contrary to common assumption, the funeral Mass is not to celebrate the life of the deceased but to offer worship to God for Christ’s victory over death, to comfort the mourners with prayers, and to pray for the soul of the deceased. 

That is why the General Instruction of the Roman Missal says, "At the Funeral Mass, there should, as a rule, be a short homily, but never a eulogy of any kind” (382). Similarly, the Order of Christian Funerals notes that a eulogy should never be at a funeral Mass (OCF 27). However, the celebrant may express a few words of gratitude about the person's life in his homily.

It is never an attempt to deny family members their rightful grieving process; instead, it is to prevent the departed from being denied what they need. Families can have gatherings in which speakers reminisce about the life of the dead, usually at the vigil (wake) or a funeral reception. The decision to remain silent on this topic is to forsake the dead to oblige those who might complain.