HOLLYEMOTIONS

A Series of Catholic Questions

Produced with ecclesiastical approval by the Benedictine Monks

Santa Familia Monastery

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1. Why do Catholics have different books in their Bible than other Christians?

The Catholic bible has the same books as the Protestant Bible, but it also contains some additional Old Testament books which were removed by the Reformers of the 16th century.

The additional books are seven: Baruch, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus), Tobit, and Wisdom; plus additional parts for the books of Daniel and Esther. These books were among the writings considered inspired by the Jews of Jesus' time and later by the early Christians. Why, then, were they declared nonbiblical by the Reformers?

By the 16th century, the Jewish community had adopted a collection of biblical books (Old Testament) which did not contain these additional books. When the Reformers were looking for ways to get back to the original setting of the time of Christ, they figured that the Jews would be the most reliable guides to the Bible used by Jesus. So they followed the Jews in recognizing the shorter collection of Old Testament books. What they did not know was that at the time of Jesus there wer differences of opinion among the Jews about some of the books of the Bible. The shorter collection won out later, but it was not the norm of earlier times. Recent historical study has led to a re-examination of the question.

At the time of Jesus the Jews did not have a defined collection of the books they considered inspired. Everyone accepted the books called the Law and the Prophets, but there were differences concerning books belonging to the group called the Writings, which were among the last to be produced. Many of these were written in Greek and did not seem to have the status of the earlier books written in Hebrew. But all the additional books in the Catholic Bible were circulated as scripture among the Greek-speaking Jews in the time before Christ and during and after his lifetime. When the Jews finally set the limits of the Old Testament about 200 A.D., those in leadership at the time left out these additional books, all of which had been considered part of the Bible during the lifetime of Jesus, and several of which had been quoted as inspired by early Christian writers.

Today there is a greater reverence for these additional books among Christians who have not traditionally accepted them as inspired. Often they are printed in a special section of modern Protestant Bibles under the heading "The Apocrypha," A greek term used to show their uncertain status. While only Catholics (and the Orthodox Christians of the East) consider these additional books inspired, other Christians are being encouraged to read them as holy books filled with the Jewish faith in which Jesus and the apostles were trained, and which provided the foundation for Christianity.

2. Why do Catholics obey the Pope, who is only a man, instead of obeying God directly through the words of the Bible?

Catholics obey God directly from their hearts, but in doing so they accept the guidance of the Pope, because he holds the leadership post of St. Peter in the Church today. They feel that this is the only way to be completely faithful to Christ's plan for the Church as the Bible describes it.

The Gospels make it clear that Jesus gave Peter a special role for the Church. He said to Peter: "I tell you, you are Peter (Rock), and on this rock I will build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:18-19) Even when Jesus foresaw Peter's denial of him, he said that afterward Peter would be the one to strengthen the others (Luke 22:32). And after the resurrection Jesus gave Peter the commission to "Feed my sheep" (John 21:17).

Catholics realize that the Pope is a weak human being, just as Peter was, and just as capable of sin and human error as Peter was. But they also believe that, in fulfilling the leadership role of Peter, The Pope is protected from error in essential matters of salvation, just as Peter was.

Why is a Pope needed in the Church? Jesus said that he would send a Paraclete, the Spirit, who would guide his followers "into all truth" (John 16:13), and the Church is known as the "pillar and bulwark of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). The truth is in the Church, but not everyone in the Church can tell what that truth is. Jesus realized that there is the need for one person to be designated as the leader, one who fulfills the role of Peter, to be guided by the Spirit to know what is the truth and what is the proper direction.

Without this central leadership, we know what happens. History shows us. Even though Christians have the Holy Spirit and sincerely seek the truth, without the leadership of Peter they fall into disagreements and divisions. The Church is torn apart into many different groups with many different denominations. In our world of the late twentieth century, there are over 10,000 different Christian denominations around the world.

Catholics, then, accept the leadership of the Pope, not on his own authority, but because he fulfills the role of St. Peter which Jesus set up to guide the Church and preserve its unity.

3. Where does the Catholic Church get the doctrine of purgatory?

Purgatory means the purification some Christians have to undergo after death even though they have died in union with Christ. Catholics take this doctrine from the teaching of Jesus and its interpretation by his followers, but the word itself comes from a later Latin term.

Some other Christians oppose this teaching because it seems to deny that the saving grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cleanse us completely from our sins. But that is a misunderstanding of the Church's teaching on purgatory. All the grace and heavenly life that could ever be needed or imagined has been won by Christ and offered to us.

But the fact is that it is possible to die in God's friendship without having completely opened up to God's free grace. That is because God created us with a free will and never forces his grace upon us. We still have the power to keep some doors to our heart closed. Even though we love God and want to live in his presence forever, there may still be corners in our life that we have not been able to turn over to him. We continue to hold on to some pride or envy or lust or selfishness. God is all-holy; he is pure love. Only those who are completely holy and pure are ready to live in his presence.

Hopefully our purification will take place in this life by our prayer, our acts of love, our carrying of the cross with Jesus. But if it does not, God provides an opportunity for this final cleansing after death. This is purgatory. Because we are united with one another in the "body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27), we Christians who are still on earth can help those in purgatory by our prayers.

The clearest reference to purgatory in the Bible is contained in the Second Book of Maccabees, which describer the Jewish general's arrangement for prayers to be offered for his fallen soldiers and comments: "In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But he did this with a view of the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, and it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin" (2 Maccabees 12:43-46). Unfortunately, this book is not considered a part of the Bible by all Christians, though it was treated as Scripture at the time of Jesus. Whether one accepts it as an inspired book or not, this passage does show that a doctrine of purgatory was part of the Jewish faith during the time that Jesus was living as a Jew in Palestine. It became part of the Christian teaching as well.

Purgatory, then, does not deny the power of the grace of Jesus Christ, but reminds us of God's holiness and our free will and shows us God's love in providing a means for our complete purification so that we can live with him in heaven forever.

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