This Sunday, the Third in Ordinary Time, is now designated as the Sunday of the Word of God. But have you ever wondered how the Bible or the Word of God came to be? It didn’t, as many think, drop out of Heaven as a complete book. It is a library of books written in many styles and languages over many centuries by different human authors, and it is thanks to the Catholic Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, that we have the Bible as we know it today. Our debt to the Church in this regard is immense.

In the early Church there were many writings circulating. After Our Lord’s Death and Resurrection, the Apostles and their followers began writing letters and accounts of JESUS’ life and teachings. Over time disputes arose as to which were inspired and which were not. Who decided which books were to be accepted and rejected as God’s true Word? Many claimed to be inspired, but not all were genuine. For example, there were early texts such as the “Gospel of Thomas” and the “Shepherd of Hermas”, both held in high regard by some groups, but they didn’t align with Apostolic teaching. So it was the Catholic Church at various Councils, such as the Council of Hippo in 393 and the Council of Carthage in 397 that settled the Canon of Scripture – that is the list of 73 books that makes up the Bible as we have it today. The decision was guided by three criteria. 1. It had to be of Apostolic origin. 2. It had to be in total conformity with the Faith. 3. It had to have been used in liturgical worship. And the decisions of these Councils were ratified by the pope of the day.

Throughout the centuries that followed, it was the Catholic Church, particularly through monasteries, that copied the Bible by hand, thus preserving it for future generations. Were it not for those monks, much of what we now know as the Bible could have been lost for ever. Even after the invention of printing in the fifteenth century, it was the Catholic Church who continued to preach and spread the Gospel contained in these sacred texts. The first major book printed was the Gutenberg Bible, a Catholic edition of the Latin Vulgate translated by St Jerome (347-420) in the fourth century.

The Catholic Church not only preserved the Bible but also gives us its correct interpretation. Scripture was never intended to be read in isolation from the Church. As St Peter says in his second letter, “No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (1:20-21). It is the Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Church that ensured the Scriptures throughout the centuries were understood correctly in accordance with Apostolic Tradition, and prevented misinterpretations and heresies that could lead people astray. Modernists today treat Scripture as if it were a merely human book, limited by the biases and cultural influences of its authors. They say the Church’s interpretation must evolve to bring it into line with modern sensibilities. This is wrong and must be totally rejected. The Catholic Church teaches that Scripture must be interpreted in accordance with Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium. In other words, we cannot invent new meanings. As St Vincent of Lerins (d.445) wrote, “We hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all.”

Let us thank the Lord for the gift of Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church. May we always remain faithful to it, thereby safeguarding the Faith for future generations.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC