Catholic Introduction to Scripture
Summer School: Monday 1st – Thursday 4th August 2016
‘The study of the sacred Scriptures must be a door opened to every believer. It is essential that the revealed word radically enrich our catechesis and all our efforts to pass on the faith.’
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 175.
The Word of God that we encounter in Sacred Scripture is at the heart of all we do as Catholics, and at the heart of preaching, catechesis and the new evangelisation; it is the ‘soul’ of Catholic theology. In this summer school we will explore together the Catholic vision of Sacred Scripture. Historical scholarship emphasises what Catholic teaching proclaims to us: the New Testament, emerged from the Church, the Body of Christ, already in existence from its foundation by the Lord. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost, the books of the New Testament were written. This unique Word of God, then, is to be understood properly only in its profound interconnection with the Church. This is why the Catholic Church, at Vatican II, taught that ‘sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God's most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others,..’ (Dei Verbum, II: 10).
There is great confusion today about how we should approach the Holy Bible and the right way in which it should be understood and interpreted. If there is confusion on this, then there will be confusion about how its message should be applied to our lives and how we should spread that message to others as life giving. Understanding how the Catholic faith approaches Holy Scripture is therefore a key to applying the riches of God’s Word in our own lives and to sharing our faith with others. In the summer school we will see how God has not given us the life-giving gift of Scripture without at once giving us the means, through Holy Mother Church, of receiving and understanding this divine gift.
The summer school will focus on three areas:
1) The senses and meaning of Sacred Scripture according to the vision and teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: the Catechism is the sure guide for an authentic and Catholic approach to Scripture. We will look at the great tradition of the Church on the four senses of Scripture and at the principles of interpretation and appreciation of the Word of God which are beautifully laid out and expressed in the universal Catechism.
2) Approaching the New Testament through original languages: in these sessions we will experience the excitement of discovering wider and deeper meanings in selected texts of the New Testament through insights that arise from looking at the original Greek used by the inspired authors of the sacred texts.
3) The Catholic approach to New Testament interpretation. In the light of the teaching of Vatican II and the recent Popes we will examine how Catholics may approach the contributions made by modern scholarship to such areas of study as our historical knowledge of the life of Christ.
Cost: The costs for 2016 is £345. There is also a application fee of £20 upon application. For those who wish to only attend the classes, there is a day rate of £80.
Cancellation Rights:
You have a 14 day cooling off period which starts from the date of application.
Course leaders include: Rev. Fr Anthony Talbot, Dr Caroline Farey, Dr Andrew Beards.
The summer school begins at 5.30pm on the first day and finishes at lunch time on the last day. The weekend is designed to include lectures and seminars in the context of experiencing the rhythm of daily prayer of the resident Benedictine monastic community.
Click here to download an application form.
To apply online please click here.