Traditional Catholic Teaching - Lesson 19

Lesson 19 - Supplement A

Comments

For those who have grown up in what its members call "Evangelical Protestantism", it is normal to use the Bible, especially the New Testament, rather like a mechanic's manual: no offence intended!

In that culture the Biblical text undergoes extensive analysis, comparison of text with text, and it contents presented as a complete doctrine on any topic. This method has given rise to innumerable theories on what our Lord or his Apostles taught. Every independent group believes it has the authority to interpret the Bible as they claim the Spirit leads them. No one can keep track of how many such Bible based theories are in existence. Every star preacher develops his own and takes great pride in presenting it as different from the rest – new insights – inspiration for our times, and so on.
Nowhere is this more evident than when preachers deal with death. They squeeze every possible shade of meaning out of various Scriptural references, arrange them into a sequenced theory, and tell you what will happen after death, step by step. This is the logical outcome of denying the teaching authority of the Church, and relying instead on personal inspiration by the Holy Spirit to interpret the written Word: to build theories rather like pictures in a jig-saw puzzle.

Bishop Dwyer's lesson on death and it consequences, is of necessity, very brief, but it does outline what Christians have always believed. The Church's teaching on Heaven, Judgment, Purgatory, the nature of man: body and soul; these are great treasures of the Faith and await the new learner as a whole new and exciting world of understanding.

For the writer, the teaching of the Church on Purgatory, for instance, has remained one of the greatest gifts of becoming a Catholic Christian.

This course can only present the briefest introduction to the scope of Christian teaching. We are well aware that a Protestant who has been brought up to believe that the Catholic teaching on purgatory is unchristian, or even "evil", may not have found a lot in this lesson to ease that burden. We can assure readers, however, that they will find the fuller exploration of these doctrines both interesting and fulfilling. It is a matter of taking one step at a time, and quietly pondering the meaning of each of these at the pace the Holy Spirit sets, and not to try and press beyond.

For those who have a particular interest in the Church's teaching on Purgatory, we have attached an appendix to help them. It is not essential reading at this stage but is offered for those interested.

Appendix: Understanding Purgatory.

The Gospel meditation we chose to accompany this lesson is a brief moment in the last hours of Jesus before he underwent his own death by execution. It helps us keep our priorities right in life as well as death.

End of Lesson 19 Supplement A

Supplement B: "My Kingdom Is Not of This World"

Lesson 19: Further Reading

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