South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, August 18, 2006 Page: 7 of 20
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August 18, 2006
commentary/letters
South Texas Catholic - 7
Apocalyptic Writing
a Literary Form in Scripture
by Sister Kathleen McDonach, I.W.B.S.
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In modern Bibles, the last book of the
New Testament is usually called the Book
of Revelation. In earlier Bibles, it is known
as the Apocalypse.
The literary form of apocalyptic writing
was widely used from 200 B.C. to 200 A.D.
so it is found in both the Old and the New
Testament. It is difficult to understand
because it uses a great deal of symbolic language which is
very strange to us.
The New Testament Book of Revelation was written
during a time of severe persecution of the early Church
by the Roman authorities. Christians who were always at
risk of torture and death were questioning why this was
so when they were trying to live as God wanted them to.
The truth Revelation is teaching is that yes, at the time of
writing, the Church is suffering terribly, but ultimately
good will triumph and evil will be punished.
But this is expressed in such unusual symbolic terms
that it is difficult to figure out the meaning. In one
passage, Jesus is described as a lamb with seven horns
and seven eyes (Rv. 5:6). Have we ever seen a lamb with
seven horns and seven eyes? Can we even visualize this
image or recognize its meaning? But we have to remem-
ber that numbers are used symbolically in apocalyptic
writing. Seven is the perfect number so this image is
telling us that Jesus has perfect universal power (symbol-
ized by the horns) and perfect universal knowledge
(symbolized by the eyes).
The book begins and ends with inspirational visions -
begins with a preliminary vision of Christ in Chapter 1
and ends with a very positive and encouraging vision of
heaven as the New Jerusalem in Chapters 21 and 22. In
between are six groups of seven which are threatening,
sometimes frightening, but each group of seven ends
with an inspiring vision of heaven or heavenly things.
Chapters 2 and 3 contain seven largely threatening
letters; chapters 6 and 7 speak of seven seals; chapters 8
and 9 tell us about seven trumpets; chapter 15 describes
seven plagues; chapter 16 gives the account of an angel
with seven howls, out of each of which is poured a
disaster on the earth; chapter 18 describes the destruc-
tion of the earth through seven sights. The sevens imply
tremendous evil, but the fact that there are six groups of
seven — one short of completeness — imply that, great as
it is, the evil is not total.
Nevertheless, the message would be unbearably
negative if it did not include positive visions in between
the threatening, frightening signs or events — first, a
vision of heaven in chapters 4 and 5; second, a vision of
the sealing of the chosen ones in chapter 7; third, a
vision of an angel with a scroll in Chapter 10 coupled
with a vision of two witnesses in chapter 11, fourth, a
vision of praise in heaven in chapter 15:5 - 8; and fifth, a
vision of the glory and triumph of God over Babylon (the
symbol of evil) in 18:1-4. These five visions coupled
with the opening and closing visions give us seven - the
perfect number of positive situations, as opposed to six —
the imperfect number —■ of negative events.
If we try to read the Book of Revelation literally, we
will not receive from it the truth that God, through the
author, is sending us. As in all scriptural writing, we
must determine the literary form - in this case, apocalyp-
tic — and interpret the writing accordingly. Our Bible
ends with the basic message: however difficult things
may be, the good will be rewarded and the evil will be
punished, although not necessarily in this life. The
doctrine of life after death is basic to the message of
Revelation.
For reflection and prayer
What are some of the characteristics of apocalyptic
writing? In reading the Book of Revelation, what do
we need to do to find in it the truth that God want
us to find? What is this basic truth?
What would you say to someone whio said to you,
“The Bible sure ends on a negative note in the Book
of Revelation”? Read and pray with the seven
positive visions in the Book of Revelation (listed in
the second to the last paragraph.) What do they
mean to you?
1.
2.
Notes on an examination of conscience
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By Father John Dietzen
Catholic News Service
Q» I have not been to confession for
a number of years, and I hope you can
help me. I know the church teaches
that one commits a mortal sin when
he or she willingly violates the lawr of
God in a serious matter.
Is it proper to use the Ten Commandments as the basis
for determining what sins have been committed? Or are
there other things we should think about? (Ohio)
A» The Ten Commandments would be a good place to
readily, appear to come under either of the above catego-
ries.
Jesus never speaks, for example, of the Ten Command-
ments directly. When asked what are the greatest com-
mandments, he said they are to love God with our whole
heart and mind and soul and strength, and to love our
neighbor as ourselves. The Ten Commandments them-
selves are basically applications of these two command-
ments to daily life.
At the Last Supper, he said his new commandment for
us is to love one another as he loves us (Jn 13-34).
Those two rules may sound simple and obvious, until
we begin to reflect on them seriously. It is possible, even
probable, that for all of us our most serious offenses
against God and family and friends and
start. They touch basic areas of what we call the natural other human beings are related directly to
V
law, laws dictated to us by our human nature, which
should guide all human activity in relation to God and
one another.
For Catholics, of course, other responsibilities need to
be considered, such as faithfulness to Mass and the
sacraments, observance of Catholic regulations about
marriage, fast and abstinence, and so on.
Most important of all, however, we must remember
that we are Christians, followers of Jesus Christ. As such,
we have many serious obligations which do not, at least
Letters Welcome
Letters to the editor are encouraged and
welcome. In accordance with the Fair Practices
Code of the Catholic Press Association of the United
States and Canada, Letters to the Editor should
express opinions that further the common good, build
community, focus on issues and avoid ad hominem
attacks (attacks against people.)
All letters must be signed by the writer and include
a telephone number for verification. Letters are
subject to editing. Publication of letters does not
imply endorsement by the South Texas Catholic.
Send letters to: Letters to the Editor, South Texas
Catholic, RO. Box 2620, Corpus Christi, TX 78403-
2620. Email to stc@diocesecc.org or fax letters to
(361) 883-2556.
those commandments emphasized by our
Lord. How many people and lives are
destroyed, for example, by malicious
gossip, just plain unkindness and
cruelty, and other gross forms of
violence and lack of charity?
We need to reflect on all the above.
Perhaps your best starting point is to
read a few chapters of one of the
Gospels, Luke perhaps. Then ask
yourself, What is my track record as
one who is committed to living the
kind of life described here by Jesus?
To look at our lives, or "examine our
conscience" this way, is a spiritually
healthy exercise to do often, not only
when we receive the sacrament of
penance.
(A free brochure answering
questions Catholics ask about the
sacrament of penance is available by
sending a stamped, self-addressed
envelope to Father John Dietzen, Box
5515, Peoriai, IL 61612.
(Questions may be sent to
Father Dietzen at the same address, or
e-mail: jjdietzen@aol.com.)
Finding sanity
during INSANE times
By Father Eugene Hemrick
Catholic News Service
There's a lot to be concerned about these days. Is it
starting to drive you crazy?
Presently, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and its neighbors,
and Iran and Korea are just waiting to go up in flames.
This in turn is creating serious concerns about an oil
crisis and our own economy being thrown into disarray.
Then, the abnormally warm summer has many
worrying about global wanning and forest fires. And
there are tsunamis and volcanoes to be concerned about
as well. Countless lives are being endangered, people are
being traumatized and fear is intensifying.
Seriousness and lightheartedness seem like opposites.
Interestingly, though, the ability to laugh is what distin-
guishes humans from animals. When we are heavy-
hearted, wre lose our facility to laugh and thus reduce our
humanity.
The best way to counter a loss of heart is to find heart.
But how do we accomplish this in a heartless world?
The first thing to remember is that this is God's world,
not ours. We propose, but God disposes. We propose
peace, but at this time God allows unrest. Why God
allows this is a mystery.
One thing we must remember about mysteries is that
they aren't meant to make us stop thinking. They're
meant to encourage us to seek possible explanations and
to enter the unknown.
Could one reason for all the disorder in the world be
that the world needs new reordering? For example,
Americans have been blessed with abundance. As Bill
Gates demonstrated by the billions of dollars he donated,
it is time more fully to pay God back for all the blessings
we have received.
"Intellectual honesty," U.S. business executive Charles
Sanford Jr. once said, "is more than what's legislated; it is
inherent in the best people, those who take a broader
view of their actions than simply 'What's in it for me?"'
Could God be calling us to greater intellectual honesty,
urging us to ask: What's in the many blessings we have
received that should be shared with others? As humani-
tarian as we are, what more do we need to do? Isn't the.
abundance of our hearts the greatest weapon we possess
for putting heart and peace back into life?
Could another reason for all the disorder be that the
space on Earth between us and others has shrunk?
Thanks to new technologies, we can now literally be in
the backyard of anyone anywhere in the world. Could it
be that as globalization increases, we need to discover
how better to live side by side?
We could go on and on with the question, Could this
be the reason God is allowing this or that? This is exactly
what we need to do to stay lighthearted! The more we
explore God's mysterious ways, the more we keep a heart
that is "full of heart."
Interestingly, the word "enthusiasm" means to be
caught up with God's spirit. The more we probe God's
mysteries, the more we are caught up into God's spirit;
the more enthusiastic we are, the more we can bring
happiness into the world around us even in the midst
of problems that concern us greatly.
By Jean Denton
Copyright *2006,Jean Denton
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Goldapp, Paula J. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, August 18, 2006, newspaper, August 18, 2006; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth855717/m1/7/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .