Day 19: Summary of Sacred Scripture (2025)

Sun Jan 19 2025

Today, we arrive, with Fr. Mike, at the In Brief section for Article III. Together, we revisit eight of the main ideas or “nuggets” from the readings of the past six days. Fr. Mike concludes this section by reminding us of the importance of the unity between and veneration of the 46 books of the Old Testament and the 27 of the New. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 134-141.

Summary

Summary of "Day 19: Summary of Sacred Scripture" from The Catechism in a Year Podcast (2025)

Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz
Podcast: The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Release Date: January 19, 2025
Duration: Approximately 15-20 minutes

Introduction to Day 19: Nugget Day

Fr. Mike Schmitz welcomes listeners to Day 19 of The Catechism in a Year, a podcast dedicated to guiding individuals through the Catechism of the Catholic Church over 365 episodes. Day 19 is designated as a "Nugget Day," focusing on concise and impactful insights from the Catechism.

“It is the in brief day. And what do we know about the in brief day? In brief day is nugget day.” (00:04)

Overview of Today’s Reading: Paragraphs 134 to 141

Today’s episode covers paragraphs 134 to 141 of the Catechism, concluding Section One: Divine Revelation and setting the stage for upcoming discussions on faith as a response to divine revelation.

“That is the end of this section one, divine revelation. Still going because we have next, tomorrow... our response to divine revelation, which is faith.” (00:00)

The Unity and Purpose of Sacred Scripture

Fr. Mike emphasizes that all 73 books of Sacred Scripture, despite having multiple human authors, constitute a single divine book centered on Jesus Christ. He highlights that Scripture is not a mere collection of texts but a cohesive revelation of God's person.

“All scripture, even though there are 73 books, is one book, right? Because that book is Jesus.” (00:50)

He underscores the importance of understanding Scripture as the Word of God, asserting that it is a living word, not merely a historical document.

“We're a religion of the Word. That word is a person. It's not a dead letter.” (01:00)

Divine and Human Authorship: A Complementary Mystery

The podcast delves into the duality of divine and human authorship of Scripture. Fr. Mike explains that while human authors penned the texts, their writings are divinely inspired, ensuring the teachings are free from error regarding salvation.

“God is the author of Sacred Scripture because He inspired its human authors. He acts in them and by means of them.” (03:00)

He describes this relationship as a mystery where divine inspiration complements human effort, maintaining the integrity and truth of the Scriptures.

“That is a paradox that seems dissimilar, but it's actually not dissimilar. It seems to be a contradiction. It's actually not a contradiction.” (02:20)

Interpretation of Sacred Scripture

Fr. Mike highlights the necessity of proper interpretation of Scripture, emphasizing that understanding divine revelation requires attentiveness to both the original intent of the human authors and the overarching divine message.

“Interpretation of the inspired Scripture must be attentive above all to what God wants to reveal to the sacred authors for our salvation.” (04:30)

He warns against eisegesis—the insertion of personal biases into Scripture—and advocates for exegesis, which seeks to draw out and apply the intended message.

“Exegesis is taking that scripture and bringing it out of itself. Right.” (07:00)

The Canon of Sacred Scripture

A significant portion of the episode focuses on the canonical structure of the Bible, totaling 73 books: 46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Fr. Mike encourages listeners to memorize these numbers as foundational knowledge.

“There are 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New. That adds up to 73.” (09:15)

He issues a "pop quiz" challenge to the community to remember these figures, reinforcing the importance of familiarizing oneself with the entirety of Scripture.

The Unity of the Old and New Testaments

Fr. Mike discusses the interconnectedness of the Old and New Testaments, explaining that the Old prepares for the New, and the New fulfills the Old. He stresses that both Testaments are integral to understanding God's unified plan of revelation.

“The unity of the two Testaments proceeds from the unity of God's plan and his revelation.” (12:40)

He refutes tendencies to neglect or reject the Old Testament, affirming that both Testaments are equally true Word of God.

Veneration of Scripture and the Eucharist

Drawing a parallel between the veneration of Scripture and the Eucharist, Fr. Mike illustrates how both are essential for nourishing and governing Christian life. He likens the reverence given to the Body of Christ in the Eucharist to the respect and honor bestowed upon Sacred Scripture.

“The Church has always venerated the Divine Scriptures as she venerated the body of the Lord.” (14:00)

Inspirational Scripture: Psalm 119:105

Fr. Mike shares his personal connection to Psalm 119:105, highlighting its profound significance.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (16:30)

He relates this verse to modern expressions of faith, such as Amy Grant's song "Thy Word," emphasizing the timeless and guiding nature of Scripture.

Concluding Prayer and Final Thoughts

The episode concludes with a heartfelt prayer, thanking God for the revelation through Scripture and asking for divine assistance in aligning personal history with God’s will.

“Father in heaven, we thank you... help us to do your will.” (11:00)

Fr. Mike encourages listeners to continue engaging with Scripture, inviting them to remain connected through the podcast community.

“I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.” (18:45)

Key Takeaways

Scripture as One Unified Book: All 73 books of the Bible collectively reveal Jesus Christ and God's plan for salvation.
Divine Inspiration: While human authors wrote Scripture, it is divinely inspired, ensuring the truth and reliability of its teachings.
Proper Interpretation: Emphasizing exegesis over eisegesis to faithfully understand and apply God's revelation.
Canonical Knowledge: Familiarity with the structure and number of books in both Testaments is crucial for comprehensive biblical understanding.
Unity of Testaments: The Old and New Testaments are deeply interconnected, each fulfilling and illuminating the other.
Veneration of Scripture: Sacred Scripture deserves the same reverence as the Eucharist, serving as a vital nourishment for Christian life.
Guiding Light of Scripture: Psalm 119:105 serves as a reminder of Scripture's role in guiding believers through their spiritual journey.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

On Scripture as Living Word:
“We're a religion of the Word. That word is a person. It's not a dead letter.” (01:00)
On Divine Inspiration:
“God is the author of Sacred Scripture because He inspired its human authors.” (03:00)
On Interpretation:
“Interpretation of the inspired Scripture must be attentive above all to what God wants to reveal to the sacred authors for our salvation.” (04:30)
On Exegesis vs. Eisegesis:
“Exegesis is taking that scripture and bringing it out of itself. Right.” (07:00)
On Veneration of Scripture:
“The Church has always venerated the Divine Scriptures as she venerated the body of the Lord.” (14:00)
On Psalm 119:105:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (16:30)

This summary encapsulates the essence of Day 19 of The Catechism in a Year podcast, providing listeners and readers with comprehensive insights into Sacred Scripture's role, interpretation, and veneration within the Catholic faith.

Transcript

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Foreign hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us revealed in scripture and passed down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. It is day 19 and we're reading paragraphs 134 to 141. That is the in brief that we have summed up here. The end of this section 1, divine revelation still going because we have next, tomorrow, in the next couple days, our response to divine revelation, which is faith. But today we're ending that chapter two here in section one, the Revelation, and that the revelation of God to us. And so we have the in brief, we just have a couple paragraphs today, but if you want to know, I'm reading from the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundations of Faith approach. You can follow along in any recent version of the Catechism of Catholic Church. You can also follow along with a reading plan by going to ascensionpress.com ciy lastly, you can click follow or subscribe or whatever the button is that indicates that you are part of this community in the fact that you even just are listening right now. The fact that you press play on day 19, that indicates you're part of the community. But if you want to make it easier for yourself, click Follow or subscribe in your podcast for daily notifications. As I was just trying to say, it is the in brief day. And what do we know about the in brief day? In brief day is nugget day. These are just, I think. How many is this? This is we five plus three. That's eight. We have eight little nuggets at the end of this chapter two, the Revelation. And what we've been looking, reading through, we'll be walking through for the last bunch of days here on the revelation of God to us has been just so powerful. It's so beautiful. And so we have this. We know that all scripture, Even though there's 73 books, is one book, right? Because that book is Jesus. That's what we're going to hear about. We're going to be reminded of this, reminded that we're not a religion of the book. We're a religion of the Word. That in that word is a person. It's not a dead letter. It is a person, the word of God who took on human flesh, became one of us and dwelt among us. Right? That's what we're going to hear about. We're going to be reminded of this that we've been listening to for the last few days. Also, we know that all of scripture, even though there are human authors, there's also a divine author. And that's not a contradiction. That is a paradox that seems dissimilar, but it's actually not dissimilar. It seems to be a contradiction. It's actually not a contradiction. It is in so many ways a complementarity, but even deeper, it's not even that. It's a mystery of how that is the case. We're reminded of that today. And also we're reminded of the fact that we are called to venerate, honor, and just be nourished by the Divine Scriptures in the same way that we venerate and are nourished by the very body of our Lord in the Eucharist. So that's what we're going to be reminded of today. And so let's say a prayer as we begin this day 19, Nugget Day here in the catechism, in a year. Father in heaven, we thank you, thank you for bringing us through another chapter. Thank you for bringing us through this. This revelation of you, the revelation of who you are, the revelation of your heart, and revelation of how you've come to us in time, in reality, in history. Lord God, we know that our times are not easy to live in. But there are no easy times in which to live. We know that our own personal histories are not clean and not perfect, but there are no histories that are clean and perfect. And so, just as you have entered into time, just as you have entered into history, we ask you to enter into this moment in our time. We ask you to enter into this part of our story, in our own history, and do what you will and help us to do your will. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As I said, it is day 19. We're reading paragraphs 134, 141. In brief, all Sacred Scripture is but one book. And this one book is Christ. Because all divine Scripture speaks of Christ. And all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ. Dave Airbohm stated, the Sacred Scriptures contain the Word of God. And because they are inspired, they are truly the Word of God. God is the author of Sacred Scripture because He inspired its human authors. He acts in them and by means of them. He thus gives assurance that their writings teach without error his saving truth. Interpretation of the inspired Scripture must be attentive above all to what God wants to reveal to the sacred authors for our salvation. What comes from the Spirit is not fully understood except by the Spirit's action. The Church accepts and venerates as inspired the 46 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New. The four Gospels occupy a central place because Christ Jesus is their center. The unity of the two Testaments proceeds from the unity of God's plan and his revelation. The Old Testament prepares for the New and the New Testament fulfills the Old. The two shed light on each other. Both are true Word of God. Dave Abram states, the church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the body of the Lord. Both nourish and govern the whole Christian life. As Psalm 119 says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Okay, there it is. There's Day 19, Nugget Day. Here we are, and we get reminded of what? We're reminded of this fact that everything in God's revelation is about revealing who he is, his very heart. And it is true, like sacred. What we're saying is the sacred scriptures are true. So, so important. Paragraph 1 36. God is the author of sacred Scripture because He inspired its human authors. He acts in them and by means of them, and there's this big line. He thus gives assurance that their writings teach without error, his saving truth. This is so important. We know that the Bible is inerrant, right? The Bible is true, right? We know that there are such things as spiritual truths. There are such things as ontological truths. There are such things as biological or chemical truths, right? There's historical truths. And so what we need to DO is paragraph 137, interpretation of the inspired Scripture must be attentive above all to what God wants to reveal through the sacred authors for our salvation. Again, that's so important. We have to always, you know, we have the literal sense and the spiritual sense. Remember, that's how we look at the Scriptures in the spiritual it's always based off the literal. And that part of that literal sense is what did the human authors intend to communicate? What were they trying to say? Because again, we can do this thing called eisegesis, where we read in our own stuff into the Scripture. We're tempted to do that. I do not recommend that. But what we're supposed to do is exegesis, right? We read out of Scripture. Exo is like taking out of Scripture what the Scripture is trying to tell us. Isegesis. We're reading ourselves into Scripture Again, not advisable. Exegesis is taking that scripture and bringing it out of itself. Right. And applying it to ourselves. That is vastly different. And the way we need to read Scripture again is what was the human author's original intent? What was the divine author's intent? We need to pay attention to those things above everything else. One thing I want to highlight is the Church accepts and venerates. This is paragraph 138, the inspired books. 46 books of the Old Testament, 27 books of the New. That adds up to 73. Now, the only reason why I'm getting hung up on numbers right now is because I don't know how many people I've talked to who don't necessarily know how many books there are in the Bible. They know there's a bunch. And they know. Maybe they might know. 73. But here is the pop quiz. I challenge all of us in this little community on this nugget day to remember that there are 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New. I'm not sure your mnemonic device that you're going to use for that, but 46 in the old, 27 in the new. Why? I don't know why. I don't know why I'm asking you to remember these things, but maybe it's because sometimes we get a little more credibility and we know, oh, yeah, no, there's 46 books in the Old Testament. There's 27 in the New, 73 total. That's all I'm asking for. One of the things we want to remember and never ever Forget is paragraph 142. More things, quick, paragraph 140. The unity of the two testaments. Remember that challenge we've been talking about for the last couple days that people want to neglect, they want to ignore, they want to maybe even reject the Old Testament. But there is a unity of those two Testaments. And they proceed from the what? From the unity of God's plan in his revelation, that they're so, so important. Both are true Word of God. And lastly, lastly, as we've said a couple times now, the Church has always venerated the Divine Scriptures as she venerated the body of the Lord. Now, if you are like me and you love the Eucharist, absolutely love Jesus in the Eucharist. How he gives himself to us, how he comes close to us, how we just treat him with such awe and reverence. This is a powerful word, a powerful reminder of how we have to get. We draw near and venerate the words of Scripture. And that's just so powerful. One of my favorite lines in Psalm 119, Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the book of Psalms. And right there in Psalm 119, right in the middle, verse 105, are the words. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Way back in the day, Amy Grant had a song called Thy Word. And I was just like. I remember when I realized, wait a second, this is from the Bible. This is actually Psalm 119. This is amazing. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Gosh, it's so good. It's so such a gift to be able to know that at any given moment, maybe even right now, as we conclude today's nugget day, today's podcast, that you could pick up your scripture, you could press play on the Bible in the air and just kind of just allow the Lord to speak to you, allow him to reveal his heart to you. That's what he wants. And that's what I want for you, too. That's why I'm praying for you. Please, please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.