New year resolutions

Happy New Year to my readers.

At this time of the year, many of us make new year resolutions, some of which may last the year or a few months or sometimes a few days.  It seems to me that regardless of how long or short the actual resolution lasts, it is a good thing to do because the person making it stops and reflects and revisits his/her behaviours/habits and life generally.

However what is often missed in our new year resolutions is a resolve to look at our spiritual lives.
New year is a great time to be grateful for the year that has passed and to examine what has worked for us and what has not.  We need to also look at our spiritual lives in the same way  so that we can progress in spiritual growth.

Some people work to a plan whilst others do not.  I prefer to work to a plan, even if the plan does not go accordingly.  We are human but we have a reference point to refer.

God is our reference point. God is our goal and heaven is where we hope to be heading one day.
However, we do not just arrive there. We need to get ready for the journey. As I write this from an airport lounge, the concept of the journey is on my mind.

My suggestion is that we take a look at our spiritual lives before 2012 closes and name one area of our live that we will commit to during 2013 to improve.  God does not expect us to be perfect yet, but we are to try out best out of love for God.

May you all have a safe and happy new year physically,mentally , emotionally and spiritually.

I have written a lot less towards the end of the this year for one reason and another. My new year resolution for my blog is write frequently again.  However as I said previously I am at the airport on the way to have a short holiday.  So I cannot promise any posts but will try to at an internet cafe. I will try my best.  However when I return I intend to keep my resolution.

thank you for your interest in my blog even when posts have been at times infrequentt.

I hope that I will provide interesting posts for you again in 2013 and you continue in your journey of loving God and being close to HIm by the way you live.

Happy New Year  to you all.

Christmas message 2012

CHRISTMAS

Hymns have tried to capture all its wonder;

Books of wisdom leave it unexplained,

Paintings have attempted to portray it,

But its meaning will forever be contained

In the words a mother whispered by a manger

A word she heard God's angel first proclaim

JESUS

all the shining glory of Christmas

is found within that holy, precious name.

May all my readers have a happy and a holy Christmas Day 

and throughout Christmastide.

What gift will you give to God this Christmas?

Let us have a talk about gifts. We all like to be given gifts.  We all like to give gifts to those we love.The gift we gives shows that we love the person to whom we give the gift.  We like to give gifts to family and frinds to thank them for all their goodness to us.  We want that gift to be the best we can find since it shows our love for them.

So what gift will you give Jesus for His birthday since it is His feast that we are celebrating. God our Heaven ly Father loves us very much.  He has given us many gifts.  If we want to show HIm that we Love Him we must have the best gift that we can find for Him.

What can we give to God?  How can we thank Him for all He has done for us this year and in previous years?

So whilst we are doing our last minute preparations for Christmas, let us remember to prepare a gift for God since 

Jesus IS the reason for the season of Christmas.     

Third Sunday of Advent-Gaudate Sunday

The Advent Wreath is an important liturgical symbol which helps us to prepare the way of the Lord with the lighting of the candles each week.  During Advent, family and friends can gather around the Advent Wreath lighting the appropriate candle(s), read from the daily Advent meditation and sing Advent hymns. The Church's official Book of Blessings also provides a blessing ceremony for the Advent Wreath which can be used in the absence of a priest. 

The rose candle is lit the third Sunday of Advent, for this color anticipates and symbolizes the Christmas joy announced in the first word of the Entrance Antiphon: "Rejoice" (Latin, Gaudete). For this reason the Third Sunday is also called Gaudete Sunday, and rose color vestments are permitted. The traditional color of the vestments during Weeks 1, 2 and 4 is either purple or violet to represent penitential spirit. Advent is a season of hope, but a penitential spirit during this season is a fitting way to prepare the way of the Lord.  

 Gaudete Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent in the Christian calendar. It can fall on any date from 11 December to 17 December. The term Gaudete is broadly translated from Latin as Rejoice, a word that appears in the entrance antiphon (introit) of Masses held on this day: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near. (Roman Catholic Rite years A, B and C).
 

On Gaudete Sunday rose-coloured vestments may be worn instead of violet, which is prescribed for every day in the season of Advent. A rose coloured candle is included in the Advent wreath. During the otherwise penitential season of Advent, the readings on the third Sunday emphasize the joyous anticipation of the Lord's coming. 

So on this rejoicing Sunday let us really feel and see and sense it.  

We may wish to sing this hymn throughout the day

'Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice'

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.

Rejoice, Rejoice, again, I say rejoice.

Rejoice, Rejoice, again I say rejoice.

Collect for First Sunday of Advent Year C

Happy New Year.. a liturgical New Year. 

The Collect for the First Sunday of Advent reads as follows:

Let us pray,

Grant Your faithful, Almighty God,

the resolve to run forth to meet Your Christ

with righteous deeds at His coming,

so that, gathered at His right hand,

they may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, 

who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God for ever and ever.

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

1. What is my resolve at the beginning of this liturgical New Year?
2. How will I carry out this resolve throughout this season of Advent and throughout the Year?
3. What righteous deeds will I have to offer Christ at His coming?
4. What hinders me from being worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom today?
5. How might I prepare spiritually for the coming of Christ?
6. How will I prepare for a good confession this advent?
7. What will I do this coming week to make the Year of Faith and Year of Grace my own?

Being warned is being forearemed.  However, today's Gospel message is precise and clear.

Stay awake.   

During the season of advent, we are preparing for Christmas and with all the jingles of the cash tills and the advertisments and the endless shopping trips, we can allow our hearts to become hardened from the real message of Advent.

This advent let us find some time away from the hussle and the bussle of Christmas preparations and prepare our hearts for Christ.  Let us stay awake  and not let advent slip by without some effort to grow spiritually.  Get your advent off to a great start and write down your plan for the week.

May your advent be a real time of blessing for you.

Happy Birthday New Horizons

HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY NEW HORIZONS

 

New Horizons is three years old today. When I commenced the world of blogging 3 years ago, it was a new adventure taken at the beginning of a new decade in my life on my 50th birthday. As I commenced this blog,my desire was to encourage my Catholic brothers and sisters to discover and enhance their Catholic faith.

During these last three years, I have felt excited to post regularly. I have been heartened by some comments and have been able to connect with my readers through the stats. This meant I could see what people were interested in and what countries were having a read.  I wish to thank all readers who have taken this journey with me and I hope you will continue to enjoy following my blog as we journey into 2013.

 From time to time this year, my posts were less than regular as I enter into another phase  of my life.  I  felt my creative spirit and energy left me. Thank you for continuing to check in on New Horizons and not losing hope that I would return again.

Please feel free to give me feedback on any posts that assisted you grow in your faith or any posts that you enjoyed reading. I would also be interested in hearing of a topic or series of topics that may interest you, and of course pass on my blog address to your friends and family who may be interested.

If you wish to give New Horizons a birthday present, please click on the donate widget. to the right of the post.   All proceeds will go to a well deserving cause.

I hope you will continue to enjoy following my blog as we journey into 2013. I look forward to posting daily during 2013 and hope and pray that

New Horizons does help you to discover and enhance your Catholic faith.

Two Great Feasts in November to think about

Origins of All Saints Day and All Souls Day

The feasts of All Saints Day and All Souls Day, when Catholics are encouraged to offer Masses and prayers for our deceased family members and relatives, were the living expression of a doctrine which stretched back to the earliest era of Christianity, and which is embodied in the Apostles' Creed.

The origin of All Saints Day is to be found in the prayers made to the martyr saints of the persecuted Church in the early centuries.  All Souls Day reflects the constant teaching of the Church, stretching back into the Old Testament period where it is record in the Book Maccabees, " It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to prayer for the dead, that they may loosed from their sins'

It seems a tragedy that All Saints Day is less recognized that Halloween, now a secular celebration of what was once the day before All Hallows (Saints) Day.

In Australia in 2001, the Australian bishops made a decision to reduce the number of Holy Days of Obligation, with the great feast of All Saints Day and All Souls Day (albeit an unofficial  Holy Day of Obligation) disappearing from the awareness of  even practising Catholics. As a consequence of that decision, a diminished awareness of the doctrine of Communion of Saints has resulted, a doctrine which teaches that believers on earth are united in a spiritual fellowship with the saints in Heaven and the souls in Purgatory.

These beautiful feasts days are both a source of inspiration and a consolation that we, in the world as the pilgrim Church can aspire to be reunited with our families and friends who are the Church triumphant in the joyful perfection of Heaven.  We can also give the souls in purgatory- great consolation by our prayers and Masses since we can pray for them, but they cannot pray for themselves.  Let us assist them by our prayers, works of charity, offering up our day and trials for them and attending Mass for their souls not only on these great feasts, but also during the month of November.

Let these great feasts touch our spiritual consciousness this year.

Year of Grace: Conclusion to Faith and Reason Encyclical

It is now over a hundred years since Pope Leo X111 issued his Encyclical ‘Aeterni Patris’ on 4 August 1879, which was devoted entirely to philosophy showing how philosophical thinking contribute in fundamental ways to faith and theological learning.

Pope John Paul 11 decided in his Encyclical ‘Fides et Ratio dated 14 September 1998 to revisit the above Encyclical and to elaborate in a more systematic way the relationship between faith and philosophy, the latter of which helped to develop culture and influence social behaviour of people.

In addition the Pope considered philosophy exercises a powerful influence on theology and its disciplines.  When philosophy neglects or rejects the truths of Revelation, it limits its value to humanity.  The Church is convinced that faith and reason ‘mutually support each other’ as they offer to each other a purifying critique and a stimulation to pursue the search of deeper understanding.

Humanity has progressed through the meshing of thoughts contributed by both theology and philosophy.  Theology has challenged reason to remain open to God’s Revelation, and philosophy has likewise seen further meanings which reason is required to penetrate.

It is right that philosophy should recover its relationship with theology for the benefit of mankind.  Theology is not the sole thinking of a single person but the wealth of a communal reflection.  It is sustained in the search of truth by reference to tradition, and its harmony of many different fields of learning and culture within the unity of faith.

The Church promotes both the defence of human dignity and the proclamation of the Gospel message.  It is an urgent task to lead people to discern their capacity to know the truth and yearn for definitive meaning of life.  God has inscribed in human nature, the need to know the meaning of God’s word.  Through mediation of truly based philosophy, people are more prone to follow the Gospel and give themselves to Christ.

Philosophy is the mirror refecting the culture of a people.  If philosophy works in unison with theology’s demands, then it becomes part of ‘evangelisation of culture as outlined by Pope Paul V1.

Pope John Paul 11 has appealed to philosophers to explore more comprehensively the beauties that follow for the word of God.  The new millennium seems to have given rise to many new challenges affecting regions and cultures of long standing Christian traditions.  So he hopes philosophy can be brought to bear in fostering the new evangelisation.

Christian philosophers can guide and help other philosophers, not of Christian faith, to gain an understanding of the truth, which divine Revelation declares.  If there is a clear and honest collaboration between Christians, and the followers of other religions or those with no religious belief, then they can combine to tackle other issues such as ecology, peace and the co-existence of different races and cultures.

The Second Vatican Council in its document ‘Gaudium et Spes’ was all in favour of such an approach.

The Pope encourages theologians to pay special attention to the philosophical implications of the word of God, and to all the speculative and practical aspects of the science of theology.  He thanked them for the service to the Church.

The Pope asked theologians to recall the words of Saint Bonaventure who ‘invites the reader to recognise the inadequacy of reading without repentance, knowledge without devotion, research without the impulse of wonder, prudence without the ability to surrender to joy, action divorced from religion, learning sundered from love, intelligence without humility, study unsustained by divine grace, thought without the wisdom inspired by God.’

Those responsible for training priests in the seminary have a big task of preparing them in philosophical knowledge so that they can proclaim the Gospel to men and women, and to those carrying out theological research and teaching.  They have grave responsibility to provide for the appropriate training of those charged with teaching philosophy which requires a suitable scholarly preparation and systematic presentation of the Christian tradition, and current needs of the Church and world.

The Pope wants all philosophers and teachers of philosophy to have the courage to recover the range of authentic wisdom and truth proper to philosophical enquiry.  They should always be alert to truth and the good which truth brings.  By exercising reason, believers working in the philosophical field will become more assured and penetrating from the support received from the faith.

He then addressed a word to scientists whose research in complex atomic and molecular structures has given the world ever-greater knowledge.  He urges them to continue their efforts without ever abandoning the philosophical and ethical values, which are a mark of the human person.  The search for truth is never ending, but it always points beyond to something higher than the immediate object of study, viz the Mystery of God.

Different philosophical systems have led some philosophers to believe that they are absolute masters of their own destiny in complete autonomy, trusting only in themselves and their own powers.  But they are mistaken because fulfilment can only be achieved by dwelling under God’s protection.  Only by understanding this truth will people understand the freedom granted by God and love Him in gratitude.

The Pope left the final paragraph 108 to refer to the Virgin Mary as the ‘Seat of Wisdom’.  He said that there is a deep harmony between vocation of the Blessed Virgin and the vocation of true philosophy.

Mary accepted God’s invitation to become the Mother of God for mankind’s benefit so too is philosophy required of offer its rational and critical resources that theology may be fruitful and creative.  When philosophy follows the truth of the Gospel, its autonomy is in no way impaired.  In fact it is then that philosophy sees all its enquiries rise to their highest expression.

He then asked Mary, Seat of Wisdom to aid and assist all who devote their lives to the search of wisdom, so that they will not be hindered in their quest. Mary gave birth to the truth, and treasuring it in her hear, has shared it forever with all the world.

Given in Rome by Pope John Paul 11 on 14/9/1998.

This concludes this series on the encyclical on Faith and Reason.  I hope you have benefited from reading this summarized version of this Encyclical.  Next week we continue to explore ways to live out this Year of Grace and how the Year of Faith which the whole universal church celebrates may be interconnected.

Year of Grace: Chapter 7 Part 2.

Pope John Paul 11 considered there were dangers and risks in some currents of philosophical thoughts, which are especially prevalent today.  He then listed a number ( not all) of errors and risks for philosophical work viz:

1. Eclecticism.
2. Historicism or Modernism.
3. Scientism
4. Pragmatism.
5. Nihilism.

Here follows a brief explanation of each of the above.

1.Eclecticism.

Eclecticism is practised by those who, in research, teaching and argumentation tend to use individual ideas drawn from different philosophies, without concern for their internal coherence, their place within a system or their historical context.  Such manipulating does not help the search for truth and does not train reason to formulate arguments seriously and scientifically.  A rigorous and far-reaching study of philosophical doctrines helps to overcome eclecticism.

2.  Historicism or Modernism.

The fundamental claim of historicism is that the truth of a philosophy is determined on the basis of its appropriateness to a certain period and a certain historical purpose.  They claim that what was true in one period may not be true in another period.

On the contrary, the truth or the error in the past can be identified and evaluated despite the distance of historic past.  Some theologians using modernism may use only the most recent opinions and philosophical language ignoring the crucial evaluation of them in light of tradition.   Modernism does not satisfy the demands of truth.

3. Scientism.

Under scientism the validity of forms of knowledge is only accepted if it is a positive science.  It believes religious, theological, ethical and aesthetic knowledge are only fantasies because such knowledge is based on emotions.  Science is the all important aspect in the view of those holding scientism as the sole criterion for human progress.  Ultimately what this lead to is for such a people to think that if something is technically possible it is therefore morally admissible, and ethical judgments have no place in their minds.

4. Pragmatism.

Pragmatism does not abide with theoretical considerations or judgements based on ethical principles.  Unchanging values are ignored in favour of the majority opinion even if it is wrong.  This means that the great moral decisions of humanity are made by institutional agencies.  By taking a one-dimensional vision of the human being and excluding ethical dilemmas the pragmatist does not consider the meaning of suffering and sacrifice and life and death.

5. Nihilism.

The nihilst is a person who denies all foundations and of objective truth.  Nihilsim denies humanity and the very identity of the human being.  In reality it tries to erase from the human being the marks of their likeness to God.  This leads to a destructive will to power or to solitude without hope.  Once truth is denied, it is pure illusion to try to set people free.  Truth and freedom either go together hand in hand or together they perish in misery.

Even though our heritage of knowledge has expanded in areas such as logic, the philosophy of language, epistemology ( the theory or science of the method and grounds of knowledge) the philosophy of nature, anthropology, an analysis of freedom, yet the rationalists argues against all claims that were once thought indisputable.

The age of ‘postmodernity’ has arrived in which the human being is expected to live in a world without meaning, where everything is provisional and ephemeral.  The certitude of faith is called into question.

But nihilism has sustained a big blow because of the evil in the world, and it is not the panacea of the triumphant progress of reason, the source of all happiness and freedom.  Rather it has led to the temptation to despair.  Man has found that he is unable single- handedly to completely take charge of his destiny.

Current tasks  for theology.

Theology is committed today to two tasks, i.e.,

• The task entrusted to it by the Second Vatican Council, to renew its methods so as to serve evangelisation more effectively.
• The task of looking to the ultimate truth which Revelation entrusts to it.  This is theology’s main concern; and it also challenges philosophy so that by a dual approach, truth, which is Christ may once again be known and expressed.

Here the Pope decided to give instruction to theology in which specific form it should take to achieve unity.  He said that the chief purpose of theology is to provide an understanding of Revelation and the content of faith.   Thus the theologian must ponder deeply on the mystery of the Triune God, the Incarnation of the Son of God, his coming as man, His Passion and Death, His Resurrection and Ascension to the Father, and the descent of the Holy Spirit to guide the Church and help it to grow.  To try to understand God’s kenosis (Christ’s action of emptying himself by becoming man and suffering death) is a major task as one finds it inconceivable that suffering and death can express a love, which gives itself and seeks nothing in return.  The theologian needs to make a careful analysis of the Scriptures and of the Church’s living tradition.  Any problems found will need to be resolved with the help of philosophy.

The relationship between meaning and truth is a problem as the sources, which the theologian interprets, need to be understood and explained.  God communicates through scriptures, which need to be understood and conveyed in human language.  In interpreting the sources of Revelation, the theologian has to determine the deep and authentic truth which the texts are communicating, and then use human language to advise people of God’s truth and words.

Really the Gospels go beyond just telling stories or parables, but rather they are designed to give people meaning in their lives so that they are ultimately saved for the next life.  The truth in the Gospels has been preserved by the Church over centuries.  Nevertheless the relationship between fact and meaning needs to be examined also from the philosophical point of view.

God’s truth can never vary from place to place, culture to culture and one period of history to another.  But of course, cultural changes do occur which can change the meaning of texts and truth.  The Pope believes that the use of a hermeneutic open to the appeal of metaphysics can transform erroneous claims of historicism to that of truth espoused by God.

A problem arises and has to be considered is the fact that human words assume something differing in other times and cultures.  Despite this, history has shown that certain basic concepts retain their universal epistemological value and the truth of the propositions in which they are expressed.  It is true that the meaning of various concepts may be imperfect.  This can be overcome to a large extent by philosophy deepening its right understanding of the relationship between conceptual language and truths.

Theology’s task is to interpret sources and to understand revealed truth.  Philosophy also needs to enable dogmatic theology to perform its functions appropriately.  The dogmatic pragmatism, which did not subscribe to the truths of faith, has already been refuted and rejected, because that approach is inadequate, reductive and superficial at the level of speculation.  A Christology or an ecclesiology developed solely on the model of civil society would be subject to such reductionism.

Philosophy which repeats antiquated formulas is unable to propose anew the problem of being which is a dynamic philosophy viewing reality in its ontological, causal and communicative structures.  Being based on the very act of being, open to reality and to God who brings all things to fulfilment, such a philosophy becomes strong and enduring.  In the same way Revelation provides theology with the intimate relationship, which exists between faith and metaphysical reasoning.

Moral theology and philosophy must be so designed so that they understand that faith is linked to moral life of believers, whose ethical conscience can be disoriented by modern challenges to faith.  The Pope’s Encyclical Letter: ’Veritatis Splendor’ highlighted the many current problems stemming from a crisis of truth.  Once goodness is lost, then conscience changes for the worse and is unable to express a judgment about the right conduct to be chosen here and now.  Instead it is left so that the individual conscience can determine what is good and evil and act accordingly.  Thus one’s truth can be different from someone else’s truth.

Right through ’Faith and Reason’ the Pope has reiterated the fundamental role of truth in the moral field, and based entirely on God’s Word.

Moral theology, using philosophical ethics, which is neither subjectivist nor utilitarian, must examine the truth of goodness such as that found in Christian holiness and the practice of human supernatural virtues.  If it does this correctly, then it will be able to tackle any aspects such as peace, social justices, the family, the defence of life and the environment in a more appropriate and effective way.

Theological work in the Church is at the coalface of the proclamation of the faith and of Catechesis, announcing the truth of Christ and of the Pascal Mystery.

Catechesis is important because it helps to form the person by presenting the Church’s doctrine in its integrity and demonstrating its link with the faithful.  There results a bond between teaching and living and recognising the truth about the mystery of the living God.  There is a reciprocity between theological disciplines and the various strands of philosophy, on which both are attempting to clarify the relationship between truth and life, between event and doctrinal truth, and transcendent truth and human language.

Year of Grace: Faith and Reason Encyclical Chapter 7 part 1:

The indispensable requirement of the word of God.

The Sacred Scripture gives mankind a glimpse of man’s experience of the world, which is not absolute.  God alone is Absolute.  The vision presented in the Scripture embraces man’s life, his freedom and the immortality of the human spirit.  To deny that every creature is dependent upon God is irrational and runs counter to human life.

All forms of relativism, materialism and pantheism and problems bound up with the moral evil, which stem from the disordered exercise of human freedom.  The Bible contains God’s word, which is absolutely necessary for mankind’s wellbeing.

The mystery of the Incarnation as revealed in the Bible will always remain the central point of reference for an understanding of the enigma of human existence, the created world and God himself.  In the mystery of the Incarnate Word, human nature and divine nature are safeguarded in all their autonomy.  Philosophy is pushed to the limit by this mystery, and reason is likewise stretched to comprehend the logic of the mystery of the incarnate Word, in which the essence of God and of the human being becomes intelligible.

The search for meaning often becomes very difficult because of the crisis of meaning due to a fragmentation of knowledge.  A radical doubt has grown up which lead to indifference or to various forms of nihilism.

  

A philosophy which no longer seeks the meaning of life ultimately by does not search for truth concerning God and to answer the questions ‘Who am I?’ where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life?’

The first requirement for philosophy is to recover its ‘sapiential dimensions’ as a search from the ultimate and overarching meaning of life.  With the immense expansion of humanity’s technical capability, it is essential for philosophy to obtain and explore a deep sense of ultimate values, as otherwise placing the utilitarian end of technology as most desirable, then, as John Paul 11, noted in his Encyclical Letter ‘Redemptor Hominis’ (4 March 1979) it could soon prove inhuman and even become a potential destroyer of the human race.

The Word of God reveals the final destiny of the men and women and provides a unifying explanation of all that they do in the world.  That is why philosophy is needed to search for the natural foundation of this meaning, which corresponds to the religious impulse innate in every person.  It would be a false philosophy that does not do this.

A second important feature of philosophy is to verify the human capacity to know the objective truth about life.  The Second Vatican Council, when referring to faith stated:

‘ Intelligence is not confined to observable data alone.  It can with genuine certitude attain to reality itself as knowledgeable, though in consequence of sin that certitude is partially obscured and weakened.’

The Bible and New Testament in particular contain texts and statements relating to the nature, essential properties and relations of being and reality.  The inspired authors intended to formulate true statement expressing objective reality.  Thus theologians need a philosophy, which does not disavow the possibility of that knowledge which is objectively true, even it not perfect.  This applies equally to the judgments of a moral conscience, which sacred Scripture considers capable of being objectively true.

Another requirement of philosophy is to transmit empirical data in order to attain something absolute, ultimate and foundational in its search for truth.  It is also required to know moral good, which stems from God himself. The late Pope stated that reality and truth transcend the factual and empirical, yet it is possible, although imperfectly, for a person to know the transcendent and metaphysical dimension in a true and certain manner.  Such a person is privileged in encountering such a dimension such as truth, beauty, moral values, other persons, in being alive and recognising God.

The late Pope believed we should move from phenomenon to foundation, as experience itself is not good enough.  A philosophy that shies away from abstract or abstruse matters (metaphysics) is unlikely to reflect upon and understand Revelation.

Just having a sense experience would be insufficient to gain an intelligent insight in the word of God.   Metaphysics is essential when considering theological research.  Without it theology would be crippled if it were to provide a coherent account of the universal and transcendent value of revealed truth.  That is why the Pope was so insistent upon philosophy embarking upon a metaphysical approach rather than the mistaken behaviour pervading large sectors of philosophy at present.

It is clear some scholars working in the fields of hermeneutics and the analysis of language stop short in understanding reality and whether reason can discover its essence.  By adopting such a short-sighted approach, these professional disqualify themselves by abasing their reason.  They are not prepared to consider the word of God, when analysing language nor to give any credence to Revelation of God.

The Pope backed by other Popes and the Second Vatican Council strongly reaffirmed the conviction that men can come to a unified and organised vision of knowledge.  By having a splintered approach to truth and meanings keeps people from an interior unity.  Pastors in the Church are obliged to instruct the people in the correct paths to follow.

If philosophers desire to follow through the word of God when thinking, then they must have regard the Church’s traditions including the fundamental achievements of modern and contemporary thoughts.  Should they carry out this approach, they will not fail to respect philosophy’s demand for autonomy.

An appeal to tradition is not a mere remembrance of the past; it involves rather the recognition of a cultural heritage, which belongs to all of humanity.  Similarly theology is bound up with living tradition, and must maintain links to the profound theological traditions of the earlier times.