Should the Bible Have a Feast Day?

[TimothyH]

Why not?

It is the written word of God, God’s love letter to his Church, the Creator of the Universe bending down to speak with his children here on earth as both a group in the Church and to each of us individually.

We could call it “The Feast of Sacred Scripture.” Or maybe a tridium, OT on Friday, NT on Saturday, followed by a holy day of obligation on “The Solemnity of Gospels.”

If a Church can have a feast day, then so can Sacred Scripture, right?

-Tim-

 

[Edmundus1581]

Well, I never would have thought of that, but it sounds like a great idea to me!

 

[Peggy_in_Burien]

I agree. I think it should be on the feast of Moses, since he wrote down the first five books.
Then we can celebrate by watching Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments.

 

[LilyM]

A feast day for an inanimate object? A bunch of pieces of paper with ink on them?

Smacks of idolatry to me.

Remember there was a Church - and a God to be worshipped - long before a single word was written. We celebrate the Creator - and animate creatures - and no even all of those - rather than inanimate objects.

The only feast that even comes close from memory is Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of Christ), and even that is because we believe that the Host and Chalice are infinitely more than the inanimate objects they appear to be. We believe they are God Himself, not just His inspired teachings or communications.

Besides which, every Sunday the Scriptures are processed into churches all over the world, does that not in essence make every Sunday a ‘feast of the Holy Scriptures’?

 

[joanofarc2008]

The Feast Day of the Canonization would be good - it would be more like a memorial not so much of the words on paper as it was put by a PP but in the Canonization what heresies the inclusion of OT and NT and chosen Gospels seeked to eradicate and what lessons from Christ we were to learn. BTW - this would have been much more fun with a poll.

 

[latingirl]

//BTW - this would have been much more fun with a poll.//

I totally agree.

I do think that perhaps a memorial for the canonization of Sacred Scripture would be a good idea.

 

[TrueLight]

A feast day for an inanimate object? A bunch of pieces of paper with ink on them?

Smacks of idolatry to me.

Remember there was a Church - and a God to be worshipped - long before a single word was written. We celebrate the Creator - and animate creatures - and no even all of those - rather than inanimate objects.

The only feast that even comes close from memory is Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of Christ), and even that is because we believe that the Host and Chalice are infinitely more than the inanimate objects they appear to be. We believe they are God Himself, not just His inspired teachings or communications.

Besides which, every Sunday the Scriptures are processed into churches all over the world, does that not in essence make every Sunday a ‘feast of the Holy Scriptures’?

Wow.

I doubt he is speaking about the actual paper that the inspired word of God is written on.

Do you have a strong aversion to the Bible?

 

[Richard320]

A feast day for an inanimate object? A bunch of pieces of paper with ink on them?

Smacks of idolatry to me.

Well… it’s done for another inanimate object Exaltation of the Holy Cross When you think about it objectively, it’s kinda weird; the modern day equivalent could be Feast of the Holy Electric Chair.

Then there’s the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday.

And I found this looking up the term for when the Priest or Deacon holds up the Gospels after the readings.

The Book of the Gospels is treated with great honor during the Liturgy of the Word with rites and gestures analogous to those offered toward the altar and the Blessed Sacrament.

By doing so the Church shows its veneration toward God’s Word and its belief that Christ is present and speaking in a special way during the liturgical proclamation of the sacred texts. However, as Pope Paul VI taught, while Christ’s presence in the Word is real, it ceases when the readings are concluded. The Eucharistic presence alone is substantial and real “in the fullest sense.”

It is therefore quite logical that all liturgical honors paid toward the Book of the Gospels cease once the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins.

A different case is the permanent or habitual setting up of a Book of the Gospels in the sanctuary or some other suitable place. The primary aim of setting up the book in this way is to foment respect and devotion toward sacred Scripture. For this reason the role of the permanent display of Scripture is analogous to that of a statue or icon and does not immediately affect the liturgical action.

ewtn.com/library/liturgy/zlitur130.htm

So it’s still a no-go, but it is an interesting idea. There are, believe it or not, Catholics who think we don’t read the Bible in Mass because it’s all chopped up in the lectionary and the Gospels. You don’t see Catholics toting their Bible with them on Sundays like your Baptist neighbors do.

 

[Digitonomy]

"LilyM:

The only feast that even comes close from memory is Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of Christ), and even that is because we believe that the Host and Chalice are infinitely more than the inanimate objects they appear to be. We believe they are God Himself, not just His inspired teachings or communications.

Besides which, every Sunday the Scriptures are processed into churches all over the world, does that not in essence make every Sunday a ‘feast of the Holy Scriptures’?

Couldn’t you likewise say every Sunday is a feast of Corpus Christi?

A feast day for an inanimate object?
Smacks of idolatry to me.

Well, we do have the Feast of the Chair of St Peter, and the Feast of St John Lateran. So if we can have a feast for a piece of furniture and a building, I don’t think a feast for a book is much of a departure.

I’m being flippant, but I do agree with you that such feasts are not the most worthy of all celebrations on the Church’s calendar. Feasts of saints or events in the life of Christ are far more fitting, in my opinion.

 

[LilyM]

Wow.

I doubt he is speaking about the actual paper that the inspired word of God is written on.

Do you have a strong aversion to the Bible?

Not in the slightest, but I DO have a strong aversion to those who forget that the Bible is a product of (and so at the service of) the Church and not the other way around. As many seem to, what with the constant refrain in CAF of ‘where in the Bible is …’ this that or the other principle of Catholic teaching. It is far too common, especially among Catholics who should know better. And a feast like this would, IMHO, only encourage the disconnect.

Couldn’t you likewise say every Sunday is a feast of Corpus Christi?Well, we do have the Feast of the Chair of St Peter, and the Feast of St John Lateran. So if we can have a feast for a piece of furniture and a building, I don’t think a feast for a book is much of a departure.

I’m being flippant, but I do agree with you that such feasts are not the most worthy of all celebrations on the Church’s calendar. Feasts of saints or events in the life of Christ are far more fitting, in my opinion.

Thank you, yes that would be my main point.

 

[paperwight66]

I can certainly see great value in regular reminders of the Bible’s own history. How the Gospels came to be written, how the books were assembled. I’m sure that many church-goers think that a. it was dictated by God and b. that parts of it are like news-broadcasts, decscribing the events as they happened, rather than filtered through men’s memories and biases.

 

[choliks]

I don’t know about you guys, but the Catholic Church in the Philippines have the National Bible Week that ends on National Bible Sunday held every January.

 

[TrueLight]

Not in the slightest, but I DO have a strong aversion to those who forget that the Bible is a product of (and so at the service of) the Church and not the other way around.

But we can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The Church shows the utmost respect to scripture. Shouldn’t we as individuals?

The Book of the Gospels is treated with great honor during the Liturgy of the Word with rites and gestures analogous to those offered toward the altar and the Blessed Sacrament.

By doing so the Church shows its veneration toward God’s Word and its belief that Christ is present and speaking in a special way during the liturgical proclamation of the sacred texts. However, as Pope Paul VI taught, while Christ’s presence in the Word is real, it ceases when the readings are concluded. The Eucharistic presence alone is substantial and real “in the fullest sense.”

It is therefore quite logical that all liturgical honors paid toward the Book of the Gospels cease once the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins.

A different case is the permanent or habitual setting up of a Book of the Gospels in the sanctuary or some other suitable place. The primary aim of setting up the book in this way is to foment respect and devotion toward sacred Scripture. For this reason the role of the permanent display of Scripture is analogous to that of a statue or icon and does not immediately affect the liturgical action.

Exactly.

 

[Anna_Claire]

Sacred Scripture is celebrated every Sunday…actually daily. It’s celebrated with every sacrament and should be part of our devotions. It’s our responsibility to put it Into practice in our own lives and communicate the messages.
Also, a few years ago in 2008 Pope Benedict held a Synod on Sacred Scripture. If you Google that you should come up with what was discussed and what followed.

 

[Leon_Bloy]

A feast day for an inanimate object? A bunch of pieces of paper with ink on them?

Smacks of idolatry to me.

Remember there was a Church - and a God to be worshipped - long before a single word was written. We celebrate the Creator - and animate creatures - and no even all of those - rather than inanimate objects.

The only feast that even comes close from memory is Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of Christ), and even that is because we believe that the Host and Chalice are infinitely more than the inanimate objects they appear to be. We believe they are God Himself, not just His inspired teachings or communications.

Besides which, every Sunday the Scriptures are processed into churches all over the world, does that not in essence make every Sunday a ‘feast of the Holy Scriptures’?

Hey, now - there is even a feast day for the Holy Relics. And feast days in some places for the translation of the relics of St [x] to [place x].

 

[patrick457]

Couldn’t you likewise say every Sunday is a feast of Corpus Christi?Well, we do have the Feast of the Chair of St Peter, and the Feast of St John Lateran. So if we can have a feast for a piece of furniture and a building, I don’t think a feast for a book is much of a departure.

Actually the latter feast commemorates not the building per se, but the dedication of said church (Dedicatio Basilicae Lateranensis), which is important because it is literally the ‘mother church’ and the ecclesiastical seat of the Pope as Bishop of Rome (and hence, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome). As for St. Peter’s Chair, you could could make a stronger case for that one, though the feast was from an early stage came to be understood in the abstract sense: a commemoration of Peter’s confession of Jesus in Caesarea Philippi or when he first came to stay among the Christians of Rome.

Another poster mentioned the Exaltation of the Cross, which of course was originally a commemoration of the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335 (the actual dedication occurred in September 13, though the relics of the Cross seem to have been indeed displayed the next day for veneration).