I was speaking with a dear Catholic sister of mine and as we were talking we spoke of the Bible being the living word of God and I was having a hard time explaining that the Eucharist is THE Living Word of God. When we say the Bible is the living word of God it is a true statement that even a Jewish or Muslim pother can accept because it is true. On the other hand when we say that the Eucharist is The Living Word of God that is a true statement that is only and absolutely and exclusively true only in the Christian sense of God’s revelation because only Christ is God and the Eucharist is Christ. This is not accepted by the Jewish religion or the Muslim religion. It is only found as a special gift to the Catholic and Orthodox faith. This is the distinguishing mark of Christianity.

But I didn’t want to write about the Eucharist.[1] Today I wanted to give an example of the Protestant basis for interpreting the scriptures and therefore understanding the Faith. I would like to give an example of the Sola Scriptura doctrine.

Sola Scriptura

It seems to me that often instead of reading scripture in context, Sola Scriptura allows one to take a verse and give it a meaning according to a presupposed doctrine. So many times I read articles or watch TV or hear personally or from others, how Bible Believing Christians who profess their beliefs to be based on the Bible Alone, how they think it is wrong to pray to the saints. Their main argument is based on the letter to the Hepews chapter 12 verse 24 where it says “Jesus [is] the mediator of the new covenant.” Their reasoning goes like this: see Jesus is the mediator between God and man therefore we are forbidden to have any relationship with the saints in heaven.

It is not surprising to me that they might interpret this not from a reading of the text but from a preconceived doctrine. It is surprising to me that they claim their logic, doctrine or interpretation is based on the text of the Bible because it is not. Let’s analyze and deconstruct the sentence which runs for three verses (Heb 12:22, 23 and 24).

Hebrews, chapter 12 (KJV)

Meaning
The whole point Paul is trying to establish is that the Old Covenant could not save but the New Covenant does save because Christ’s blood is more efficacious than that of bulls.
the heavenly Jerusalem, Heaven is like the New Jerusalem
and to an innumerable company of angels, where countless angels live
Heb 12:23 To the general assembly it’s like approaching an assembly, a synagogue, [2]
and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and approaching the souls of the saints (they are spirits therefore they are dead, passed on; they are just because only the just are in Heaven; they are perfected because they are holy)
Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of and (with the angels and the saints) we are approaching Jesus who is the mediator (it does not say the only mediator)
the new covenant, the new covenant as defined by Jesus at the Last Supper is the bread and wine
and to the blood of sprinkling, of His sacrifice
that speaketh better things than that of Abel. because the last sacrifice (given by Jesus) is better than the first (given by Abel).

The Text

What does the text say? It says that when getting together as a Church (at Mass) we are approaching true Heaven not as a shadow or an image or a symbol of Heaven but we are approaching Heaven itself (Mount Sion, New Jerusalem). It says we are approaching the great assembly of Heaven made out of us on with the angels and saints (perfected spirits). Jesus is the mediator who has opened the means of communications between the whole assembly of Heaven, God, man, angels and saints. It is His sacrifice and His blood that makes this new covenant possible. Let’s not forget though that a mediator opens the doors of communication and communion in a family. It is the lawyers who close doors. Jesus is a mediator not a lawyer.

In the above we see Jesus as the center of the big family of God where, thanks to Him, we can have a relationship with the other members: the Father, His angels and saints. Why, O why would Jesus separate us from the rest of our family? Why would He wants to keep us separated when it is clear in the above that on the contrary He wants us together as one assembly?

Conclusion

A careful and in-context reading of the above verses indicates the text does not say we cannot pray to the saints in Heaven. It actually says the opposite. It encourages us to see ourselves as part of the Heavenly Church as one single family in assembly, worshiping and communing together, all thanks to Jesus sacrifice.

The Protestants interpretation makes violence to the text. The interpretation is selective, picking and choosing, not just one verse out of context but even a fraction of a verse to make it say what it does not say.

This is not reading the Bible. This is not being Bible-Based. This is not Sola Scriptura. This is a man made doctrine that has no biblical or scriptural basis.

Praise God for the Catholic Church who keeps us afloat from being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. [4]

Notes[1]For more details see http://catholicnotebook.com/blog/?cat=2&paged=2 and http://catholicnotebook.com/blog/?cat=2

[2]The Jewish word for assembly is synagogue. The Greek word for assembly is ecclesia. Both synagogue and church are synonym words.

[3]This should remind us of the book of the Apocalypse. It starts with the general assembly (church) of the angels and saints in Heaven (chapter 4) and ends with the New Jerusalem both images of the Church. Some day it would be interesting to study both Hepews and Apocalypse in a parallel fashion because both books say the same thing: Hepews as a theological sermon, the Apocalypse as a science fiction scenario.

[4]Ephesians 4:14