Volume XII: Supplementary Documents (i)
Overview
Since 1987, when the work began on preparing these Magisterial Summaries of Official Catholic Teachings, many new documents and instructions have appeared. Therefore, it was not possible to include all recent documents in the eleven volumes according to the specific theme of each book. As a result, it has become necessary to update this series. This Supplementary Volume XII, therefore, includes these documents, in themselves a record of guidance of the Magisterium in the years leading into the Twenty First Century, the dawn of the Third Christian Millennium. The most significant documents included in this Supplementary Volume are the three major encyclicals: Evangelium Vitae, on the morality of human life issues, Ut Unum Sint, on ecumenism and Christian unity, and Fides et Ratio, on faith and philosophy. To these documents are added various apostolic exhortations of Pope John Paul II which were reflections on the work of the Synods of Bishops that met as the Millennium drew closer.
Life-Giving Interpretations
“When we read and study the teachings of the Magisterium, we are not merely looking through a collection of man-made ecclesiastical documents. We are encountering life-giving interpretations and expressions of the Gospel of Christ. Given with the very authority Christ gave to Saint Peter and the Apostles, these teachings arise from that essential unity between the Holy Spirit and the visible Church. As the soul is to the body, so the Holy Spirit is to the Church (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 797,798). It is through the Holy Spirit that the Lord Jesus Christ still reaches us through His apostolic shepherds. It is through the same Spirit that He is always guiding and inspiring God’s People as they carry out His mission in the world around them”.
† George P. Morse, K.G.C.S.G. President and Publisher (1917-2013)
Table of Contents
VOLUME XII
- The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, Pontifical Biblical Commission, April 16, 1993
- Fides et Ratio, Encyclical of Pope John Paul II on Faith and Reason, September 14, 1998
- Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian church of the East, November 11, 1994
- Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, May 24, 1990
- Letter on Certain Aspects of the Church as Communion, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, May 28, 1992
- Fidei Depositum, Apostolic Constitution of Pope John Paul II on the Publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, October 11, 1992
- Tertio Millennio Adventiente, Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II on the Coming of the Third Millennium
- Orientale Lumen, Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II Commemorating Pople Leo XIII’s Encyclical Orientalium Dignitas, February 2, 1995
- Ut Unum Sint, Encyclical of Pope John Paul II on Christian Unity, May 25, 1995
- Ad Duendam Fidem, Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio of Pope John Paul II by which Certain Norms are Inserted into the Code of Canon Law and into the Code of Canon Law of the Eastern Churches, January 28, 1998
- We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah, Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, March 16, 1998
- Apostolos Suos, Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II on the Theological and Juridical Nature of Episcopal Confessions, May 21, 1998
- Ecclesia in America, Apostolic Exhortation of Pople John Paul II on the Church in America, January 22, 1999
- Declaration “Dominus Jesus,” On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and His Church, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, August 6, 2000
- Letter on Uterine Isolation and Other Questions, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, July 31, 1993
- Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church Concerning the Reception of Holy Communion by Divorced and Remarried Members of the Faithful, September 14, 1994
- Preparation for the Sacrament of Marriage, Pontifical Council for the Family, May 13, 1996
- Vademecum for Confession, Concerning Some Aspects of the Morality of Conjugal Life, Pontifical Council for the Family, February 18, 1997
- The Family and Human Right, Pontifical Council for the Family, November 1999
- Evangelium Vitae, Encyclical of Pope John Paul II, On the Value and Inviolability of Human Life, Pontifical Council for the Family, Marcy 25, 1997
- Reflections on Human Cloning, Pontifical Academy for Life, November 28, 1997
- Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Congregation for the Clergy, January 31, 1994
- Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Ministry of the Priest, Congregation for the Clergy and Seven Other Roman Dicasteries, August 15, 1997
- Dies Domini, Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II on Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy, May 31, 1998
- Redemptoris Custos, Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II on the Person and Mission of Saint Joseph in the Life of Christ and the Church, August 15, 1989
Lectio Divina Cordis
Divine Reading of the Heart
H
HEAR the words as you inwardly read or speak
LECTIO
– Read –
E
ENTER the silence to reflect on a core precept
MEDITATIO
– Meditate –
A
ANSWER to the knock at the heart’s door
ORATIO
– Speak –
R
REST silently without words or thoughts
CONTEMPLATIO
– Contemplate –
T
TRUST: “Do not let your HEART be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 13:1)
CREDE FORMULAE
– Trust in the process –
Lectio Divina (Latin for “Divine Reading”) is a traditional Benedictine practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God’s Word. It does not treat scripture as texts to be studied, but as the living word.
The focus of Lectio Divina is not a theological analysis of biblical passages but viewing them with Christ as the key to their meaning.
Approaching the Magisterium Summaries from this perspective may lead to a deeper appreciation of its meaning and an appreciation of how it may be applied to one’s life.
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