Dear Reader,
One of the great initiatives of Vatican II was
a renewed dedication on the part of the Church
to draw inspiration from the Scriptures. For
many of the laity, getting to know the Scriptures
is an utterly new experience. Catholic schools
should consider making students familiar with the
Scriptures and able to read them as a important
service. For this reason, our two feature
articles concern reading
the Scriptures and an overview of Pope
Benedict’s Apostolic Exhortation on reading
the Scriptures. Our featured resource
will open up the liturgical and Scriptural riches
of the new
English translation of the Mass. Finally,
we Focus On Michael
Verlander and his work as Chairman of the Theology
Department and Head of Houses at Holy Spirit Prep
in Atlanta.
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READING
THE SCRIPTURES
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 Appreciating
the Bible's wealth
In his classic work
on Scriptural interpretation, St. Augustine encourages
students of Scripture to learn all the branches of knowledge
necessary for understanding the holy word of God. In
a particular way, his advice pertains to what we would
today call literature. Before his conversion, St.
Augustine had been a literary man himself, being a master
of rhetoric, who gave speeches to delight the Imperial
Court, and a teacher of the craft to others. He
cut his literary teeth on Virgil’s Aeneid, and
delighted in all the techniques of verbal craftsmanship
to be found in the ancient writings.
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POPE
BENEDICT XVI AND THE WORD OF GOD:
DISTINCT THEMES OF VERBUM DOMINI
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 by
Prof. Vincent DeMeo
Every year at the beginning of my Moral Theology class, I have my students (high school sophomores) read C. S. Lewis's "Illustrations of the Tao" (from The Abolition of Man). By the "Tao" Lewis means the Moral Law, and he shows how its various precepts ("Do not Kill," "Do not Steal") are evident throughout history in cultures around the world. I begin the course in this way, because every year my students come in believing that moral judgments are merely opinions. Why? Because all they know is moral disagreement among cultures, not agreement.
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