Opening Prayer
I seek my way through the difficult passages of Thy Word with the “staff of faith” firmly in my hand. I acknowledge that while a mouse may wade in these waters, an elephant can also drown; therefore, I approach with a lowly heart and good intentions. Guide me to use my reason without falling into the danger of pride.
I petition Thee for the grace to “wade through surely” the difficult passages of the Bible without falling into danger. Let me never search out my own way alone, but instead take the ancient teachers of the Church as my guides. With Thy grace assisting me, let me reach the end of my journey in Thee.
Amen.
Matthew 10:16-22
16Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves. 17But beware of men. For they will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. 18And you shall be brought before governors, and before kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles: 19But when they shall deliver you up, take no thought how or what to speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak. 20For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. 21The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the son: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death. 22And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.
St. Thomas More
St. Thomas More uses a famous analogy: Scripture is a river where a “mouse can wade” but an “elephant can drown.” To navigate it, we must use the “staff of faith” and have the “holy, ancient teachers of the Church for his guides.” This Church Father approach requires “good intentions and a lowly heart.” This study is part of our Liturgical preparation, as we “call on God for wisdom” to understand the “Mass of the early Christians”. In the Mystical Body, we must “use reason and refuse no good learning,” but never as a substitute for Divine Grace.
More insists that God uses our “human reason as an instrument” in Scripture study, just as He “helps us to eat—but not without our mouth.” He warns that the Bible is “lofty and difficult,” requiring the “holy, ancient teachers” to prevent us from drowning in its depths.
“By the secret counsel of the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures have been crafted in such a way that they are plain and simple enough for every man to find in them what he needs… Yet again, they are so lofty and difficult.”
— St. Thomas More
Mary and the Magisterium
Mary is the “faithful spouse” of the Holy Spirit who “distributes… as she wills” the gifts of understanding. The Magisterium, as the living authority, ensures we do not “devise for ourselves a conscience”. We need the Church to interpret Scripture because, as St. Augustine noted, “without the Church… we couldn’t know which books are Holy Scripture.” The Bishop acts as our guide, ensuring we “wade through surely and well.”
- When I read the Bible, do I approach it with the "staff of faith"?
- Do I have confidence that with God’s help, I can find there what I need for my salvation?
Closing Prayer
Lord, as I approach your Word, help me take up the staff of faith, and listen to the Church as my guide.
Amen.
