Promise and Fulfillment (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology)

Promise and Fulfillment is the 8th Volume in the Letter and Spirit series. For those of you unfamiliar with the Letter and Spirit series, it is an annual journal series of Catholic Biblical Theology with Dr. Scott Hahn as the editor. I am proud to say that I own all released volumes, and the first thing I do when I receive the volume is flip it over and read the list of contributors on the back cover. Like the volumes before it, Promise and Fulfillment contains articles by Dr. Hahn, Dr. Edward Sri, Dr. Sean Innerst, and Dr. Brant Pitre to name a few. I knew from those names alone that this Volume was not going to disappoint.

The whole of this volume addresses the Old Testament and New Testament, how they relate to each other, and how the New Testament fulfills the Old Testament. For example, Dr. Pitre talks about Jesus' Messianic Wedding Banquet and compares it to a banquet thrown by King Hezekiah in 2nd Chronicles. Dr. Sri discusses the Marian typology of Mary as Daughter Zion and Queen Mother. Both of these can be found in numerous Old Testament passages. Particularly of interest to me in this article was the idea of Queen Mother. I have recently learned that in ancient times, because the king had numerous wives, but only one mother, the mother was in fact the queen, not a wife. For that reason, Jesus' queen would be His own mother, Mary. Explaining this to Protestants might open their minds and hearts more to Mary and hopefully erase some of their prejudices.

It's hard to pick a favorite article in this volume as each was well-written and full of high theology. However, I did enjoy reading Dr. Leroy Huizenga's article, "The Tradition of Christian Allegory Yesterday and Today." I learned about the School of Alexandria and their use of Christian allegory several years ago and have been fascinated by it every since. Unfortunately, most Christian scholars look down on allegory, so it was refreshing to read a modern-day defense of it. Dr. Huizenga wasn't saying that we should abandon all other forms of interpretation, nor was he saying to use only the the historical-critical method. Instead, he advocates use of the four senses method described in the Catechism paragraphs 115-119 and shows the use of allegorical interpretation in the West from Sts. Irenaeus, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas. He also spends some time highlighting allegorical passages in the New Testament, particularly Luke 24:13-35, which deals with Jesus on the road to Emmaus.

Promise and Fulfillment may only be 245 pages, but it packs a punch. You can tell that each article was carefully researched and written to provide the reader a detailed link between the Old and New Testament. Like the previous volumes in this journal series, it is worthy of a 5-star rating. However, it is not for the beginning Catholic to pick up and read. This food is spiritual meat for the advanced Catholic looking to grow deeper and more fully in his understanding of the Catholic faith. Therefore, if you pick up this journal, I recommend a slow and careful chewing so that you may fully digest every word.

This book was provided to me for free by the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Pillar II: Sacraments (Ascension Press)

Welcome back to Stuart's Study and my first review of 2014. On January 1st, I issued a challenge to my readers to use this year to grow closer to God. There are many ways to accomplish this this, including reading the Bible, praying the Rosary, and reading Catholic books. I would also suggest joining a local Catholic study group or forming one if there isn't one close to where you live. Today, I will be reviewing a great study from THE source for Catholic studies, Ascension Press. It is called Pillar II: Sacraments from their Pillars series, which is a series of studies on the Catechism.

In Pillar II: Sacraments, Dr. Sean Innerst picks up where he left off from the previous study, Pillar I: The Creed. The focus of this second installation is on the liturgy and the sacraments. We learn that God created the world for worship. That's not to say that we are supposed to ignore the unfortunate or ignore evangelization; these two things have their place. However, our ultimate purpose as Creation is to love and worship God our Creator. After establishing the primacy of worship, Dr. Innerst then focuses on the significance of the number seven in the history of Israel and its status as a covenantal number. This leads us to an introduction of the Mass and Sacraments as covenant fulfilments, which memorialize Christ's saving work.

Sessions Two and Three focus on Liturgy, both the history and the actual celebration of it. Sessions Four through Eleven are where we dive into the Sacraments individually. Lastly, Session Twelve discusses sacramentals and funerals. It's hard to pick one section that was the most useful or interesting, as each section builds off the other and proves to be edifying. However, if forced to pick a session, I would cheat and pick the two sessions on the Eucharist. The outlines of the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist were illuminating, and the comparison that shows the Jewish Temple fulfilled in the Mass was astounding!


Dr. Innerst is a superb teacher for this series. His mix of knowledge and presentation make it feel like you are receiving instruction from a trusted elder in the Church, like they did in the days of the New Testament. This is an A+ study on the Catechism, but like Pillar I in this series, it is not one you enter into lightly. There will be a lot of reading and a lot of praying with this study. You can choose to halfway participate and just show up for the DVD sessions, but you will not get even half the benefit you would get from doing the readings as well. Now, I have the hard part of waiting for Pillar III to be released! I can't wait to see what Ascension Press has in store for 2014, but I know it will be awesome!

I received this study for free from Ascension Press in exchange for an honest review.

Pillar I: The Creed (Ascension Press)

We are approaching the one year anniversary of Pope Benedict's Year of Faith. I can honestly say that I didn't expect we'd have a different Pope closing out the Year of Faith from when it was declared. While I welcome the spirit of love and humility that Pope Francis has brought into the Church since his election, I do miss Pope Emeritus Benedict as well. Sentimentality aside, though, let's get down to business. You have approximately twelve weeks left before the Year of Faith closes! What have you done to deepen your faith? If you made grand resolutions that you didn't see through, don't give up hope! You still have time to make this year count! I recommend a study series from Ascension Press called Pillars. Today, I will be reviewing Pillar I: The Creed.

If you've used an Ascension Press series before, then you might expect a series that requires a 3-4 day commitment each week. Don't expect so easy of a time with the Pillars series. After the Introduction in Week 1, you will be asked to read 100 paragraphs in the Catechism for Week 2. To many this will seem like a daunting task, and there is an option to read only a selection from the 100 paragraphs, but before you make this choice, I recommend that you try to read all 100 paragraphs. Anything worth having won't come easy, and if something is truly important to you, you will make time for it. So before you quit and go in with a defeatist attitude, I implore you to at least TRY.

The first thing we learn in this study is that the Catechism is NOT merely a reference book. I admit that I am guilty of using it as just that for many years. If I had a question, I knew I could turn to the index and find the appropriate paragraph to answer my question. While the Catechism is useful in this respect, it is "a road map to their journey of faith."  You then learn that the Catechism is broken into four parts or pillars - 1. The Creed, 2. The Sacraments, 3. Moral Life, and 4. Prayer. Ascension Press will have a DVD series for every pillar. The pillars can also be looked at as rungs on a ladder, which draw us ever closer to God and Heaven.

But what will you learn specifically in Pillar I: The Creed? You will learn primarily that the Creed is more than just some words we say at Mass every week. It is the entire story of salvation. Think about that next time you are saying it at Mass or while praying the Rosary. Perhaps the most fascinating part to me was Session 5, which discusses God and His Creation. This includes more than the physical world where you and I live; it also encompasses the spiritual world, where angels dwell. You'll also learn the role angels play in our salvation and the help they provide us.

With insightful lectures by Dr. Sean Innerst and in-depth questions to guide your study, you will benefit greatly from this study. I certainly did! In fact, I can't wait to dive into Pillar II: Sacraments! It was just released, and I bet it will be as great as Pillar I. Check back in December (or January if something comes up) for my review of it! If you're still not convinced that you have the time to pour into a series with this much depth, then I implore you to at least check out Dr. Innerst's book From Blessing to Blessing. It is only 71 pages, and will provide you a brief look at the Catechism.

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