From the Friars: Faith and History
The Catholic Faith is a religion of history, rooted in actual events that are recorded in reliable sources, most particularly in the Bible. Our Creed is mainly a list of things that have happened and that we believe will happen in the future. The Liturgy of the Church, in a unique way the Holy Mass, makes these saving events present. Hence, they are able to guide and shape our lives. Today, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the Church recalls the important days of prayer in the upper room after Jesus ascended into Heaven and before Pentecost.
Jesus Ascending to Heaven, by John Singleton Copley – Public Domain, Link
One reason that many reject Our Lord and His Church is the claim that the Bible is full of historical errors. For example, in the nineteenth century leading scholars believed that St. Luke’s Gospel and the Book of Acts were written in the late 2nd century. They claimed these books were mainly made-up stories to influence people of that time. Sir Walter Ramsay (1851-1939) was among these skeptics. But he was also a brilliant scholar and archaeologist who sought the truth. His research on the journeys of St. Paul in Acts led him to change his mind completely and to assert that St. Luke was one of the greatest historians of antiquity. He also became a believer and apologist for Christianity.
The first reading today is from the Acts of the Apostles and recounts the choosing of St. Mathias to fill the place of the traitor Judas. This event is important to show the fulfillment of the many Old Testament prophecies of the restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel (e.g. Ezek 37). It is a spiritual yet historical fulfillment in which the twelve Apostles become the foundation of the New Jerusalem (cf. Rev 21:12-14).
God is All-Powerful and the God-Man Jesus is the Lord of History. All of history is guided by Divine Providence, without excluding human freedom. There is no contradiction between true faith and authentic history or science. All truth comes from God. We just discover it in different ways, either by reason or by Supernatural Revelation.
Thanks be to God for the authority He gave to the twelve Apostles and their successors, which guides us “into all truth” (Jn 16:13).
–Fr. Peter