Home | Contact Us | Subscribe/Renew | Register | Search | Site Map
Each weekday, you'll find a new question and answer. Check back for the new question and scroll down to see previous day's entries! Let us know what you think - - or question! -- by emailing us at tcanswer@osv.com.
Psalm 119 Headings?
Q. On Monday you replied to a question about the superscriptions above the Psalms. What about the strange subheadings in Psalm 119? What do they mean?
G.N., via email
A. The subheadings in Psalm 119, the longest psalm by far in the Psalter, are the letters of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth and so on.) They appear here because the poem is an acrostic: The first letter of each of its 22 stanzas is a different letter of the alphabet appearing in order. Each stanza has 8 verses, and each verse within a stanza also begins with the same letter.
In addition, each of the 8 verses within every stanza contains one of the 9 Hebrew words for “instruction,” translated by various English words such as “law,” “edict,” “command,” “precept,” “word,” “utterance,” “way,” “decree” and “teaching.”
My Hebrew professor at Yale once noted the happy circumstance that many of the poetic devices in that language survive translation into other languages — devices such as repetition, personification, parallelism, simile and metaphor. If Hebrew poetry had depended more, as did the poetry of some other ancient languages, on devices such as rhyme, rhythm or meter, our translations would lose much of the Psalms’ beauty.
Only Catholics in Catholic Cemeteries?
Q. I have a question regarding burials in a Catholic cemetery. I have been brought up to believe that only baptized Catholics can be buried in the sacred grounds. It has come to my attention that this is not so, and that it is open to the public. Could you please clarify this for me?
R.A., via email
A. Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Francis Hoffman, J.C.D.:
Burials in Catholic cemeteries are not exactly open to the public, and for this reason the general norm is that Catholic cemeteries are for baptized Catholics. Nevertheless, you may find it helpful to read what the Code of Canon Law (1983) states in this regard:
“Canon 1184.1: Church funeral rites are to be denied to the following, unless they gave some signs of repentance before death: (1) notorious apostates, heretics and schismatics; (2) those who for anti-Christian motives chose that their bodies be cremated; (3) other manifest sinners to whom a Church funeral could not be granted without public scandal to the faithful.
“Canon 1184.2: If any doubt occurs, the local ordinary is to be consulted and his judgment followed.”
The previous canon (no. 1183) clarifies, however, that baptized non-Catholic Christians can receive the Catholic funeral rites if their minister is not available.
In all of this discussion I am assuming that Catholic “funeral rites” include burial in a Catholic cemetery. If there is any doubt, the bishop has the final say and could let anyone be buried in a Catholic cemetery, baptized or not.
Episcopal Mitre’s Strips?
Q. Our archbishop’s hat has two strips of cloth hanging down from it in the back. What do these stand for?
J.M., via email
A. The distinctive traditional headdress of a bishop or abbot in the Western Church (but not in the Eastern Churches) is called a mitre. The two attached strips of cloth hanging down in the back, trimmed with fringe, are called lappets.
The precise origin of lappets is uncertain, and not all episcopal mitres throughout history have had them. They may have evolved from the ancient Greek headband called a mitra, a band of cloth wrapped around the head whose ends fell down the back of the neck. The Latin name for lappets is infulae.
I have been unable to find any source suggesting that the lappets now appearing on episcopal mitres have any particular functional or symbolic significance in themselves.
“Catholic” Education?
Q. I went to an open house recently at a university run by a Catholic religious order, and I was dismayed. Two priests were available at the opening remarks (the president and pastor), but no prayer was offered.
At the humanities open house, theology majors — I plan on being one — were poked fun at by the head of the theology department himself. When I asked him if any of the classes his department offered were in concordance with the Magisterium, he seemed surprised at the question and told me all were “ecumenical.”
I understand the need for such classes, but how can a school be “Catholic” without teaching loyalty to the Magisterium? The day’s comments railed against secularism in our society, but I found nothing but secularism hidden behind a Roman collar. Is there anywhere that I can get an education to prepare myself for either the permanent diaconate or the priesthood?
C.A., via email
A. Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Ray Ryland, Ph.D., J.D. I’ll add an additional comment of my own after his response.
A school cannot be “Catholic” unless its life and teaching are in harmony with the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, many colleges today who claim to be “Catholic” have in fact sold out to the gospel of secularism.
Furthermore, any “ecumenical” class taught in a Catholic college necessarily proclaims the teaching of the Catholic Church unashamedly. The department head you spoke with seems to believe that to be “ecumenical” is somehow in opposition to being faithfully Catholic. Either he has not studied the Church’s documents on ecumenism, or he has read them and chooses to ignore them.
Some Catholic colleges are indeed institutionally committed to faithful Catholic teaching and practice. I think the best approach is to ask direct and honest questions of the officials at any Catholic college you are considering.
One telling indicator: Ask whether theology professors of the institution have received (or have at least applied for) the mandatum of the local bishop as required by the Church. According to the “Guidelines Concerning the Academic Mandatum in Catholic Universities,” which were approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, “the mandatum is fundamentally an acknowledgment by church authority that a Catholic professor of a theological discipline is teaching within the full communion of the Catholic Church.” (This text is available online at http://www.usccb.org/bishops/guidelines.shtml; see also Canon 812.) A few Catholic colleges also require their faculty members to take an oath of fidelity to the Magisterium.
The Catholic Almanac will give you information for contacting Catholic schools. Your parish office probably has a copy of the Catholic Directory, which would also have mailing addresses. Each institution’s website also provides useful information. For example, you might discover there whether the school officially recognizes campus groups whose purpose is contrary to Church teaching, such as pro-homosexual or pro-abortion groups.
My additional remarks: I can’t pass up this opportunity to note that I am now a professor of Sacred Theology at Southern Catholic College in Dawsonville, Georgia — the state’s first and only residential Catholic college. This marvelous little institution, only four years old, has already attracted 240 students from 25 states. It’s located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains about an hour north of Atlanta.
Southern Catholic has a solid and unabashed Catholic identity and is faithful to the teachings of the Church. Our theology and philosophy professors have received the mandatum and have also taken the oath of fidelity to the Magisterium. For more information, go to www.southerncatholic.org.
Words Above the Psalms?
Q. What is the meaning of all those little words printed above individual psalms in the Bible?
A.J., via email
A. Unlike the headings, psalms and verse numbers (which were added much later), the superscriptions (literally, “[words] written above”) to which you refer are in the original Hebrew text. They have several purposes. Some are rubrics (instructions) for the musical performance of a psalm, giving specifics about melody, orchestration, instrumentation or tempo. For example, the superscription for Psalm 4 reads: “To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” The superscription for Psalm 22 says that it is to be sung according to “The Hind of the Dawn,” which is presumably the name of the melody.
Since our knowledge of ancient musicology is limited, we don’t know the meaning of some of the words in the superscriptions, which appear only in the Psalms. So in English translations these words must simply be rendered in their original (Hebrew) form: “A Shiggaion of David” (Psalm 7); “according to Muth-labben” (Psalm 9).
Another word of that sort, which appears within the body of the psalm rather than as a superscription, is Selah (see, for example, Psalms 4, 7, 54, 55 and 57). It could have any number of meanings: repeat a phrase; sing a chorus; pause for a breath.
Some superscriptions mention names, perhaps designating the composer: David, Asaph, Korah, Ethan, Heman, Solomon. The Hebrew inscription l dvd, which appears on 73 of the psalms, may signify that a particular composition is a psalm of David, a psalm from David’s time period, or even a psalm written in David’s honor. All these translations of this phrase are possible; it doesn’t necessarily mean that every psalm with this superscription was composed by David.
Some of the superscriptions identify a particular event or setting associated with the composition or dedication of the song. For example: “A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul” (Psalm 18).
All in all, the superscriptions provide a fascinating glimpse into the historical contexts of the psalms and remind us that most of them were created to be chanted, sung and accompanied by instruments.
Page
Catholic Resources | For Catholic Parishes | Order OSV ProductsSearch | Catalog | Books | Periodicals | Parish Resources | Offering Envelopes | About Us | Contact UsSend comments or questions to webmaster@osv.com Click here for our site map.Copyright © 2009, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. All rights reserved.