Not to Abolish but to Fulfill

June 13, 2007

By Melanie Rigney

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church

“Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not look intently at the face of Moses because of its glory that was going to fade, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, the ministry of righteousness will abound much more in glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:7-9)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.… Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17, 19)

Piety

Jesus, help me to believe your promise of the glory of the Spirit’s ministry as I strive to obey your commandments. Instill in me the gift of showing your greatness to others. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/061107.shtml

http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=256

Cardinal Avery Dulles explores the issue of covenant in the November 2005 issue of First Things: The Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life. “…The New Covenant is not a simple abolition of the Old, but rather its fulfillment,” the cardinal writes. “According to Christian theology, Christ is the new Moses, the new Aaron, the new David, and the new Temple.” He points to Aquinas in calling baptism the successor of circumcision; the Eucharist, the successor to Old Law institutions such as the day of atonement, manna, Melchizedek’s offering, and the paschal Lamb; Passover becomes the Triduum.

“With respect to the ceremonial law, therefore, we may say that the Old Covenant is in a sense abolished while at the same time fulfilled,” Cardinal Dulles writes.

The cardinal goes on to quote John Paul II to show that the Old Covenant is a preview and promise of the New and the New as the unveiling and fulfillment of the Old. The pope wrote that “the New Covenant serves to fulfill all that is rooted in the vocation of Abraham, in God’s covenant with Israel at Sinai, and in the whole rich heritage of the inspired Prophets who, hundreds of years before that fulfillment, pointed in the Sacred Scriptures to the One whom God would send in the ‘fullness of time.’”

Action

www.stanthonyparish.org

Celebrate St. Anthony of Padua’s feast day tonight at the parish by the same name in Falls Church. Mass begins at 7 p.m. Prayers and special requests for St. Anthony’s blessing will be collected, then burned after mass. Take a private minute of contemplation about the meanings of the Old and New Covenants at the parish’s beautiful Peace Garden.