How important is Latin to the Church?
Willian Silva Torres – Coronel Fabriciano (Brazil)
According to a beautiful assertion of the Pontifical Magisterium, the Church values the Latin language, “in which wisdom itself is cloaked, as it were, in a vesture of gold”; it offers a “concise, varied and harmonious style, full of majesty and dignity” which “makes for singular clarity and impressiveness of expression” (ST. JOHN XXIII. Veterum Sapientia).
The vastness and structure of the Roman Empire, whose official language was Latin, facilitated the spread of the truth taught by Our Lord Jesus Christ, despite the harsh persecutions unleashed by the Caesars. Although Hebrew and Greek continued to play an important role in the Holy Church, Latin became more and more the official language due to the fact that the Chair of Peter, the infallible Vicar of Christ, was in Rome. Thus, we can say that this was the language that the God-Man Himself chose for His Mystical Bride, through providential means.
Gregorian chants raise their sublime melodies to Heaven in Latin. The official versions of pontifical documents, the Catechism and the Code of Canon Law are in Latin. And it was in this language that the great luminaries of the Church – such as St. Ambrose, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas – illuminated the ages with their teachings.
Furthermore, Latin is a valuable tool for the unity of the Church, as Pius XI stated: “The Church, since it contains all nations in its embrace, since it is going to endure until the consummation of the ages, […] requires by its own nature a universal language, unchangeable, not that of the common people” (Officiorum Omnium). In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI created the Pontifical Academy for Latin, with the aim of promoting greater knowledge of the Latin language “both in the ecclesial context and in the broader world of culture” (Latina lingua, n.4).
It is safe to say that Latin is as important to the Holy Church as our mother tongue; indeed, it is through Latin that the Bride of Christ formulates her salvific doctrine with most clarity, beauty and splendour.
Genesis says that the patriarchs, until Noah, lived for many centuries! How should this be interpreted?
Taffarel Bezerra Lopes – Via e-mail
First of all, we must guard against the pragmatic mentality, with undertones of atheism, which claims or insinuates that everything that exceeds human intellect is myth or mere legend. Imbued with this mentality, rationalist authors unanimously deny the literal interpretation of the biblical texts relating to the age of the first patriarchs.
However, commentators of great weight, such as St. Jerome (cf. Liber hebraicarum quæstionum in Genesim, c.5-6) in the 5th century and St. John Bosco (cf. Sacred History. First Age, c.4) in the 19th century, assume the literal interpretation both of the longevity of men like Adam or Methuselah, and of the passage in which God determines that human life would not exceed – with rare exceptions – one hundred and twenty years (cf. Gn 6:3).
However, there is also a symbolic and moral interpretation – which harmonizes with the literal one – accepted by the majority of commentators. In the Old Testament, long life signified God’s special favour. Thus, the longevity of the great pre-diluvian figures symbolized the divine blessing that rested upon them, passed down from generation to generation until Noah. Following the same logic, as men turned away from the path of virtue through sin, the blessing was progressively withdrawn, and their lifespan consequently shortened.
In short: which interpretation should we accept? The Holy Church has never solemnly and definitively pronounced on the need for a literal interpretation of this passage of Scripture. But nothing prevents the patriarchs from having lived for centuries, for “with God nothing will be impossible” (Lk 1:37).
Above all, our concern should be something else: how am I preparing for eternal life, compared to which a thousand years is like the blink of an eye? May Our Lady help us to always follow the path of God’s blessings, which will give us strength in this life and endless joy in the next.
