Denver Catholic

14 JANUARY 23-FEBRUARY 12, 2016 | DENVER CATHOLIC Join us for the Catholic Schools Week Mass, followed by a Pancake Breakfast! January 31st at 10:00 a.m. Tours conducted from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Discover all that Christ the King Roman Catholic School has to offer! Discover all that Christ the King Roman Catholic School has to offer! New Parent Information Meeting Wednesday, January 27 – 6:30PM Open House & Campus Tours Wednesday, February 3 – 9:00AM – 2:00PM 303.770.0441 www.stmcatholic.org 7071 East Otero Avenue Centennial, CO 80112 Call us for more information & personalized tours! St. Thomas More Catholic School We offer a quality Catholic education program for children from pre-school to 8th grade. A Blue Ribbon School of Excellence T he Psalms and the book of Revela- tion are two of the most interesting books in the Bible; just ask Dr. Michael Barber, accomplished Biblical scholar and founding Chair of the Grad- uate School of Biblical Theology at John Paul the Great Catholic University in San Diego. He is also a professor of the- ology and Scripture who specializes in the Psalms and the book of Revelation; he's written books on both topics which have become staples of Biblical school programs throughout the nation. The Denver Catholic Biblical and Cat- echetical Schools are honoring Dr. Barber at this year's Servant of the Word Gala on Feb. 5 and 6. He'll be imparting his vast Biblical wisdom during a workshop at Christ the King Parish in Denver, and trust us, hearing him speak on the Psalms and the book of Revelation is worth the price of admission alone. We sat down with Dr. Barber ahead of his visit to Denver and talked shop. Q: As a Biblical scholar, you special- ize in the Psalms? What drew you to the Psalms in the fi rst place? Why did you choose to study them so closely? A: There's really no book of the Bible that is read more frequently at Mass than the Psalms. Think about it: every time you go to Mass, there's a respon- sorial Psalm. Yes, it is true; every now and then you get a responsorial Psalm that isn't taken from the book of Psalms. However, the vast majority of the time, the responsorial Psalm is actually— shocker—a Psalm. St. Thomas Aquinas actually said that in some ways the Psalms contain the entirety of Catholic theology. I'm paraphrasing there, but he defi nitely saw the Psalms as a uniquely important book. The New Testament quotes the Psalms more than any other book, with the exception of Isaiah. And of course, the Psalms make up the prayer of the Church, they make up the Divine Liturgy. John Paul II said, "the Psalter is the book par excellence of the prayer of the people of God." Q: The Psalms can be a di• cult book to dive into. What tips do you have for someone who wants to read the Book of Psalms but isn't quite sure how to? A: One reason I really like studying the Psalms is because in studying the Psalms we can see in a real, practical way what it means to implement the rules for Biblical interpretation given to us by the Second Vatican Council. The Second Vatican Council talks about the need to recognize the historical context of the Bible, so when we pray the Psalms, we want to recognize that these Psalms were used in various cir- cumstances in Ancient Israel. We want to apply a historical study to understand the historical context that the Psalms emerged out of. We want to read the Psalms in light of the whole rest of the Bible. In the Catholic perspective, we can see how the Psalms are, for example, fulfi lled in the New Covenant, and that's the way the Church reads the Psalms. We also want to pay attention to the living tradition of the Church. We can learn quite a bit from the early church fathers, learning how they applied the Psalms to the life of the Christian. We can pray the Psalms in that spiritual sense and that's also very fruitful. Finally, we want to pay attention to the analogy of faith and recognize how what we have in the Psalms coheres with all the truths that God has revealed to us. When we pray the Psalms and we're ož ering God thanksgiving for his work of redemption, we can understand how his work of redemption in the psalter is also applicable to his work of redemp- tion in the sacraments and in the other ways the Church teaches that Christ saves us. Q: The Monastic€tradition of the Liturgy of the Hours is increasing in popularity. Do you teach Lit- urgy of the Hours as part of your curriculum? A: Absolutely. In fact, I'll be talking about it a bit when I come out to Denver. The Liturgy of the Hours is a way of extending the liturgy of the Mass; in other words, how to keep the graces going. The Catechism of the Catho- lic Church says we do that especially through the Liturgy of the Hours, which are primarily we want Psalms of Jesus. the Psalms at, for example, know Jesus 116 the that was over. Even celebrate 116, the said at the understand then realize ancient prayers we understand to the Psalms because prayers Q: Another the Book times. the state ing€to€speculation the end. this? A: First, of what day or the clear of book of never been when there this is it." have always time of is because hear over Q&A: Dr. Michael Barber talks Psalms BY AARON LAMBERT 303-715-3138 | aaron.lambert@archden.org www.twitter.com/AaronLmbrt Q&A with MICHAEL BARBER Around the Archdiocese Dr. Michael their historical have prayed

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