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Q:Jesus Christ came in the plans of God to the Jewish people. He was born a Jew and his apostles were Jewish. They ministered to Jews and Gentiles alike. Nowhere in the scriptures did Christ repudiate his Jewish heritage. With that being the case, where and why did the church purge itself of its Jewish roots?
(Greg)
Dear Greg:
As Catholics, we believe that our Church was founded by Christ himself, who gave authority to the Church, through Peter our first Pope, to teach, sanctify and rule the faithful in His name. Consequently, we believe that the teaching authority of the Church, known as the 'Magisterium', does not simply represent the personal opinions of some Popes or some bishops, but is indeed the voice of Christ himself speaking to us through all the ages.
As you may know, the Catechism of the Catholic Church contains the official teaching of our Church in every area of faith and doctrine. Pope John Paul II referred to the Catechism as "the sure norm for teaching the faith", and urged all bishops, priests, Religious and laity to "use it assiduously in fulfilling their mission of proclaiming the faith and calling people to the Gospel life."
What is it, then, that the Church, in union with Christ, wants Catholics to know about their Jewish roots, and to proclaim to others? Here is one part of that answer taken directly from the Catechism's section on Catholic liturgy (1096):
"A better knowledge of the Jewish people's faith and religious life as professed and lived even now can help our better understanding of certain aspects of Christian liturgy. For both Jews and Christians Sacred Scripture is an essential part of their respective liturgies: in the proclamation of the Word of God, the response to this word, prayer and praise and intercession for the living and the dead, invocation for God's mercy. In its characteristic structure the Liturgy of the Word originates in Jewish prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical texts and formularies, as well as our most venerable prayers, including the Lord's Prayer, have parallels in Jewish prayer. The Eucharistic Prayers also draw their inspiration from the Jewish tradition. The relationship between Jewish liturgy and Christian liturgy, but also their differences in content, are particularly evident in the great feasts of the liturgical year, such as Passover. Christians and Jews both celebrate the Passover. For Jews, it is the Passover of history, tending toward the future; for Christians it is the Passover fulfilled in the death and Resurrection of Christ, though always in expectation of its definitive consummation."
The Catholic Church uses Hebrew Scripture in her liturgies because she believes it to be "the perennially valid word of God" (Pontifical Biblical Commission), and Catholics, like their Jewish brothers and sisters, accept and try to observe the moral principles of the first five books of the Bible. Furthermore, the Holy Mass, which is the Catholic Church's central act of worship, retains many elements of the worship of the Old Covenant, which the Church regards as "integral and irreplaceable." (Catechism: 1094) At each and every Mass they attend, the Catholic faithful encounter the Church's Jewish heritage, either by listening to Old Testament readings , praying (and especially, in the Hebrew manner, singing ) the Psalms, or by recalling the "the saving events and significant realities which have found their fulfillment in the mystery of Christ (promise and covenant, Exodus and Passover, kingdom and temple, exile and return)." (Catechism: 1093)
In addition, those entrusted with the design of religion programs for Catholic schools are well aware of the importance of teaching about Judaism, so that it is 'organically integrated' throughout the curriculum in every level of Catholic education. (Vatican Commission for Religious Relations, 1985). At Christmas time, for example, you will often find children in Catholic schools creating a Jesse Tree, a form of genealogical table which links the Christian season of Advent to 4000 years of Jewish history. Furthermore, during the Christian Lenten season, many Catholic pupils will study the Passover, and learn about, and in some cases experience, a Jewish Seder Meal.
Not only is our Jewish heritage part of official Church teaching and practice, but the late Pope John Paul II continually reminded both the Catholic and Jewish faithful of its importance. From 1979 onward, Pope John Paul II delivered a series of addresses, numbering upwards of fifteen, in which he spoke, as he did to the Jewish community in Mainz, of the "mysterious spiritual link which brings us closer together, in Abraham and through Abraham, in God who chose Israel and brought forth the Church from Israel." Again, during his historic visit to the Rome synagogue in April, 1986, the Pope spoke of how the Jewish religion is 'intrinsic' to Catholicism, and in Sarajevo in 1997, he reminded us of the "great spiritual patrimony which unites us in the divine word proclaimed in the Law and the Prophets."
Perhaps one of John Paul's most important visits was the one he took to the Middle East in March, 2000, when he called for "peace based on justice and the rule of law and, at the transcendent level, peace based on values common to the three religions who have in Abraham a common father," a theme reiterated by Pope Benedict XVI during his own Middle East visit in 2009.
So, rather than wishing to 'purge itself of its Jewish roots', as you may have thought, the Church is most anxious to nourish them, sustain them, and proclaim them, and looks forward to the day 'known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and serve him with one accord.' (Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to non-Christian Religions).
God bless,
Father Norbert