Preface to the Bible by Rooney Written for Catholic GIs Returning from WWII

Preface to the Bible

Preface to the Bible
Rev. Gerard Rooney, C.P.
Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., 1949
xv, 171 pages. 21 cm.

Blog post by Mary Katherine May of Quality Music and Books.

Preface to the Bible by Rev. Gerard Rooney was written for Catholic G.I.s returning from World War 2.

Selections from the Foreword by G. Rooney

     The present book was written to meet the immediate needs of certain G.I. college students. The had gone to war filled with high ideals about defending civilization and freedom and the rights of God and man. After it was over they returned home (many did not) to continue their studies. In the classroom they were introduced to this modernistic line of education. 

     The main purpose of this book is to reassure them that the faith they have cherished from childhood and which gives meaning to everything else in their lives still is intact, untouched by the sophisms or unscientific theories of sham learning. Truth always lives! 

     It is hoped that the present work will be of benefit to the general reader, to college students particularly, to Newman Clubs, and also to seminarians who desire a rapid review of essentials of General Introduction. 

On Biblical Inspiration

One paragraph shown as two for ease of reading.

Page 111: Then again, we must remember that biblical inspiration, while elevating the faculties of the sacred author, yet respects his liberty. He conceives infallibly the divine thoughts, but he conceives and expresses them, as we have pointed out previously, in his own personal manner. Now, from experience we ourselves know that when many spectators look at the same scene and subsequently describe it, they do not all describe it in the the same fashion.  A lawyer, a doctor, a policeman, and a priest, reporting the same accident which they all saw, will each vary the details, according as he was impressed by the things he saw. All agree in substance. All vary in detail. 

     Even two policemen will tend to note different details. What strikes one entirely escapes another, hence divergence, and at times even apparent contradiction. Divine inspiration does not nullify this psychological law of human evidence, although it does guarantee the truth of the details given by the sacred author, in so far as he intends to affirm or deny anything. This is the only satisfactory manner of explaining differences in certain parallel accounts; e.g., Peter's denials, the different wording written on our Lord's cross, and others.

Contents

Preface to the Bible by Rev. G. Rooney: Contents (1)

Preface to the Bible by Rev. G. Rooney: Contents (2)

Preface to the Bible by Rev. G. Rooney: Contents (3)

Prophecy for Today Summary of the Catholic Tradition Concerning the End of Time Era Edward Connor Book Review

Prophecy for Today
by Edward Connor

Prophecy for Today

A Summary of the Catholic Tradition 

Concerning the End-of-Time Era

Edward Connor, author

Charlotte: TAN Books, 2013

Reprint Edition

Printed in the United States of America

Nihil obstat. Imprimatur.

viii, 134 pages

4.25 x 7 inches

List price: $8.95

Reviewed by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com. 

Publisher Description (from the publisher: TAN Books)    The best introduction to Catholic prophecy in print. Covers the Great Catholic Monarch who will rule the entire world, the Angelic Pastor (a Holy Pope who will convert the world), the period of peace and prosperity, the Antichrist, etc., all taken from the prophecies of many Saints down through the centuries. It is amazing how they coalesce upon this epoch, which seems to be immediately before us. Brief, comprehensive and enthralling!

My Summary

     Prophecy for Today offers quotes and selections from Roman Catholics throughout the centuries whose eschatological prophecies have been put forth for examination.  Included are prophetic words that have been proven wrong.  The one thing that I find lacking in the book is that at the outset I would like to have had included the Roman Catholic position on the endtimes in relation to the various millennial positions that were active at the time of first publication as well as today.

The Roman Catholic Teaching on What Is Called the Rapture

Quote  

Scripture: 1Thessalonians 4:17 ; Additional Scripture: Matthew 24: 29-31. LINK to Source: The Catholic Company

     The word “rapture” comes from the Latin word meaning “to be caught up” or “taken up”. This refers to the passage in St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians 4:17 which states, “then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
      The Catholic understanding of this passage is that those believers who are alive during Christ’s second coming will not experience death, but rather, will be gloriously transformed and join the saints already with Christ. Nowhere in 1 Thessalonians does St. Paul teach a secret coming of Christ. Furthermore, St. Paul states that Christ’s coming will be announced by the cry of an archangel and by a trumpet blast. St. Paul is describing the resurrection of the dead that will take place at Christ’s second coming. It appears, when reading 1 Thessalonians that Christians at the time were worried that those who died before Christ’s second coming would not share in His triumphant return. Paul assures them that when the time comes, they will join the resurrected to meet the Lord and will share in Christ’s triumphant descent from heaven to earth.

Contents

1 Prophecy

2 The Prophecy of St. Malachy

3 The Secrets of LaSalette and Fatima

4 The Earthly Scourge, the Heavenly Scourge and the Three Days Darkness

5 The Great Monarch and the Angelic Pastor

6 Spiritual Aids in Times of Distress

7 The Gospel and the End of the World

8 Signs Before the End of the World

9 The Antichrist in Scripture

10 The Antichrist in Other Sources

11 Extraordinary Disturbances in Nature

12 The Apocalypse

13 The Last Judgment

Appendix A: The Complete Prophecy of Saint Malachy

Appendix B: Apparitions Since Fatima

Appendix C: Can the Devil Raise the Dead?

Bibliography

About TAN Books

TAN Books (from their website): TAN Books was founded in 1967. Since its founding, it has been committed to the preservation and promotion of the spiritual, theological and liturgical traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. TAN Books publishes over 500 titles on Thomistic theology, traditional devotions, Church doctrine, history, lives of the saints, educational resources, and more.