How To Read The Parables - Beginning Catholic

How To Read The Parables by

Fr. Leopold Fonck, S.J.

Edited by Michael Stapp

Copyright ? 2006,

Selected and re-published from: The Parables of the Gospel by Leopold Fonck, S.J. President and Lecturer of the Biblical Institute Consultor of the Biblical Commission in Rome Previously published in 1915 by Frederick Pustet & Co., New York & Cincinnati

IMPRIMI POTEST: A.J. Maas, S.J. Praep. Prov.

NIHIL OBSTAT:

Remigius Lafort, D.D. Censor

IMPRIMATUR:

John Cardinal Farley

Archbishop of New York New York, Nov. 17, 1914

Editor's Introduction

This brief eBook contains a great deal of wisdom about understanding the parables in the Gospels.

The content of this eBook is an abridged form of three introductory chapters of Father Fonck's monumental work, The Parables of the Gospel. As Fr. George O'Neill says in his Preface to the English translation of that book, Fr. Fonck "occupies a supremely important position as a teacher of Holy Scripture." Fr. Leopold Fonck was a distinguished Catholic Biblical scholar at the beginning of the 20th Century. Pope Pius X appointed him as the first President and member of his Pontifical Biblical Institute, and also named Fr. Fonck as a consultor of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Both institutions were chartered to provide outstanding and faithful Biblical scholarship in service to the Popes. Fr. Fonck also contributed to the Catholic Encyclopedia numerous articles on Scripture.

This eBook provides Fr. Fonck's timeless and clear lessons on how to read and understand the parables. Since Jesus used many parables in his teaching, this knowledge is essential if we are to understand both Christ and his Gospel.

I have made minimal changes to Fr. Fonck's original text, although this work is somewhat shorter than the original chapters in his book. As a scholar writing for other scholars in the early 1900s, Fr. Fonck quoted original Greek and Latin sources frequently for background information of secondary importance. In a few places where these passages were necessary for understanding the main text, I have replaced them with English translations. I have removed those citations that were not essential.

I have also abridged a small amount of material to make it more readable to nonscholars, and have updated Scriptural references to use modern names of the Biblical books and the current notation for Biblical citations. But none of these changes reduce or alter Fr. Fonck's core text, and my hope is that I've made it more accessible to all.

Fonck's clear and faithful words are a great gift to we who live at a time when misinformation and bad scholarship about the Bible abounds. My hope is that this small eBook will help you to understand Our Lord's parables more easily, and lead you to deeper faith.

Michael Stapp

Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction...................................................................................................................................3 Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................................4 Chapter 1: What Is A Parable?...................................................................................................................5

The use of parables by ancient secular writers......................................................................................5 The use of parables in ancient Rabbinical writings...............................................................................5 The use of parables in later Christian writings......................................................................................6 Parables in the Old Testament...............................................................................................................6 Parables in the New Testament.............................................................................................................7 Chapter 2: The Object of Our Lord's Parables.........................................................................................15 Chapter 3: Fundamental Principles for Interpreting the Parables............................................................28

How to Read the Parables

Chapter 1: What Is A Parable?

The use of parables by ancient secular writers

The word parable comes from the Greek verb, to throw, or to put by the side of, to place side by side, hence to compare; consequently, the word taken in its literal sense means juxtaposition, and metaphorically, comparison. Plato and other ancient classic authors use the word in this sense.

According to Aristotle's interpretation, the truth to be demonstrated in the parable is illustrated by means of an analogous fictitious example taken from another order of things.

Seneca speaks of parables in a similar manner and describes them as being necessary to the proper demonstration of truths. On the whole, the parable used in this sense has always had a settled place in ancient rhetoric.

The use of parables in ancient Rabbinical writings

But it is especially in Oriental writings and in the ancient Jewish Talmud that we continually find the parable in the shape of a narration of an allegory or of a fictitious occurrence. Parables similar to a number of those in the Gospel can be quoted from the Rabbinical writings. We shall refer to them occasionally in our explanation of the various parables and similes.

St. Jerome says that this frequent use of similes is peculiar to the Syrians, and to the inhabitants of Palestine in particular.

But the fact must not be overlooked that the parables in the Old Testament, as well as in the similes in the Gospel, have had a great influence on the Rabbinical writings. The parables in the Talmud cannot be made use of, therefore,

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