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2705 But above all its the
gospels that occupy my mind when Im at prayer;
my poor soul has so many needs, and yet this is the one
thing needful. Im always finding fresh lights there;
hidden meanings which had meant
nothing to me hitherto.°3 The unity of the Old and New Testaments 128 The Church, as early as apostolic
times,°4 and then constantly in her Tradition,
has illuminated the unity of the divine
Gods works of the Old Covenant
prefigurations of what he
Son. 129 Christians
therefore read the Old Testament in the light of
inexhaustible content of the Old Testament;
but it must not make us forget that the Old Testament
retains its own intrinsic value as
Testament has to be read in the light of the
Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old
Testament.b06 As an old saying put it, the New Testament
lies hidden in the Old and the
130 Typology indicates the dynamic
movement toward the fulfilment of the divine plan when
God [will] be everything to everyone.~b08
Nor do the calling of the patriarchs and the exodus from
Egypt, for example, lose their own value in Gods plan,
from the mere fact that they were intermediate stages.
131 And such is the force and power
of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her
support and vigour, and the children of the Church as
strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and
lasting fount of spiritual life.09 Hence access
to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian
faithful.° 132
Therefore, the study of the sacred page
should be the very soul of sacred theology. The ministry of
the Word, too pastoral ~
preaching, catechetics and all forms of Christian
instruction, among which the liturgical homily should hold
pride of place is |
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