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Practical helps for homilists and catechists
The Editors

This section of the Review is devoted to the pulling into practice of the NOTES, whether it he by sermon or lesson models, or by general indications that will be helpful for both categories.

Homiletics
The beautiful sermon preached by Pere Ostier in a French parish church presents in its true setting the account of the finding of the child Jesus at the age of twelve.

Ills words demonstrate how the knowledge of Judaism as practised and lived today can help us understand certain aspects of Christianity and many passages of the Gospels.

'Then follow some excellent indications of Father Pawlikowski which can help the preacher to comment on texts of the Roman lectionary for the time of Advent. Ile explains how to interpret prophetic texts in the light of Jesus Christ without underesitmating in the process their own value and spiritual riches. As our writer points out in his commentary, quoting from Guidelines and Suggestions for implementing Nostra Aerate:

An effort will be made w acquire a better understanding of whatever in the Old Testament retains its own perpetual value cf. Del Verbum, 14-15). since that has not been cancelled by the later interpretation of the New Testament. (emphasis added).

It is worth-while to quote here yet another passage from the above document, containing as it does certain indications that are most important for the correct preparation of sermon notes:
When commenting on biblical texts, emphasis will be laid on the continuity of our faith with that of the earlier Covenant, in the perspective of the promises, without minimizing those elements of Christianity which arc original. We believe that those promises were fulfilled with the first corning of Christ. But it is none the less true that we still await their perfect fulfilment in his glorious return at the end of time. With respect to liturgical readings, care will be taken to see that homilies based on them will not distort their meaning, especially when it is a question of passages that seem to show the Jewish people as such in an unfavourable light. Efforts will be made so to instruct the Christian people that they will understandthe true interpretation of all the texts and their meaning for the contemporary believer.
Commissions entrusted with the task of liturgical translation wilI pay particular attention to the way in which they express those phrases and passages which Christians, if not well informed, might. Misunderstand because of prejudice. Obviously one cannot alter the text of the Bible. The point is that, with a version destined for liturgical use, there should he an overriding preoccupation to bring out explicitly the weaning of a text, while taking scriptural studies into account (Guidelines and Suggestions - emphasis added).

There follows a note of extreme importance with vast implications for the way in which biblical texts should be presented in a liturgical setting. It is to be regretted that at least one version of the Guidelines omitted this note.

Thus the formula "the Jews", in St. John, sometimes according to the context means "the leaders of the Jews", or "the adversaries of Jesus", terms which express better the thought of the evangelist and avoid appearing to arraign the Jewish people as such. Another example is the use of the words "pharisee" and "pharisaism" which have taken on a largely pejorative meaning.

Would that this note were as widely read and applied, not only in the cases given as examples abode but in every verse of the New Testament where fitting!