Youcat commented through CCC. Question n. 17 – Part II.

YOUCAT Question n. 17 – Part II. What significance does the Old Testament have for Christians?

(Youcat answer repeated) In the Old Testament God reveals himself as the Creator and preserver of the world and as the leader and instructor of mankind. The Old Testament books are also God’s Word and Sacred Scripture. Without the Old Testament, we cannot understand Jesus.         

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 123) Christians venerate the Old Testament as true Word of God. The Church has always vigorously opposed the idea of rejecting the Old Testament under the pretext that the New has rendered it void (Marcionism). (CCC 121) The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value (Cf. DV 14), for the Old Covenant has never been revoked.       

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) In the Old Testament a great history of learning the faith begins, which takes a decisive turn in the New Testament and arrives at its destination with the end of the world and Christ’s second coming. The Old Testament is far more than a mere prelude for the New. The commandments and prophecies for the people of the Old Covenant and the promises that are contained in it for all men were never revoked. In the books of the Old Covenant we find an irreplaceable treasure of prayers and wisdom; in particular, the Psalms are part of the Church’s daily prayer.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 130) Typology indicates the dynamic movement toward the fulfilment of the divine plan when "God [will] be everything to everyone" (1 Cor 15:28). Nor do the calling of the patriarchs and the exodus from Egypt, for example, lose their own value in God's plan, from the mere fact that they were intermediate stages. (CCC 141) "The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord" (DV 21): both nourish and govern the whole Christian life. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps 119:105; cf. Isa 50:4). (CCC 129) Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. Such typological reading discloses the inexhaustible content of the Old Testament; but it must not make us forget that the Old Testament retains its own intrinsic value as Revelation reaffirmed by our Lord himself (Cf. Mk 12:29-31). Besides, the New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament (Cf. 1 Cor 5:6-8; 10:1-11). As an old saying put it, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New (Cf. St. Augustine, Quaest. in Hept. 2, 73: PL 34, 623; cf. DV 16). [End]    

(The next question is: What significance does the New Testament have for Christians?)