"For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery... that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved... Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Rom 11:25-29)
Articles on the relationship between Israel and the Church, and role of Israel in God's plan of salvation.
A
compilation of authoritative Church documents pertaining to Jews and Judaism, from the 1965 Declaration Nostra Aetate to the 2015 The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable.
In this message I try to outline a a Jewish Catholic doctrine of Mary, a doctrine that, I think, does full justice to Mary as she is understood by the Church while, at the same time, acknowledging the dignity of Israel as it is understood in Judaism.
Why is there a need for an apostolate of Catholics for Israel? What are some of the current challenges and problems in the Church and in the world that Catholics for Israel hopes to address?
Catholics for Israel is an apostolate faithful to the Magisterium, the living teaching office of the Church to whom Jesus has entrusted the task of authentically interpreting the word of God (DV 10). This means that official magisterial teachings of the Catholic Church, most especially chapter 4 of the declaration Nostra Aetate and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, form the core of our beliefs concerning Israel and the Jewish people.
Part III: Messianic Judaism and Christian Zionism: The rise of the Zionist movement in the late 19th century. Early Christian Zionism. Early Hebrew-Christians and early Hebrew-Catholics. The turning point: 1967. From Hebrew-Christians to Messianic Jews. The Messianic movement today in Israel and among the nations. Messianic theology and faith; Messianic congregations and worship; Messianic culture and life in Israel. Christian Zionism and Christian supporters of Israel today. Toward Jerusalem Council II - welcoming Jewish believers back into the Church.
Part II: Israel and the Church Today - How Vatican II and Nostra Aetate transformed the Church's relationship with the Jewish people. Church documents on the Jewish people from Vatican II to the 21st century. The promised restoration of Israel according to the prophets. An evaluation: can Old Testament prophecies still apply to Israel today? The Catholic Church and the modern State of Israel. Israel's "passion, death and resurrection"?
Part I: Israel and the Church from Abraham to Today - The origins of Israel: the Patriarchs; the Exodus and Mount Sinai; the kingdom of Israel; exile and return. Hebrews, Israelites and Jews. The Messiah and his rejection by his own people. The birth of the Church. Early Jewish-Christianity, the growth of Gentile Christianity, and the parting of ways. Israel in the patristic writings: the rise of "replacement theology." Christian anti-Semitism in the Middle-Ages. Theological evaluation: Israel and the Church in the New Testament.