Well, from a Biblical vantage point, these feasts of the Old Testament are foreshadowings of the life of Christ.

De Maria October 20, 2012 at 10:29 PM

You said:

Very interesting. As one who grew up in an Evangelical/Fundamentalist home, this was certainly one of the arguments against Catholicism (Mary, praying to Saints, purgatory, etc., etc. were the others :) and it is still one I come across frequently as a convert to Catholicism within my (still not Catholic) family.

Hm? I guess I missed the reference. How do good works argue against communion with the members of the Body of Christ?

About this same topic – some fringe relatives are becoming more and more involved in celebrating Jewish holidays and feasts as Christians (I know celebrating Passover and having a Seder have become relatively common, but this is celebrating Rosh Hashanah) and stating that “they have not yet been fulfilled so they feel obligated to celebrate them and they feel terrible they never realized it before.” basically. They’re also subscribing to magazines like “Israel, My Glory.” I would love to get your viewpoint on this.

I have no opinion on that score. I’m not familiar with those magazines.

I am certainly pro-Israel, but am a little dumbfounded by these claims. I’ve tried to encourage them to consider Christian feasts that celebrate the same things or prepare them for Christian feasts (like Advent, for Christmas, or even the Embertides, since the Autumn Embertide falls at about the same time as Rosh Hashannah) but was met with statements that they were man-made and basically abominations.

That’s a different story. I don’t know how Advent and Embertides could be considered abominations, since they are seasons of the year which the Church has set aside for us to focus on God and doing His will. Christian feasts are all based upon the life of Jesus Christ and are a fulfillment of the feasts of the Old Testament. If any sin is being committed it is by those who sacrilegiously call Christian feasts abominations.

Nice.

So, I’d love your insight on a Biblical, Catholic viewpoint of this situation! At the moment, I’m just keeping my mouth shut because I’m not enough of a Biblical scholar (especially of the Old Testament) to argue my point with them. Neither of us would get anywhere but frustrated.

Well, from a Biblical vantage point, these feasts of the Old Testament are foreshadowings of the life of Christ. They point to Him. The clearest one, is of course, the Passover. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is sacrificed for our sins. We eat His flesh and are saved to eternal life.

Is this the type of information you are seeking?

Thank you so much for all you do (my husband and I are big fans of your show on EWTN and I often listen to you on the radio) – it’s always a joy!

I’m a big fan myself. I hope my response helped a bit.

Sincerely,

De Maria