Anthony Osman – 2018

This year I’m studying at the Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation and one of our units is Salvation History, which I have used my scholarship money for to cover the cost of the course. This unit has been highly beneficial for me as it has helped me develop a deeper understanding to the richness of our faith and traditions, as well as my own personal development.

Throughout the course we have been on a journey towards our salvation and we have looked at the Old Testament and seen how it points to the need of Jesus and how the Israelites developed into a nation and built their relationship with God. We have also looked at the 5 covenants in the old testament, which were the covenants between God and Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David and each of these covenants all prefigure our need for Christ. This course was highly beneficial for me as it has helped me understand the Bible in a deeper sense and just how interwoven the Old and New Testaments are, as St Augustine said, “this grace [our salvation] hid itself under a veil in the Old Testament, but it has been revealed in the New Testament”. My highlight of the course was when we did a Passover meal when we were looking at the time of exodus. I enjoyed this the most as while we were going through the meal, our teacher dissected the meaning through it and brought in aspects of the last supper and how Jesus really extended the Passover at the last supper to give us a basis for the Mass. It was really engaging and intriguing to learn about.

The course has highly enriched my understanding of the bible and has deepened my faith. It has been interesting to learn about all these Old Testament prefigurements of the Church, Christ and the Sacraments and it has really opened my eyes to the complexity and richness of our faith. For example, with Mary being the New Ark of the covenant, Jesus fulfils everything within the ark: He is the new priest, which was shown by the rod of Aaron, the new bread of life, which was shown by the manna, and the new law, which was shown by the 10 commandments, and it has been pretty incredible to discover all these prefigurements and how interwoven the Bible is with them.

One can get the impression that the two testaments are separate, but that is so untrue. The course has helped deepen my faith as I have a new found appreciation for the sacraments as well as a fuller understanding of parts to the Mass. It has really allowed me to take my faith to a deeper level. To conclude, I would highly recommend anyone to further their studies on the Bible as it is a treasure chest for our faith and it is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us to. It is a map which helps us to live out the life He has planned for us.