“Catholic Church: Right there. Hebrews. Maccabees. Revelation. 2 Peter. James. Wisdom.
Luther: Oh, not THOSE books. Those books don’t count.”
Maccabees is not in the canon of scripture. According to Pope Gregory the First:
“Concerning which thing we do nothing irregularly, if we adduce a testimony from the books, which although not canonical are published for the edification of the people. For Eleazar wounding an elephant in battle, slew him, but fell under him whom he had destroyed.” — Morals, book 19, on 39th chap, of Job.
Same thing for Wisdom, according to Jerome:
“But you must know that there are other books, which are not canonical, but were called by the ancients ecclesiastical, that is to say, the book of Wisdom, which is said to be Solomon’s, and the other Wisdom, which is said to be the son of Sirach’s, which book is called by the Latins by the general name of Ecclesiasticus, by which name not the author of the book, but the nature of the writing is declared. Of the same class is the book of Tobit, and Judith, and the books of Maccabees. And in the New Testament the book of the Shepherd, or Hermes, which is called the two roads, or the judgment of Peter, all of which they have thought fit to be read in the churches, but not to be brought forward for the confirmation of the faith. — Symbol of Ruffinus, vol. 9, p. 186.
“Whatsoever is without these, is to be placed among the Apocrypha. Therefore, Wisdom, which is commonly called the Wisdom of Solomon, and the Book of Jesus the son of Sirach, and Judith, and Tobit, and the Shepherd are not in the canon.” — Preface to the Book of Kings, vol. 3, book 24.
And Athanasius:
“All the Scriptures of us Christians are inspired. And there are riot innumerable books, but on the contrary the books are defined and in cluded in a canon, and these are the books of the Old Testament. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judge*, Ruth, the first and second of Kings, the third and fourth of Kings, the first and second of Chronicles, the first and second of Ezra, the Psalter of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, the Twelve Prophets, Amos, Micaiah, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habukkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zacha- riah, Malachi. These twelve are in one book. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. There are other books of the Old Testament be sides these, which are not canonical. The Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobias. These are not canonical.” — Synopsis of the Holy Scriptures. (Paris, 1627.)
Those other books are fine. And none of them are a Papist’s friend.
Pope Gregory was not condemning the Book of Maccabees.
Saint Jerome was describing the beliefs of the Jews. He called those who accused him of holding those beliefs personally, “fools and slanderers.” If, as Protestants argue without evidence, he insisted he was misinterpreted only for fear of being considered a heretic by the Catholic church, that only all the more establishes that the Catholic church permitted no dissent on the books of the canon.
Athanasius included among his list of books not to be read, the Book of Esther, but includes as canonical the Book of Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah. His canon is not the Catholic canon, but is neither the Protestant canon.
The truth is that for hundreds of years, the canon of the Old Testament was volatile. But for more than 1000 years, the first and second Book of Maccabees was published in every bible, and every Church, Roman or Orthodox, or Oriental, or Coptic, or Thomistic included them.
The only grain of truth to the notion that the Catholic Church “added” books to the bible at the Council of Trent is this:
Certain churches used the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (in Greek, a single book called Esdras.) Others used a shortened version of Esdras, redacted in Greek, which became known as Greek Esdras. The Council of Trent found that there was nothing doctrinal to be found in the Greek Esdras that was not found in Ezra and Nehemiah, so did not include Greek Esdras separately as a book which must be defended as a source of doctrine.