74
God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth":29 (1 Tim 2:4) that is, of Christ Jesus.30 (cf. ⇒ Jn 14:6 ) Christ must be proclaimed to all
nations and individuals, so that this revelation may reach to the ends of the
earth:
God
graciously arranged that the things he had once revealed for the salvation of
all peoples should remain in their entirety, throughout the ages, and be
transmitted to all generations.31
I.
The Apostolic Tradition
75
"Christ the Lord, in whom the entire Revelation of the most high God is
summed up, commanded the apostles to preach the Gospel, which had been promised
beforehand by the prophets, and which he fulfilled in his own person and promulgated
with his own lips. In preaching the Gospel, they were to communicate the gifts
of God to all men. This Gospel was to be the source of all saving truth and
moral discipline."32
In
the apostolic preaching. . .
76
In keeping with the Lord's command, the Gospel was handed on in two ways:
-
orally "by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their
preaching, by the example, they gave, by the institutions they established, what
they themselves had received - whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of
life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy
Spirit";33
-
in writing "by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles
who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of
salvation to writing".34
.
. . continued in apostolic succession
77
"In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the
Church the apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them their own
position of teaching authority."35 (DV 7 # 2; St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 3, 1: PG 7/1, 848;
Harvey, 2, 9. ) Indeed, "the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved in a continuous line of succession until the end of time."36 (DV 8 # 1. )
Harvey, 2, 9. ) Indeed, "the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved in a continuous line of succession until the end of time."36 (DV 8 # 1. )
78
This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition,
since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it.
Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship,
perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that
she believes."37 (DV 8 # 1. ) "The sayings of the holy Fathers are a witness to
the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured
out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her
prayer."38 (DV 8 # 3. )
79
The Father's self-communication made through his Word in the Holy Spirit,
remains present and active in the Church: "God, who spoke in the past,
continues to converse with the Spouse of his beloved Son. and the Holy Spirit,
through whom the living voice of the Gospel rings out in the Church - and
through her in the world - leads believers to the full truth, and makes the
Word of Christ dwells in them in all its richness."39
II.
The Relationship Between Tradition and Sacred Scripture
One
common source. . .
80
"Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same
divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move
towards the same goal."40 (DV 9. ) Each of them makes present and fruitful in the
Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own "always,
to the close of the age".41
.
. . two distinct modes of transmission
81
"Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under
the breath of the Holy Spirit."42
"and
[Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been
entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits
it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of
truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their
preaching."43
82
As a result, the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of
Revelation is entrusted, "does not derive her certainty about all revealed
truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be
accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence."44
Apostolic
Tradition and ecclesial traditions
83
The Tradition here in question comes from the apostles and hands on what they
received from Jesus' teaching and example and what they learned from the Holy
Spirit. the first generation of Christians did not yet have a written New
Testament and the New Testament itself demonstrates the process of living
Tradition.
Tradition
is to be distinguished from the various theological, disciplinary, liturgical
or devotional traditions, born in the local churches over time. These are the
particular forms, adapted to different places and times, in which the great
Tradition is expressed. In the light of Tradition, these traditions can be
retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the Church's
Magisterium.
III.
The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith
The
heritage of faith entrusted to the whole of the Church
84
The apostles entrusted the "Sacred deposit" of the faith (the
depositum fidei),45 (DV 10 # 1; cf.I Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:12-14(Vulg.). ) contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole
of the Church. "By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, united
to its pastors, remains always faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the
brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. So, in maintaining,
practising and professing the faith that has been handed on, there should be a
remarkable harmony between the bishops and the faithful."46 (DV 10 # 1; cf. Acts 2:42 (Greek); Pius XII, Apost. Const. Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November 1950: AAS 42 (1950), 756, taken along with the words of St. Cyprian, Epist. 66, 8: CSEL 3/2, 733: "The Church is the people united to its Priests, the flock adhering to its Shepherd." )
The
Magisterium of the Church
85
"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God,
whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to
the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is
exercised in the name of Jesus Christ."47 (DV 10 # 2.) This means that the task of
interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the
successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.
86
"Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God but is its
servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command
and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it
with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as
being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith."48
87
Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears
me",49 (Lk 10:16; cf. LG 20. ) The faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives
that their pastors give them in different forms.
The
dogmas of the faith
88
The Church's Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the
fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes truths
contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes in a definitive way
truths having a necessary connection with them.
89
There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas.
Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it
secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be
open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith.50
90
The mutual connections between dogmas, and their coherence, can be found in the
whole of the Revelation of the mystery of Christ.51 (Cf. Vatican Council I: DS 3016: nexus mysteriorum; LC 25. ) "In Catholic doctrine, there exists an order or hierarchy 234 of truths, since they vary in their
relation to the foundation of the Christian faith."52 (UR II. )
The
supernatural sense of faith
91
All the faithful share in understanding and handing on revealed truth. They
have received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, who instructs them53 (Cf. ⇒ I Jn 2:20, ⇒ 27 ) and guides
them into all truth.54 (Cf. . ⇒ Jn 16:13 )
92
"The whole body of the faithful. . . cannot err in matters of belief. This
characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith (sensus
fidei) on the part of the whole people, when, from the bishops to the last of
the faithful, they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and
morals."55
93
"By this appreciation of the faith, aroused and sustained by the Spirit of
truth, the People of God, guided by the sacred teaching authority (Magisterium),.
. . receives. . . the faith, once for all delivered to the saints. . . the
People unfailingly adheres to this faith, penetrates it more deeply with right
judgment, and applies it more fully in daily life."56
Growth
in understanding the faith
94
Thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of both the
realities and the words of the heritage of faith is able to grow in the life of
the Church:
-
"through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things
in their hearts";57 (DV 8 # 2; cf. ⇒ Lk 2:19, ⇒ 51 ) it is in particular "theological research [which]
deepens knowledge of revealed truth".58 (GS 62 # 7; cf. GS 44 # 2; DV 23; 24; UR 4. )
-
"from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which [believers]
experience",59 (DV 8 # 2. ) The sacred Scriptures "grow with the one who reads
them."60 (DV 8 # 2. )
-
"from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of
succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth".61
95
"It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God,
sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so
connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others.
Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit,
they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls."62
IN
BRIEF
96
What Christ entrusted to the apostles, they in turn handed on by their
preaching and writing, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to all
generations, until Christ returns in glory.
97
"Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of
the Word of God" (DV 10) in which, as in a mirror, the pilgrim Church
contemplates God, the source of all her riches.
98
"The Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits
to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes" (DV 8
# 1).
99
Thanks to its supernatural sense of faith, the People of God as a whole never
ceases to welcome, to penetrate more deeply and to live more fully from the
gift of divine Revelation.
100
The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted
solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the
bishops in communion with him.
GO TO:
CHAPTER TWO GOD COMES TO MEET MAN
GO TO:
CHAPTER TWO GOD COMES TO MEET MAN
Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholos (Acts 9:31)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.
No comments:
Post a Comment