4.- Transmission of Divine Revelation
Chapter 3: Transmission of Divine Revelation
¶74. Christ must be proclaimed to all individuals in all dimensions: Place and Time.
· Jesus, who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life,” must be proclaimed us such to all men of good will, so that they may partake fully of the redemption brought to us in Christ Jesus.
· So we pray in the Liturgy, Preface of the Epiphany, Roman Missal
o “Father all powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks. Today, you reveal in Christ your eternal plan of salvation and showed him as the light of all peoples. Now that his glory has shone among us you have renewed humanity in his immortal image. Now, with the angels and archangels, and the whole company of heaven, we sing the unending hymn of your praise.” Holy, Holy, Holy…
I. The Apostolic Tradition
¶75. “Christ the Lord… commanded the apostles to preach the Gospel… In preaching the Gospel, they were to communicate the gift of God to all men.” It would be the source of truth and moral discipline.
· Mathew 28:18-20.
o “Then Jesus approached and said to [the eleven], ‘All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
· Also Mark 16:15.
In the apostolic preaching…
¶76. Two ways by which the Gospel was handed down
1. Orally. (Read paragraph 76 of CCC)
2. In Writing. (Read paragraph)
¶77. The apostles left bishops and their successors. They gave them “their own position of teaching authority.”
· 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 (please read from Bible)
o Dei Verbum 8. “Hence the apostles, in handing down on what they themselves had received, warn the faithful to maintain the traditions which they had learned weather by word of mouth of by letter…”
· Jude 3
o “Beloved, although I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel a need to write to encourage you to contend for the faith that was once for all handed down to the holy ones.”
· Dei Verbum 8.
o “…and they warn them to fight hard for the faith that had been handed on to them once and for all.”
¶78. Tradition (big T) is the living transmission accomplished in the Holy Spirit. It is different than Sacred Scripture, but closely connected to it.
· The Holy Spirit speaks trough the Church’s doctrine, life and worship.
· Tradition maintains the Sacred Scriptures alive in place and time.
· Scripture without Tradition would be like a body with no blood, thus it would turn into ashes.
· Tradition is the sign that the Gospel written in Scripture has been kept alive through history.
¶79. God the Father, communicates through Christ, the Word, and remains present and active in the Church in the Holy Spirit. (Please read ¶79 in CCC).
· In the Liturgy we pray. Votive Mass to the Holy Spirit # 7(Roman Missal).
o “Father, you taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending them the light of your Holy Spirit. In that Spirit give us right judgment and the joy of his comfort and guidance.”
· Romans 5:5
o “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given us.”
II. The Relation Between Tradition and Sacred Scriptures
One Common Source…
¶80. (Read paragraph in CCC) Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition find their source from the same Spirit of God and move towards the same goal in God.
· Jesus promises to remain with his own until the end of time (Mt. 28:20).
· Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition make present and effective the promise of Jesus.
o Like two lungs that breath from the same air.
o They are both needed to give life to the Church
…two distinct modes of transmission
¶81. Differ in manner, but not in principle
· Sacred Scripture is God’s speech (read CCC).
· Holy Tradition transmits what was entrusted to the apostles by Christ
o Through the successors of the apostles (Bishops).
o In turn they transmit the message of the Lord in their preaching throughout the entire world in time and place.
¶82. Thus the Church cannot listen only to one source of Divine revelation, but to both, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. (Read paragraph 82)
Apostolic Tradition and ecclesiastical traditions
¶83. Sacred Tradition (big “T”) comes from the apostles and hands on what they have received from Jesus and what they learn from the Holy Spirit.
· An example, the first generation of Christians did not have the New Testament.
o The New Testament demonstrates the process of a living tradition, guided by the bishops in council and in union with each other.
· Protestants do not believe in Sacred Tradition. They believe in Sola Scriptura (the Scripture Alone).
o Our question to them: Who approve which books rightly transmitted the teachings of Jesus Christ? Answer: The bishops in council said which books belonged to the Canon of Scriptures and which ones did not.
· Ecclesial traditions (small “t”) must be distinguished from other traditions.
o Theological traditions (theology of exorcism has changed)
o Disciplinary (Celibate Priesthood)
o Liturgical (Actions, Vestments, language etc.)
o Devotional (Rosary, novenas etc.)
o Other things from local churches
Note. The Sacred Tradition is expressed in ecclesial traditions. Ecclesial traditions can be changed, modified or abandoned in light of the Sacred Tradition, but not vice-versa.
III. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith
The heritage of faith entrusted to the whole Church
¶84. The Apostles entrusts the “Sacred Deposit” to the whole Church.
· The Sacred Deposit = Sacred Scripture + Sacred Tradition
o 1 Timothy 6:20-21
§ “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid profane babbling and the absurdities of so-called knowledge. By professing it, some people have deviated from the faith.”
o 2 Timothy 1:12-14 (from the Vulgate Latin Translation)
§ “…And therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard the truth [bonum depositum] that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.”
o Compare with other translations
· Read paragraph on CCC ¶82.
o Acts 2:42-43
§ “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.”
The Magisterium of the Church
¶85. The teaching office of the Church is the only one that can interpret Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
· Teaching office of the Church, the Magisterium, is formed by all the bishops of the world in communion with the successor of St. Peter, the Bishop of Rome.
¶86. The Magisterium is a servant to the Word of God.
· Its teaching authority is limited to what has been handed on. In order to accomplish this task, the Magisterium must,
o Listen to God’s word devotedly
o Guard it with dedication
o Expounds it faithfully
o It must only bring them out from the single deposit of faith
§ It cannot create doctrine, it only interprets it
¶87. The faithful must receive with docility the teachings of the Magisterium.
· The faithful must trust the words of Jesus to his apostles. When giving them instructions to the 72, Jesus ensures of his presence with them.
· “Luke 10:16. “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
o These words can only be applied literally to the apostles and those whom Jesus sends. They are therefore only applicable to those whose calling comes as a result of their succession in the line of the apostles.
o These words are applied analogously to anybody else. But they cannot be applied literally, for the Lord gave this instructions only to the 72.
o 72 is the number of the 12 times 6. The apostles went in groups under the guidance of one of the twelve apostles.
The dogmas of the faith
¶88. The Magisterium exercises the authority given to it when it defines dogmas.
· Dogmas: Definition of a revealed truth contained in divine Revelation and/or a truth that is necessarily connected to what has been Revealed.
o They must be accepted by the faithful in complete adherence of faith.
o The faithful must pray fervently to accept a particular dogma truth.
§ Immaculate Conception
§ Ordination Reserved for Men Alone
§ The Infallibility of the Pope
§ To name a few
§ Respect for life issues
o They are not up for discussion
¶89. Dogmas are connected to the spiritual life; they are not separate from it.
· Lights of faith
· Jn 8:31-32
o “Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, ‘If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
¶90. Coherence of dogmas is founded in the mystery of Christ.
· Vatican I, Nexus Mysterium
o “Reason illustrated by faith…attains some understanding of the mysteries…not only from the analogy of those things which it knows naturally, but also from the connection of the mysteries among themselves and with the last end of man.”
· Up Shot of all this?
o We can comprehend revelation using natural reason.
o We can use reason to make the necessary connections and link them with faith.
· However, since the divine mysteries are much greater than our intellect, even though they are handed down by revelation and accepted by our faith, “they nevertheless remain covered by the veil of faith itself, and wrapped in a certain mist, as it were, as long as in this moral life, “we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith and not by sight.”
· Not all dogmas make sense; however, we can still believe them in faith.
The supernatural sense of faith
¶91. All the faithful share in the understanding and acceptance of the revealed truth. Revelation would not be such if it was utterly rejected by the faithful. The faithful attests to the interpretation of the deposit of faith because…
· They “have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and [they] all have knowledge.
· They are guided by the Spirit the Lord refers to when he said, “But when he comes, the Spirit of Truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming” (Jn 16:13).
¶92. Sensus Fidei: The supernatural appreciation of faith
· As a wife recognizes the voice of the husband; so the whole Church has the capacity to recognize the voice of her beloved, Jesus Christ.
· The faithful cannot err when…
o The whole body believes it
o “from the bishops to the last of the faithful, they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals.
¶93. The People of God, guided by the Magisterium, receives the faith delivered to the saints, adheres to this faith, penetrates it more deeply, and applies it more fully in daily life.
· Dogmas become living experience. For example, the Dogma of the Assumption, before it was ever expressed by the pope it was alive at the parish level.
Growth in understanding the faith
¶94. The Holy Spirit guides the growth of our understanding of the faith by experiencing the realities and the words of our heritage
· Dei Verbum 8.
o “There is a growth in the insight into the realities and words that are being passed on. This comes about in various ways…”
· “Through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts (cf. Lk 2:19, 51).
· “…from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which they experience.” The Sacred Scriptures grow with the ones who read them.” As reflected in the lives of the saints.
· “…from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure charisma of truth.”
· Gaudium et Spes 62.7
o Theological research deepens our knowledge of all Revealed Truth
· St Vincent of Lerins (d. 450AD) from Commonitorium, XXII-XXIII
o Reflects of 1 Timothy 6:20, (above)
· True progress in Church doctrine must be organically.
· “Progress means that each thing grown within itself, whereas change implies that one thing is transformed into another.”
· An analogy
· “The growth of religion in the soul should be like the growth of the body, which in the course of years develops and unfolds, yet remains the same as it was.”
· “The course of the years always completes in adults the parts and forms with which the wisdom of the Creator imbued infants. If on the other hand, the human form were turned into a shape of another kind, or if the number of members of the body were increased or decreased, then the whole body would necessarily perish, or become a monstrosity, or be in some way disabled.”
· The Church is the Living Body of Christ
¶95. God wanted to reveal Himself in this way.
· Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium cannot be separated: We cannot have one without the other.
· Guided by the Holy Spirit they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.