Tradition and Sacred Scripture


Tradition and Sacred Scripture
I was looking up something about Catholic tradition, and the following article in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, came to mind: 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." 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". We all know what Sacred Scripture is - it is the Word of God as proclaimed from the pulpit, which, in turn, comes from the Bible, Old and New Testament Readings. Sacred Tradition is harder to identify, particularly because modernization within the Church has made this subject more remote from us. But it is still there, we just have to look a little harder. In Dei Verbum, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Chapter II, para. 10. "Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church. Holding fast to this deposit the entire holy people united with their shepherds remain always steadfast in the teaching of the Apostles, in the common life, in the breaking of the bread and in prayers (see Acts 2, 42, Greek text), so that holding to, practicing and professing the heritage of the faith, it becomes on the part of the bishops and faithful a single common effort. But the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. "This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed. "It is clear, therefore, that sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God's most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls." All the teaching handed down in the "Fathers of the Church" (see http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/ for example), also known as the "Early Fathers," comprise the early teachings in our Church, which certainly came to us with the help of the Holy Spirit. These are not totally clear of doctrinal errors but for the most part they are very useful. Many Saints who are denoted as "Doctor of the Church" of the 2nd through 8th Centuries, are participants in these early writings. There is an excellent article by Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D., in "Early Church Fathers Overview: Snapshot of the Fathers of the Church" which gives a broader definition what is contained in the Early Fathers series. Some catholics, when we use the word "Tradition" in regards to the total history of the Catholic Church, refer to the Latin Mass. The Latin Mass certainly is a part of the rich tradition of the Catholic Church, but our tradition goes so much further. In this "tradition" are the thousands of writings of the monks in the early and later middle ages, from St. Benedict to St. Francis and beyond. There is the Vatican Library, which has been and still is closed to the public but is slated to reopen on September 20, 2010, it had been closed for maintenance and updating. It was founded in the 15th Century. The largest Vatican collection of materials outside of the Vatican Library, is the Vatican Film Library, which is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and is located at St. Louis, Missouri in USA. There is another definitive article, which I found at: http://www.rosary-center.org/ll47n4.htm - written by Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P. on the subject of Sacred Tradition. The above article is part of the Western Dominican, "Theology for the Laity" Newsletter, which is indexed here: http://www.rosary-center.org/ntrll.htm - a very useful resource which I use occasionally for background material. Part of the Church's tradition is the rich deposit of Sacred Music - Hymns, Gregorian Chant, etc. Unfortunately, one doesn't hear chant so often anymore in Church, because Latin, as a language, isn't being taught in seminaries anymore. I wish it was, because Gregorian Chant cannot be sung in English. Some try, for example with the sung "Our Father" in chant tone, but it just doesn't come out right. Only Latin has the rhythm or meter that makes Gregorian Chant so beautiful. Some of the hymns that is popular with Church choirs these days are great hymns, but I hanker back to the beauty of the old Chant. The reason probably is because when I was in religious life with the monks in Petersham, MA (1996-1999), we went to Holy Mass at a Benedictine Monastery where Gregorian Chant was used exclusively and sung well. It was like being in a corner of Heaven! I recall that time fondly. Gregorian Chant, well sung is a great tradition within our Church. I hope this short review is useful to our readers. Peace and all Good, Fred Schaeffer, SFO (1/4/2010)

I was looking up something about Catholic tradition, and the following article in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, came to mind:

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." 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".

We all know what Sacred Scripture is - it is the Word of God as proclaimed from the pulpit, which, in turn, comes from the Bible, Old and New Testament Readings.

Sacred Tradition is harder to identify, particularly because modernization within the Church has made this subject more remote from us. But it is still there, we just have to look a little harder.

In Dei Verbum, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Chapter II, para. 10. "Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church. Holding fast to this deposit the entire holy people united with their shepherds remain always steadfast in the teaching of the Apostles, in the common life, in the breaking of the bread and in prayers (see Acts 2, 42, Greek text), so that holding to, practicing and professing the heritage of the faith, it becomes on the part of the bishops and faithful a single common effort. But the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.

"This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed.

"It is clear, therefore, that sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God's most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls."

All the teaching handed down in the "Fathers of the Church" (see http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/ for example), also known as the "Early Fathers," comprise the early teachings in our Church, which certainly came to us with the help of the Holy Spirit. These are not totally clear of doctrinal errors but for the most part they are very useful. Many Saints who are denoted as "Doctor of the Church" of the 2nd through 8th Centuries, are participants in these early writings.

There is an excellent article by Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D., in "Early Church Fathers Overview: Snapshot of the Fathers of the Church" which gives a broader definition what is contained in the Early Fathers series.

Some catholics, when we use the word "Tradition" in regards to the total history of the Catholic Church, refer to the Latin Mass. The Latin Mass certainly is a part of the rich tradition of the Catholic Church, but our tradition goes so much further. In this "tradition" are the thousands of writings of the monks in the early and later middle ages, from St. Benedict to St. Francis and beyond. There is the Vatican Library, which has been and still is closed to the public but is slated to reopen on September 20, 2010, it had been closed for maintenance and updating. It was founded in the 15th Century. The largest Vatican collection of materials outside of the Vatican Library, is the Vatican Film Library, which is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and is located at St. Louis, Missouri in USA.

There is another definitive article, which I found at:
http://www.rosary-center.org/ll47n4.htm - written by Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P. on the subject of Sacred Tradition. The above article is part of the Western Dominican, "Theology for the Laity" Newsletter, which is indexed here:
http://www.rosary-center.org/ntrll.htm - a very useful resource which I use occasionally for background material.

Part of the Church's tradition is the rich deposit of Sacred Music - Hymns, Gregorian Chant, etc. Unfortunately, one doesn't hear chant so often anymore in Church, because Latin, as a language, isn't being taught in seminaries anymore. I wish it was, because Gregorian Chant cannot be sung in English. Some try, for example with the sung "Our Father" in chant tone, but it just doesn't come out right. Only Latin has the rhythm or meter that makes Gregorian Chant so beautiful. Some of the hymns that is popular with Church choirs these days are great hymns, but I hanker back to the beauty of the old Chant. The reason probably is because when I was in religious life with the monks in Petersham, MA (1996-1999), we went to Holy Mass at a Benedictine Monastery where Gregorian Chant was used exclusively and sung well. It was like being in a corner of Heaven! I recall that time fondly. Gregorian Chant, well sung is a great tradition within our Church.

I hope this short review is useful to our readers.

Peace and all Good,
Fred Schaeffer, SFO (1/4/2010)