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Today we learn about Apostolic Tradition continued through Apostolic Succession through Apostolic Preaching and how it comes down to us today
Fr. Mike is very grateful to be walking this journey with us
This is not the same thing as reading The Bible
For the next couple of days we are going to be talking about how Scripture and Tradition go HAND IN HAND
Thank you to all those who have supported this podcast through their prayers and financial gifts
We are kind of taking BABY STEPS
If you walked through The Bible in a Year, there were many stories that we already know
There is something about these initial steps that are like NEW TERRITORY
This is a different FLOW
This is a different FEEL
BUT…
Here is the crazy thing…
This is the SAME GOD
This is the SAME SPIRIT
This is the SAME COMMUNITY
We are journeying together because we want to know the Lord BETTER
Sometimes this is about information and learning more
ULTIMATELY THOUGH…
The goal is TRANSFORMATION
It’s not just about KNOWLEDGE
It is about CONVERSION
Sometimes it’s PROFOUND
Sometimes it’s DEEP
Sometimes it’s AMAZING
And sometimes it’s…WHAT????
So today we start Article 2 in Chapter 2 of Section 1: Revelation
We are talking about the TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION
Well, it’s TRADITION
Tradition means “to hand on”
How have we received Revelation?
How have we received Sacred Scripture?
It has been handed on in TWO WAYS:
ORALLY
IN WRITING
We are familiar with the IN WRITING PART because we have gone through The Bible
BUT ALSO…
Divine Revelation has also been handed on to us ORALLY through the Apostles’ preaching
So we are going to talk about Apostolic Tradition over the next few days
The Bible didn’t just drop out of the sky
It was created IN TIME
Just like Jesus!!
Here is Christianity
Here is THE WORD MADE FLESH and DWELT AMONGST US
This is the GREAT MYSTERY of Christianity
If anyone tries to remove Christ from HISTORY
If anyone tries to remove Divine Revelation from HISTORY
If anyone tries to remove the fact that The Bible was handed to us IN TIME by certain individuals in a certain particular place in a certain particular time because they had encountered the FULLNESS OF REVELATION in Jesus
So we are also going to refer to a document called Dei Verbum aka The Word of God
During The Second Vatican Council, one of the most important documents that came out of it was The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation aka Dei Verbum
This means it’s almost as weighty as you can get
It is what is REQUIRED to believe about Revelation for ALL THE FAITHFUL
So Fr. Mike is going to quote Dei Verbum a lot
It is SO POWERFUL
You can read through Dei Verbum yourself and it won’t bog you down
There may be some challenging sections
BUT…
IT IS SO ACCESSIBLE
We are going to be exposed to the way in which God has revealed Himself
Here is the way Divine Revelation has come to us through Apostolic Tradition
So let’s pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you thanks and praise as we begin this day. We just ask you to please be with us. Open our minds and open our hearts so that we can receive what you want to hand on to us. What has been handed down from the very beginning that you, Lord Jesus, that you had revealed yourself in your fullness to the Apostles. And they have handed that on to us. You gave them your Holy Spirit to enlighten and enliven their Faith and they have handed that on to us. Help us to receive that today. Help us to receive what has been handed on so that we can not just know about this, not just know about you, but that we can live it and we can love you. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen”
So let’s focus on a couple of things
This is all about Tradition
Tradition means “handing on”
Remember that Jesus is THE FULLNESS
God has no more FULLER REVELATION TO GIVE
NO MORE REVELATION TO GIVE
JESUS IS THE FULLNESS OF REVELATION
So how did that Revelation come to us?
Remember that it is coming from God’s Love
1 Timothy 2:4 says, “God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, that is, of Christ Jesus.”
There are some people who actually believe that God doesn’t want EVERY HUMAN BEING to be saved
That goes against what we believe as Catholic Christians
We KNOW that God wants EVERY HUMAN BEING TO BE SAVED
We have proof of that here in 1 Timothy 2:4
So how did this TRUTH that Jesus revealed in Himself, in His deeds, and in His words, come to us?
It came through APOSTOLIC PREACHING
The preaching of the APOSTLES
This is handed on in two ways
ORALLY
IN WRITING
We are familiar with the IN WRITING PART because that is The Bible
Sometimes we forget the ORALLY PART
We recognize that this is JUST AS IMPORTANT
IN FACT…
We recognize that we wouldn't even have The Bible if it weren’t for the ORAL TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES!!
RIGHT??
We need BOTH Scripture and Tradition as the source of Divine Revelation
IN FACT…
St. Paul wrote another Letter to Timothy
2 Timothy 2:2, “What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
What’s implied there is St. Paul, who is entrusted orally the TEACHING OF DIVINE REVELATION to Timothy and tells him to do that as well
IN FACT…
It implies THREE GENERATIONS of handing on the teaching
TRADITION IS NOT A BAD WORD!!
Tradition means “to hand on”
IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO GET THIS!!
We WOULD NOT HAVE Sacred Scripture without Sacred Tradition
IN FACT…
Maybe you caught this…
Paragraph 78 talks about the sayings of the Holy Fathers
“The sayings of the holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition…”
So what does it mean HOLY FATHERS?
It is a reference to the PATRISTIC FATHERS
EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
These are people like St. Clement
St. Ignatius
St. Irenaeus
St. Tertullian
St. Origen
These are all individuals who are known as the EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
They talked about this reality of APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
IN FACT…
Pope Clement, in 80 AD wrote his letter to the Corinthians
He highlights Apostolic Succession
He writes how it is EXPECTED
He writes about how it is NORMAL
IN FACT…
It is THE WAY that the FULLNESS OF GOD’S REVELATION IN JESUS CHRIST HAS BEEN HANDED ON TO US!!
Pope Clement said, “Through countryside and city, the Apostles preached. And they appointed their earliest converts, testing them by the Spirit to be bishops and deacons of future believers. Nor was this a novelty, for bishops and deacons had been written about a long time earlier. Our Apostles knew, through our Lord Jesus, that there would be strife for the office of Bishop. For this reason therefore, having received perfect foreknowledge, they appointed those who had already been mentioned and afterwards added the further provision that if they should die, other approved men should succeed to their ministry.”
In the year 80 AD Pope Clement wrote to the Corinthians and described APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
When Judas died, and they replaced him with Matthias, that wasn’t just replacing one so they had 12
That is with the death of EVERY SINGLE APOSTLE there is the NEXT BISHOP who was CALLED, who was ORDAINED, and who was ENTRUSTED with that same authority that the ORIGINAL APOSTLES had
THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!
THIS IS REMARKABLE!!
Why is this the point?
Not only because there is a structure
Not only because the Body of Christ is visible in the world
BUT…
What is the goal of this?
Paragraph 79 says, “God, who spoke in the past, continues to converse with the Spouse of his beloved Son.”
God has revealed Himself FULLY IN JESUS CHRIST
BUT…
HE CONTINUES TO SPEAK WITH US!!
HE CONTINUES TO SPEAK TO US EVEN TODAY!!
Yes, we can pick up The Bible and read the Word of God and we can HEAR God speaking to us
God continues to converse with HIS CHURCH, 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 dwell in them in all its richness.”
THAT IS THE GOAL!!
God wants to communicate to us THE FULL TRUTH
There are many of us who have PARTIAL TRUTH
Many of us have a SLIVER OF THE TRUTH
BUT…
Jesus Christ has revealed to His Church…
And The Church has revealed to us…
THE FULL TRUTH!!
WHY??
SO THAT THE WORD OF CHRIST CAN DWELL IN US IN ALL ITS RICHNESS!!
THIS IS SUCH A GIFT!!
THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!
We want to be able to receive the baton
If Tradition is like a relay race and the racers that are coming for us are handing on DIVINE REVELATION and they are handing on SCRIPTURE and they are handing on TRADITION and they are handing on ALL OF THE GOODNESS AND RICHNESS THAT GOD HAS GIVEN TO HIS PEOPLE
Then we want to take that baton and RUN WITH IT
We want to take that baton and HAND IT ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION
THIS IS WHAT HAS BEEN ENTRUSTED TO US!!
IT WAS ENTRUSTED TO THE APOSTLES!!
IT WAS ENTRUSTED TO THE BISHOPS!!
AND HERE WE ARE!!
AS THE BODY OF CHRIST
AS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
AS THE CHURCH BEING INVITED TO LIVE IN THE FULLNESS OF JESUS CHRIST IN ALL HIS RICHNESS!!
IT IS A HIGH CALL!!
IT IS A HIGH CHALLENGE!!
So take that BATON and run with it and hand it on!!
Fr. Mike isn’t strong enough so please pray for Fr. Mike
Fr. Mike is praying for YOU!!
Please pray for each other!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
Scripture References & Reflections
- compiled by Andrew Adamany
Bible Translation - RSVCE
CCC 74 "God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth": that is, of Christ Jesus. Christ must be proclaimed to all nations and individuals, so that this revelation may reach to the ends of the earth"
1 Timothy 2:1–4
"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
John 14:6–7
"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him.”
"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."
2 Corinthians 1:20–22
"For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God. But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."
CCC 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."
Matthew 28:18–20
"And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority 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 lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
Romans 1:1–6
"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ"
CCC 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"
1 Thessalonians 2:13
"And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers."
- 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".
Jude v3
"Beloved, being very eager to write to you of our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."
CCC 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." 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."
2 Timothy 2:1–2
"You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
Titus 1:5–7
"This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you, if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of being profligate or insubordinate. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless"
1 Timothy 5:21–22
"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without favor, doing nothing from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor participate in another man’s sins; keep yourself pure."
CCC 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."
John 16:12–13
“I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."
1 Corinthians 11:1–2
"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you."
2 Thessalonians 2:15
"So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter."
Acts 2:42
"And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."
CCC 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 dwell in them in all its richness."
Colossians 3:14–17
"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.:
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