Lesson 8 The Sacred Tradition

By means of sacred tradition, “the Church, in its doctrine, life and

worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that it itself
is, all that it believes” (DV 8)

The Term Tradition

Tradition – comes from the Latin word “tradition” which means
“handing on”

Apostolic Tradition
The traditions of faith and life that come from the Apostles
Apostolic Tradition is the handing on of all of God’s revelation from the
beginning of human history to the time of the Apostles, into our own
day

Tradition, in general, is the collective acceptance of truths and a way of

life in the community.
Can be taken either as the process by which divine revelation, coming
from Jesus Christ through the apostles, is communicated and unfolded
in the community of the Church. It is the process of communication by
which God’s word and the corresponding way of life, coming from Christ
through his apostles, become continually and freshly present in the
Church in every age.
Or it can be taken as the content of the revelation thus communicated.
It refers to the content of the message and norms of life that the Church
receives and transmits: dogma, doctrines of faith, divine law,
sacraments, liturgical rites, institutions, ministry, customs, etc.

Sacred Tradition can be Identify as:

Objective Tradition: pertains to the object, i.e. that which is handed
over (“what”)
Active Tradition: pertains to the process of handing over (“how”)
Subjective Tradition: pertains to that who hands over (“who”)
- Historically, it is the Church acting in community through time
- Transcendentally, it is the Holy Spirit who goes beyond the limited
agents acting in time.
- Magisterium is the subject of Tradition in Scripture and History in
preaching of the true faith and guarding against falsehood.

Tradition is the transmission of faith and Christian life, transformed in

our lives into Christian behavior, profession of faith before men, and
praise of God.
The living Tradition of the Church, which includes Scripture, is the
channel through which God’s self-revelation comes to us.

- In the wider meaning of the word, tradition refers to the whole

process by which the Church “hands-on” (the literal meaning of
the word tradition) its faith to each new generation.
- This handing on occurs through preaching, catechesis, teaching,
devotions, gestures (e.g., the sign of the cross), doctrines, and
indeed the Bible itself. In the narrow meaning of the term,
tradition refers to the content of the Church’s post-apostolic
teaching.
- The Second Vatican Council opted for the wider meaning of the
term: “The Church, in its teaching, life, and worship, perpetuates
and hands-on to all generations all that it is itself, all that it
believes” (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, n. 8).
- The Church’s tradition is its lived and living faith.

Sources of Apostolic Tradition

The Apostles received divine revelation from:
The Old Testament – i.e. the patrimony and history of the Law and the
Prophets
What Jesus said and did – e.g. the meaning of Redemption through
suffering, the Eucharist, beatitudes, morality of the eyes etc…
All that the Holy Spirit taught the Apostles – e.g. that the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit are all truly God, that they were supposed to institute
successors, a deeper meaning of the resurrection of the body, etc…

The apostles passed on revelation In two ways

Sacred Tradition
- Their oral preaching, the example of their lives, their institutions
and practices, the way they worshiped God
- “What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to
faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim 2:2)
Sacred Scripture
- The written word is inspired by the Holy Spirit

Forms of Apostolic Tradition

Apostolic Tradition includes Scripture and Tradition which form one
deposit of faith
“Stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us,
either by word of mouth or by letter.” (2 Thes 2:15)

Giving the Apostolic Tradition

The Apostles entrusted the one deposit of faith (scripture and tradition)
to:
- Their successors the bishops who authoritatively guided the
understanding of the faith
- The whole Church who receives, believes, and lives the apostolic
tradition

Order of Apostolic Tradition

Order of Events of Apostolic Tradition
(1) History of the Old Testament
(2) The Revelation of Jesus Christ
(3) The Holy Spirit who taught the apostles
(4) Apostolic Preaching
(5) Writing of the New Testament Scriptures
(6) Passing on both tradition and scripture to the successors of the
apostles
(7) Received by the whole Church to our own day

Oral Tradition: Big “T” and little “t”

Big “T” Tradition – This refers to the oral tradition that began with the
apostles and which has been handed down through the ages
All in the big “T” tradition is essential to our faith and is guarded by the
Holy Spirit
Little “t” traditions – These traditions come from the Church and can be
kept, changed, or abandoned under the guidance of the Magisterium
e.g. fasts, liturgy, devotions, vestments, theological expressions,
etc…

Magisterium – The teaching office of the Church

- The pope who is the successor of Peter and
- The bishops who are the successors of the apostles
God has entrusted the Magisterium with the task of authentically
interpreting and guarding the deposit of faith, i.e. Scripture and
Tradition
- “Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you
through the laying on of my hands…guard the truth that has been
entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit” (1 Tim 1:6,14)

Tradition, Scripture, Magisterium

- Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium are
connected in such a way that one cannot stand without the others
- By the power of the Holy Spirit, all three individually and together
led to salvation

- Without tradition, the scriptures could not be properly interpreted

- Without the Magisterium, tradition could not be preserved
- Without the scriptures, the Magisterium would not have the
inspired record of events