FAITH OF OUR FATHERS

New Zealand Tablet, 14 July 1921, Page 33

FAITH OF OUR FATHERS

[A (Weekly Instruction for Young and Old.] Second Article: Tradition: -- 12. Tradition, or the secondary treasury of faith, is the unwritten word of God, as the Scriptures are the written word of God. It is, in fact, the supplement to the Scriptures, and may he defined as the assemblage of those revealed truths which are not written in the sacred books, but which were first taught by the voice of Jesus Christ and the Apostles, and have ever since been preserved in the Church by an uninterrupted transmission, either in writing or by word of mouth.

We may cite, as examples of traditional dogmas, thecanon of the inspired books, the perpetual virginity ofi the Holy Mother of God, the precise number of the Sacraments, etc.

13. Tradition, no less than the Scriptures, has come down to us in all its purity, transmitted, either by constant and universal practice, as the Sacraments have been, or by teaching .and the writings of the holy Fathers and doctors of the Church.

14. The writings of the Fathers and doctors, though not divinely inspired, possess the highest authority, and merit the most profound respect. Their authors were mostly bishops, as holy as they were learned. They represent the public teaching of the Church from age to age-,, from the time of the Apostles to our own days. The most celebrated amongst them are St. Ambrose, St. Augustine',, St. Jerome, St. Leo, St. Gregory, St. John Chrysostom,. St. Basil, St. Athanasius, St. Cyril, St. Bernard, and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Their writings are sometimes called, collectively, tradition, because they are the great channel by which divine tradition is transmitted, and because they are the living testimony which the teaching Church has given through all ages to all truths of faith.

The meaning of the word tradition, as applied to the writings of the Fathers, must, however, lie distinguished from the same term when used in its strict sense to designate all doctrine which is not contained in the Scriptures,

Third Article: Doctrinal Authority of the Church.

15. We have seen that all revealed truth which composes the sacred deposit of the faith is contained in the double treasury of the Scriptures and. divine tradition.

This double treasury had to lie preserved from age to age, and the dogmas contained therein had to be taught and explained in their true sense to all generations. For this reason Jesus Christ established His Church to be the faithful guardian and infallible interpreter of His divine doctrine, the pillar and groundwork of truth.

16. In the present discussion, when we speak of the Church, we mean the teaching Church; that is to say, St. Peter and the Apostles at first, and, after them, the Popes and bishops and all the priests who legitimately have instructed, and do instruct, the faithful by means of preaching and teaching. There is, however, a distinction to be made between bishops and simple priests: the first have the mission not only of preaching, but also of defining true doctrine, and of condemning error; the latter are simply intended to preach' to the faithful that which is defined and proposed by the episcopate. , We have seen above that Jesus Christ bequeathed to His Church the gift of infallibility, which means the grace to be. ever secure from all error in faith, or in the teaching of faith. Infallibility in teaching, as the term itself indicates, is the attribute of the teaching Church, and tho preserving principle of the true faith. The Saviour desired that throughout the course of ages the faith of His children should remain intact, and that their minds should not vacillate or be carried away by the tide of human opinion; therefore He would give to His Church a lasting and permanent principle of certainty and of light. To accomplish this, it was necessary either that the Son of God should remain in person on the earth, or that He should establish in His stead an oracle, a magistracy which should be infallible like Himself. He chose the latter means, by giving to His teaching Church the prerogative of infallibility, or, in other words, a spe-

cial assistance from the Holy Ghost which should always guard it from all error in ( teaching and in faith, “The spirit of truth shall abide with you, and shall be in you ” “The Paraclete, the Holy Ghost,” He says, “whom the Father will send in My name. He will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you” (John xiv., 17-21). By this outpouring of the Holy Ghost the Church is made participator in the infallibility of Jesus Christ Himself, as He declares in these words, “He that heareth yom heareth Me; he that despiseth you despiseth Me” (Luke) x. 16). This perpetual teaching of Christ in His Church' was prefigured by Our Lord’s preaching from the bark of: Simon Peter, when, seated in the fisherman’s boat He' taught the multitude that was assembled on the shores of the lake of Genezareth. He continues to instruct the.nations in the Catholic Church, which is the spiritual bark of Peter.

_ 17 There are, besides the words quoted above, others which demonstrate the infallibility of the teaching Church • “As the Father hath sent Me, so I also send you,” our Lord said to His Apostles (John xx. 21). “Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that belie veth not (your teaching) shall be condemned” (Mart xvi. 15, 16). “Go, teach all nations; teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you And! behedd, J am with you all days, even to the consummation! of the world” (Matt, xxviii. 20), The Divine Founder more especially endowed St. Peter; with the privilege of infallibility when He said to him , confiding His whole flock to his care, “Feed My lambsfeed My sheep.” Shortly before the Good Shepherd had' said, “Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat (to shake your Faith)but I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not; and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethern” (Luke xxii. 31).

By these divine and necessarily efficacious words the Son of God endowed St. Peter personally, and also His whole teaching Church, with the gift of infallibility