LESSON 18: THE WORD OF GOD

(The Bible and Sacred Tradition)

1. What is Sacred Tradition?
Sacred Tradition is the unwritten Word of God.
It was spoken and lived by the Apostles and the early disciples.

The early Christians learned everything at the beginning of the Church by means of this Sacred Tradition. Jesus had commanded the Apostles to preach. Later a part of this Tradition was written down. This Tradition, that was written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, produced the New Testament. Tradition and Scripture are both equally the Word of God. Together they form but one sacred deposit of the Faith.

2. Does the Bible speak about Sacred Tradition?
Yes, the Bible speaks about Sacred Tradition. “Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

When St. Paul speaks about an “oral statement” he is speaking about Sacred Tradition. When he is speaking about a “letter of ours” he is speaking about a book of the Bible. We are told by St. Paul to hold fast to both of them.

3. What is the Bible?
The Bible is the written Word of God.
The word “Bible” means “books” in Greek. It is a collection of 73 different books, which took over a thousand years to write.

These books have been divided into chapters and verses. The writing “Matthew 16:18” or “Mt 16:18” refers to the 18^th verse of the 16^th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.

God is the main Author of these books. God used many holy men to write the Bible. The Holy Spirit used them so that what they wrote was only what God wanted them to write.

When the Bible is read, it is God who is speaking to us. Reading God’s Word can gradually transform us, if we read it with faith.

4. What are the two major parts of the Bible?
The two major parts of the Bible are the Old Testament and the New Testament

5. What can you say about the Old Testament?
The Old Testament was written before the coming of Jesus. It has 46 books. It took over 1000 years to write. It is longer than the New Testament. It gives the history of Israel, and prophecies about the future coming of Jesus.

The first person that is mentioned as writing a part of the Bible is Moses: “Moses then wrote down all the words of the Lord…” (Exodus 24:4) According to tradition, Moses wrote most of the first five books of the Old Testament called the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

6. What can you say about the New Testament?
The New Testament is a collection of 27 books written after the coming of Jesus – between 50 AD and 100 AD.
It includes the 4 Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, 21 letters and the book of Revelation.

The New Testament is more important than the Old Testament because it tells us about Jesus.

The Holy Spirit inspired different Apostles and disciples to Jesus to write it.

7. What are the most important books of the Bible, called the “heart” of the Bible by the Catechism of the Catholic Church?
“The Gospels are the heart of all the Scriptures because they are our principal source of the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Savior.” (CCC 125)

The four Gospels are the first four books in the New Testament They tell us about the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. They also give us the words and the teachings of Jesus.
When the Gospels are read at Mass we always stand up and try to listen very carefully. Jesus is speaking to us.

8. What are the names of the 4 Gospels?
The names of the 4 Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

9. How do we know that all the 73 books of the Bible are really inspired by God?
We know that God inspired them because the Pope and the Bishops in union with him have told us that God inspired them. The Church put all of them into one book between the year 350 and 405.

10. Is someone capable of infallibly (without error) interpreting the Word of God, as it is found in the Bible and Sacred Tradition?
Yes, the Pope by himself or in union with the Bishops can infallibly (without error) Interpret the Word of God. Jesus told them, “He who hears you, hears Me.” (Luke 10: 16)

Where do the readings come from that we listen to at Sunday Mass?
The first reading is normally (but not always) taken from the Old Testament. In some way it is related to the Gospel.
The first reading is followed by a Psalm or a part of a Psalm. These are inspired Prayers from the Old Testament. There are 150 Psalms.
We then have a second reading, which is always taken from one of the books of the New Testament (never a Gospel. However)
We then stand to listen to a reading from one of the four Gospels.

If you listen to all the readings attentively every Sunday, after three years, you would have been exposed to the most important parts of the whole Bible.

11. Does the Church want us to read the Bible?
Yes, the Second Vatican Council “earnestly” urged “all” the Christian faithful to read “frequently” the Sacred Scriptures. It cited St. Jerome: “Ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

It noted further, “Prayer should accompany the reading of sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together, for we speak to Him when we pray: we listen to Him when we read the divine sayings.” (The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation of the Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum, 25)

12. How do you use the Bible for prayer?

To use the Bible for prayer you may use the following method.

Find a place where you can be alone with God.
Be aware that God is looking at you with love and humility. Then make an act of reverence.
Ask the Holy Spirit and Mary to teach you how to pray: “Come Holy Spirit through the Immaculate Heart of Mary your well beloved spouse. Teach me how to pray.” You can pray this several times, and continue to pray it throughout your time of prayer
Then read a text from the Gospel. Read it slowly. Reflect on the words while you are reading. Read it again and then again. Recall that God is speaking to you.
What is the text telling me? How does the text affect me> Talk to Jesus and Mary about how the text is affecting you and what it is telling you.
If the Gospel passage has a story about Jesus, imaging that you are there with Jesus. Listen to Him. Speak to Him. Just be there with Him.
If a passage doesn’t affect you, continue to slowly read the next passage.
A lot fruit can always be obtained from meditating upon the suffering and death of Jesus.

It is important to be patient. If you do this twenty minutes to thirty minutes a day, after some days of persevering, you will start to notice that something is happening in your heart, that you are being nourished by the reading and the prayer, and that God is communicating Himself to you.

13. Who is our model for listening attentively to the Word of God?
The Blessed Virgin Mary is our greatest model for listening attentively to the Word of God. “Mary kept all these things reflecting on them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

14. Who are the Fathers of the Church?
The Fathers of the Church were holy and orthodox writers from the early Church, whose special merits the Church has always seen. It is not a title that is explicitly bestowed by the Church like the title “Doctor,” rather it has come from the customary way of speaking of these authors. The most important Latin Fathers were St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St Jerome, and St. Gregory the Great. The most important Greek Fathers were St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St Gregory Nazianzen, and St John Chrysostom. These Fathers are also Doctors of the Church.

15. Who are the Doctors of the Church?
A Doctor of the Church is a saint whose writing and preaching has made a lasting contribution to the Church’s understanding of the Faith. The Church officially names a saint a Doctor. There are 33 Doctors of the Church, “among whom St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274) holds the principal place.”

St Jerome (345-420)

St Jerome as a young man had a dream. In that dream he was taken before the judgment eat of God. He was asked who he was. He said he was a Christian. A voice responded, saying that he was not a Christian, but a follower of Cicero. Cicero was a man who wrote beautiful books. Jerome had spent many hours reading them. After this dream he understood that God wanted him to spend more time reading the Bible. He wanted him to spend more time praying. As a result, he began to pass hours in reading the Bible and in praying. He read the Bible with faith. By reading the Bible God lovingly spoke to his heart. God changed his heart and made him good. By reading the Bible he came to know about Jesus and love Jesus. He later wrote: “Ignorance of Scriptures (the Bible), is ignorance of Christ.”

The Holy Spirit also gave him a great love for Mary. He helped people to understand what the Gospels mean when they speak of the “brothers and sisters” of Jesus. Comparing these passages with others in the Bible he showed us that these “brothers and sisters” were really cousins of Jesus. Mary’s only Child was Jesus. She was also a virgin.

While living in the Holy Land (the land where Jesus and Mary lived) he translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. It took him 30 years to translate it. We call this Bible the Vulgate. It became the official Bible of the Catholic Church for many years.