Apostolic Tradition

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

Section One: "I Believe"- "We Believe"

Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man

Article 2: THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION

This is not any “tradition” we are speaking of, but the sacred Tradition
(with a capital ‘T’) given by Christ to the Apostles and thus to His Church. 
This Tradition is unlike any other in existence because it is made alive by God.

1. The Apostolic Tradition

God has a desire for us to come to the truth through Jesus Christ. God had preached the gospel through his apostles in two ways: orally and in writing. The spoken words preached by the apostles have come to life through the Holy Spirit. The apostles also committed the message of salvation to writing. 

The full and living Gospel is preserved in the Church by the apostles leaving bishops as their successors (teaching authority). Tradition is the living transmission, which is accomplished through the Holy Spirit- yet, is different from the Sacred Scripture. Proof of this living Tradition is seeing through the holy Fathers as they showed its riches pouring out practice into life to the Church. 

God's self-communication made through his Word in the Holy Spirit is present and active in the church... "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."

Comment: The Apostolic tradition comes to life through the apostles, and even more so through God's son Jesus Christ. The Gospel has been written as God communicates to us, made possible through the Holy Spirit so that his voice can  reign through this Earth and reachable to all believers. 

Christ Jesus - "Mediator and Fullness of all Revelation"

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

Section One: "I Believe"- "We Believe"

Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man

Article 1: THE REVELATION OF GOD

Jesus Christ 

III. Christ Jesus - "Mediator and Fullness of all Revelation"

God spoke to us through his word. The message had been revealed through the prophets before but later spoke to us by his Son Jesus Christ. "In him he has said everything." Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish behavior but also of offending him, by not fixing his eyes entirely upon Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty, St. John of the Cross comments on Hebrews 1:1-2   

No new public revelation is expected, with Christ there is a new and definite covenant. Through time other revelations have been recognized. It is not the role of the Christian faith to improve the Revelation of Christ.

Stages of God's Revelation

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

Section One: "I Believe"- "We Believe"

Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man

Article 1: THE REVELATION OF GOD

II. The Stages of Revelation 

"In the beginning God makes himself known."

God reveals himself to us from the very beginning starting with our first parents. They were called to come in intimate communion in which he clothed them with resplendent grace and justice. This revelation was not broken by sin, but was buoyed by God through hope of salvation, promising redemption. He wishes eternal life for all to all those who wait for him in righteous doing. 

Covenant of Noah after the flood was another stage or revelation by God. He gives expression of the "divine economy" in which each had their own families and language in their nations. This division is to limit the pride of fallen humanity and to continue united in its ambition. However, both the polytheism and the idolatry threaten to break this with paganism. Through the times of Gentiles, this covenant remains until the proclamation of the Gospel. Heights of sanctity are expressed in the sacred scripture to those who live according to the covenant: "gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." 

God calls Abram and names him Abraham to gather scattered humanity. Through him all nations of the earth would be blessed. Once all come to believe they would be the root onto which the Gentiles would be grafted. 

God formed Israel as his people when he set them free from slavery in Egypt after the patriarchs. The covenant of Mount Sinai through Moses was established so people would serve him the "one living true God, the provident Father and just judge, and so that they would look for the promised Savior." 

God forms his people in hope of salvation through the prophets with a new everlasting Covenant "intended for all, to be written on their hearts." Prophets proclaim a "radical redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations." 

Comment: God has revealed himself to us from the very beginning. These stages were covenants he continuously made through time, starting with our first parents, Noah, Abraham, forming his people of Israel, and prophets. He reveals salvation as we commit to come in communion with him remaining in his light. 

"Plan of Loving Goodness"

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

Section One: "I Believe"- "We Believe"

Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man

Article 1: THE REVELATION OF GOD

Man can come to know God through natural reason. Yet, we may lack full understanding of the order of "divine Revelation." God has revealed himself to man freely- his loving goodness by sending his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. 

I. God Reveals His "Plan of Loving Goodness"

"It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, and the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature."

God communicates to us as he reveals himself to us, enabling us with the capabilities of responding to him, know him, and love him. God's divine plan of Revelation involves a pedagogy. God prepares us as we welcome his plan by stages. 

Comment: The Word of God dwells in us. The Word became the Son of man in order for us to accustom ourselves to perceive God. God also accustoms to dwell in us. We became accustomed to each other according to God's will. Revelation of God undoubtedly unfolds. 

Speak About God (How)

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

Section One: "I Believe"- "We Believe"

Chapter One: Man's Capacity for God

We can plant a seed, but
only God can grow the tree. 

IV. How Can We Speak About God? 

Our knowledge of God is limited and so is our language. We start off by taking creatures as our starting point so we can name God, according to our own capabilities. 

As God's creations, all creatures resemble God in one way or another- especially man who was created in the imagine and likeness of God. The beauty each carries within, expresses and reflects the infinite beauty of God... "for from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator." 

God creates all creatures. We should, therefore, work on purifying our language of all in which it is limited, image-bound or imperfect. We must not confuse our image with "inexpressible, incomprehensible, invisible, and ungraspable"- with our human representations. Our language always falls short to God's mystery.  

Since we can only use human language to express, our words cannot attain God himself and are unable to express him in his "infinite simplicity." More so, between the "Creator and creature no similitude can be expressed without implying an even greater dissimilitude;" and "concerning God, we cannot grasp what he is but only what he is not, and how other things stand in relation to him."

Comment: We experience God through our five senses. Because we see his product and results, his creation is what we can undoubtedly witness as we live. We are a form of expression from him, we are living proof of his miracle in creating. We are therefore, able to speak of him starting with what is visible to us... for everything was made by him. I conclude, however, we are limited to express since our language is limited. Yet, outside of the brief written, I believe we can connect with our hearts. What words cannot verbalize, our hearts can feel empower another level of understanding that only comes from God himself. 

Acknowledge God through Church (Why)

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

Section One: "I Believe"- "We Believe"

Chapter One: Man's Capacity for God

Believing in God can help block anxiety and minimize stress,
according to new research that shows distinct brain differences
between believers and non-believers. (Credit: iStockphoto/James Steidl)

III. The Knowledge of God According to the Church

"Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason." 

Created in his image, man is able to welcome God's revelation. 

However, historically, man has continuously struggled to come to know God when relying on reason alone. This obstacle prevents man from the effective and fruitful use of his naturally inborn spirit capabilities. God and man together "transcend the visible order of things," which if deciphered and influenced to human action means and proposes man to self-surrenderer and abnegation. The human mind prevents man from understanding these, due to natural impacts of senses and imagination; even more so, by the "disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin." This in turn, allows for easy self-persuasion to neglect truth, consider God as false and even become doubtful.  

Considering the above, man is therefore, called to need the enlightenment of God's revelation (church). These will not only include things that surpass human understanding but religious moral truths which are not out of reach from man comprehension. This is so we can presently, as a race, come to know God with ease and "with firm certainty and no admixture of error."

Comment: We are born with a natural inclination to come to know God, and there are different ways to come to know him. The above brief, allows me to really acknowledge the church as a holy sacred place in which we come to enlighten ourselves with the truth. We need to continuously seek God in this manner because our minds can deceive us to turn away due to our natural sin. We must recharge our spirits at church... Our spirit, then, can become stronger in faith and nourish a more beautiful relationship with God. 

Ways of Coming to Know God

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

Section One: "I Believe"- "We Believe"

Chapter One: Man's Capacity for God

I took this picture about two years ago... I knew at that moment
I was witnessing God's majestic beauty revealing before my eyes.
 So beautiful, so perfect... thanking our Creator for all his creation. 

II. Ways of Coming to Know God

We are called to know and love God, as we seek Him we discover Him (proofs for the existence of God).  Scientifically, we may not be able to simply prove God, but the proof and certain obtainment of truth relies on "converging and convincing arguments."

"Ways" of approaching God as creation have a "twofold point of departure: the physical world and the human person."

World: We can ratify God when we take a look around; there is "movement, becoming, contingency, and the world's order and beauty." St. Paul writes to the Gentiles about how we come to know and perceive God's invisible nature and eternal power in the things that have been made. St. Augustine contentions the challenge: Questioning the beauties of all surroundings- from the sky, earth, seas, and air itself... He refers to beauty as a profession. For such profession to come to existence there must be a creator, the Beautiful One. 

Human Person: Man questions himself about God's existence "with his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, with his longings for the the infinite and for happiness." All this beholds of his spiritual soul, which is "seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material." The soul can only have its origin in God. 

These twofold points contain within themselves neither their first principle nor their final end, but rather partake in Being. In a different manner, man comes to acknowledge the existence of reality, which is the "first cause and final end of all things," a reality that everyone refers to as God. 

Man's aptitude allows recognition of God. However, intimacy and relationship with God is achieved through God's will as He reveals himself to man and gives man grace to welcome such revelation in faith. "The proofs of God's existence, however, can predispose one to faith and help one to see that faith is not opposed to reason."

Comment: God surrounds us- His creations and as we simply are in the "being."  There is order, patterns, and movement all around us. We can see that someone or something must have put it in order and in movement. Big Band theory coming to mind, I must ask "Who lit the fuse?" Everything is moving, someone had to start it... God did. 

I embrace the idea of by how we come to accept God as an existent reality. Knowing that He exists is not enough, however. We must experience Him through faith- the ability to welcome Him in our hearts, the ability which He granted us. (Another proof on how we are from Him and for Him.) I cannot help but want to close my eyes and just be... feeling His presence.