Faith and Revelation
Knowing God Through
Sacred Scripture
Chapter 3
The Church Transmits the
Revelation of Jesus Christ Through
Sacred Tradition and Sacred
Scripture
Chapter Objectives
The student will be able to understand:
•
•
•
•
•
Christ established a Church
The Magisterium
Ecumenical Councils
Apostolic succession
Sacred Tradition and Sacred
Scripture
• Sacred human traditions
• Sources of Sacred Tradition
• The authorship of Sacred
Scripture
• Sacred Scripture is free from
error
• The holiness of Sacred
Scripture
• The literary forms in the
Bible
• The four senses of Scripture
• Global factors in interpreting
the Bible
• How to read the Bible
Keys to Chapter 3
• Christ entrusted Revelation to his Church, which
has a Magisterium, or teaching authority, guarded
by the Holy Spirit.
• The living Sacred Tradition of the Church has
produced Sacred Scripture, written by God and
human authors.
• Sacred Scripture should be interpreted according to
its literary forms and the literal and spiritual sense
its human and divine authors put into it.
In This Chapter We Will Discuss:
• How Jesus intended his message of salvation to be
transmitted until he comes again.
• The role of an Ecumenical Council
• The role of the Magisterium in the transmission and
interpretation of Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture.
• The Deposit of Faith
• The different literary forms in Scripture.
• How to read the Bible, and the role of Sacred Scripture in
the Christian life.
The Church Transmits the
Revelation of Jesus Christ
Lesson Objectives
•Christ established a Church
•The Magisterium
•Ecumenical Councils
•Apostolic Succession
The Church Transmits the Revelation of Jesus
Christ
Basic Questions
Why did Christ establish a Church?
•By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ established a Church
under St. Peter and the Apostles so his Revelation could be
preserved in its entirety and reach all nations without corruption.
The Church Transmits the Revelation of Jesus
Christ
Basic Questions
What is the Magisterium?
•The Magisterium is the name given to the universal teaching
authority of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him,
which guides the members of the Church without error in
matters of Faith and morals through the interpretation of
Sacred Scripture and Tradition.
The Church Transmits the Revelation of Jesus
Christ
Basic Questions
What is an Ecumenical Council?
•One way the Church has exercised her Magisterium is through
Ecumenical Councils.
What is Apostolic Succession?
•The Magisterium is preserved through Apostolic Succession, the
lineage of Catholic bishops through the ages, in which each holds
his office in direct link to one of the Twelve Apostles.
Anticipatory Set
Create a bullet-point summary of
salvation history from the first five
paragraphs of this chapter (p. 56,
“God is not an aloof…”)
Focus Question
What key instrument has God used
to transmit salvation history?
•He has used Sacred Scripture.
Focus Question
What should be each person’s
response to what God reveals?
•The proper response is faith.
Focus Question
How is the Church a motive of
credibility for the truth of Divine
Revelation?
•It has been faithful to Christ for two
millennia despite severe trials.
Focus Question
How is the faithfulness of the
Church promised by Christ?
•When Christ made St. Peter the head of
the Church, he said, “You are Peter, and on
this rock I will build my church, and the
powers of death shall not prevail against it”
(Mt 16:18).
Guided Exercise
Review the objectives (p. 57, “In This
Chapter…”)
What objective do you
understand the best?
Guided Exercise
Why are the following questions of
utmost importance?
How has the Good News revealed by Jesus Christ been
transmitted through the generations?
How can we be sure his message has been handed on
faithfully?
Focus Question
Why is it logical to think God would provide a
means by which his Revelation should be fully
preserved and transmitted in the future?
•Since the Good News is for all people and
all times, it makes sense he would provide a
way for all people to have access to this
Revelation.
Focus Question
How did Christ guarantee his Revelation
would reach all nations unadulterated?
•He established his Church and granted his
teaching authority to the Apostles.
Focus Question
What guarantees the Church can infallibly
transmit the Faith?
•The Holy Spirit guarantees it.
Focus Question
With respect to his message, when was
Christ’s guarantee fulfilled?
•It was fulfilled on Pentecost when the Holy
Spirit descended upon the Apostles.
Focus Question
When was the infallibility guaranteed to the
teaching of the Apostles first seen?
•In the Council of Jerusalem, the Apostles
decided the Gentiles did not have to follow the
Mosaic Law: “It has seemed good to the
Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts 15:28).
Focus Question
What is a model for Ecumenical Councils?
•The Council of Jerusalem is a model.
Focus Question
What is an Ecumenical Council?
•An Ecumenical Council is a meeting at
which bishops from around the world convene
to discuss and debate matters of concern to
the whole Church.
Focus Question
Why are these Councils called ecumenical?
•The Greek oikoumene means the
inhabited world.
Focus Question
What kind of issues have Ecumenical
Councils addressed?
•They have addressed theological issues and
matters of worship and Church discipline.
Focus Question
What is the role of the Ecumenical Council
in the history of the Church?
•These councils served as the primary means by
which bishops discussed and made definitive
decisions about issues facing the entire Church.
Focus Question
Who presides over an Ecumenical Council?
•The Pope or his delegate presides.
Focus Question
What is the effect of decrees of the
Magisterium emanating from an
Ecumenical Council?
•If ratified by the Pope, they are binding on all
Christians.
Focus Question
How many Ecumenical Councils have there
been?
•There have been twenty-one (Nicaea I through
Vatican II).
Focus Question
What is the Magisterium?
•It is the teaching office of the Church;
safeguarded from error by the Holy Spirit, it
transmits Christ’s Gospel faithfully and correctly.
Focus Question
Who constitutes Magisterium?
•The Apostles and their successors comprise it.
Focus Question
What is the sensus fidelium?
•The sense of the faithful is “the whole body of the
faithful who have an anointing that comes from the
holy one cannot err in matters of belief. This
characteristic is shown in the supernatural
appreciation of the faith (sensus fidei) of the whole
people, when, ‘from the bishops to the last of the
faithful’ they manifest a universal consent in
matters of faith and morals.”
Focus Question
Who guides the People of God in knowing
the Faith?
•The sacred teaching authority, or Magisterium,
guides them.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table about the two ways
the Magisterium exercises the charism of infallibility.
Exercise of Infallibility
The Pope alone
The bishops with the Pope
Explanation
Focus Question
What is the infallibility of the Magisterium?
•The Church cannot teach error in matters of
Faith and morals.
Focus Question
What ensures the infallibility of the
Magisterium?
•The Holy Spirit ensures it.
Focus Question
What should be the response of the faithful
to a teaching of the Magisterium when it
proposes a doctrine for belief as divinely
revealed?
•The definitions “must be adhered to with the
obedience of faith.”
Focus Question
Where can examples of the teaching of the
Magisterium be found?
•It can be found, among other places, in creeds and
the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Focus Question
What is the Deposit of Faith?
•It describes the whole content of Divine
Revelation.
Focus Question
What are the twin sources of the Deposit
of Faith?
•Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are its
sources.
Focus Question
How does St. Paul witness to the twin
sources of the Faith?
•He wrote, “Brethren, 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).
•Extension: The phrase word of mouth refers to
Sacred Tradition; by letter refers to Sacred
Scripture.
Focus Question
How are Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture,
and the Magisterium of the Church
connected?
•They work together and none can stand without the
other two.
Guided Exercise
Discuss the following question:
What does St. Matthew teach
about St. Peter’s authority
(16:18-29)?
Focus Question
How do the contemporary terms priest,
bishop, and Pope apply to the Apostles?
•The Apostles were what we would call the first
priests and bishops for the Church, and St. Peter
is regarded as the first Pope.
Focus Question
What is Apostolic Succession?
•The office of bishop has been passed along in an
unbroken continuity from the Apostles to the
present day.
Focus Question
How can a person know the present Pope
traces his authority directly to the Pope?
•There is a record of the 266 Popes from St.
Peter through Pope Benedict XVI.
Focus Question
How did most of the early Popes show
their fidelity to the Gospel?
•They were martyrs for the Faith.
Tradition and Scripture
Lesson Objectives
• Sacred Tradition and Scripture
• Sacred and human traditions
• Sources of Sacred Tradition
• The authorship of Sacred Scripture
• Sacred Scripture is free from error
• The holiness of Sacred Scripture
Tradition and Scripture
Basic Questions
What is the relationship between Sacred Scripture and
Tradition?
•Sacred Scripture is the part of Tradition that was written under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
What is the relationship between Sacred Tradition and human
traditions in the Catholic Faith?
•The Catholic Faith includes both Sacred, unchangeable Tradition
and human, changeable traditions. The Church’s human traditions
grow out of her Sacred Tradition.
Tradition and Scripture
Basic Questions
Where can Sacred Tradition be found?
•Witnesses of Sacred Tradition include the Church’s
liturgies, the writings of the Church Fathers, and
archaeology.
Who is the author of Sacred Scripture?
•Sacred Scripture has two authors : God, its primary
author, and inspired human writers, who faithfully wrote
what God desired.
Tradition and Scripture
Basic Questions
Is Sacred Scripture free from error?
•The Scriptures are both veracious and inerrant.
Why is Scripture sacred?
•The Scriptures are holy because of their sacred
origin, purpose, and precepts.
Anticipatory Set
Read Chapter 67 of St. Justin Martyr’s First
Apology
www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm and
discuss what this passage reveals about
how the early Church worshiped God.
Focus Question
What is Sacred Tradition?
•It is the Word of God received from Christ
through the Apostles that has been handed on
without alteration by the Church under the
protection of the Holy Spirit.
Focus Question
Why is Tradition sacred?
•The Church receives supernatural assistance from
God to transmit the Gospel.
Focus Question
What Scriptural evidence indicates God
gives the Church supernatural assistance?
•Before his Ascension, Christ promised his
Apostles, “I am with you always, to the close of
the age” (Mt 28:20), and he told St. Peter, “The
powers of death shall not prevail against [the
Church]” (Mt 16:18).
Focus Question
How does St. Paul witness Tradition in 2
Timothy?
•He exhorts his disciple St. Timothy to hold fast
to the truth he has been given by the Holy Spirit.
St. Timothy should then entrust this truth to other
faithful men who will be able to pass it on to
others.
Focus Question
Why is it erroneous to argue Revelation
should be based on Sacred Scripture alone?
•Tradition is both logically and chronologically
prior to Scripture. The teachings of Christ were
first passed on orally and later written down.
Focus Question
What is the difference between Sacred
Tradition and Sacred Scripture?
•Sacred Tradition encompasses the entire Deposit
of Faith, while Sacred Scripture refers to the part
of Tradition written down.
Focus Question
Did St. Paul commend the Corinthians for
keeping Tradition?
•Yes; he praised them because they maintained the
traditions he delivered to them.
Focus Question
What are some examples of Sacred
Tradition?
•The Divinity of Christ and the Blessed Trinity
belong to Sacred Tradition.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table about some of the Fathers of the
Church and why they are famous.
Father of the Church
St. Gregory the Great
St. Athanasius
St. Justin Martyr
St. Augustine
St. John Chrysostom
St. Clement of Rome
St. Jerome
St. John Damascene
Famous
A. Being the fourth Pope.
B. Defending the icons.
C. Being a great Christian teacher
(died in the fifth century)
D. Preaching eloquently
E. Being a medieval Pope.
F. Translating the Bible
G. Defeating Arianism
H. Converting from his life as a
pagan philosopher.
Focus Question
How was Christ critical of human
traditions?
•He accused the Pharisees of being too concerned
about traditions of men and neglecting the Sacred
Traditions of God’s Law; “You leave the
commandment of God, and hold fast the
traditions of men” (Mk 7:8).
Focus Question
Are there legitimate human traditions in the
Church?
•Yes.
Focus Question
What is the value and permanence of
human traditions in the Church?
•They have a temporary value and can be developed or
modified.
•Extension: For example, the Church developed the
tradition of plainchant in her liturgy. This did not mean
that polyphonic or other forms of song could not be
introduced in later times.
Focus Question
What are some examples of human
traditions in the Church?
•Architectural forms and artistic treasures are
human traditions.
Focus Question
How do human traditions relate to Sacred
Tradition?
•The Church’s theological disciplinary, liturgical, and
devotional traditions were born in the local churches over
time and express Sacred Tradition in particular
circumstances. In the light of Tradition, these traditions
can be retained, modified, or abandoned under the
guidance of the Magisterium.
Guided Exercise
Complete a focused reading on the paragraphs “As
Pope Leo XIII taught…” and “The divine action of
inspiration…” (p. 68) and then discuss:
What is meant by the word inspired in
these paragraphs?
Focus Question
What are three sources of Sacred Tradition
from the early Church?
•Sources include the Church’s liturgies, the writings of
Church Fathers, and archaeological remains.
•Extension: Here source refers to a witness to
Sacred Tradition found in these places;
Tradition was not created there.
Focus Question
What are the criteria used to recognize
someone as a Father of the Church?
•He must be of antiquity, exemplify holiness of life, and
be orthodox in his belief.
Focus Question
Who are the Apostolic Fathers?
•They are the earliest Fathers of the Church;
they wrote during the first and at the beginning
of the second century and were disciples of the
Apostles.
Focus Question
Who are some of the Apostolic Fathers?
•The text names Sts. Clement of Rome,
Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of
Smyrna.
Focus Question
Why do the Fathers of the Church have
exceptional doctrinal authority?
•The handed on the Faith received from the
apostolic Church.
Focus Question
How does Sacred Scripture relate to Sacred
Tradition?
•Sacred Scripture is the part of Sacred
Tradition written down because of the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Focus Question
Who is the principal author of Sacred
Scripture?
•God the Holy Spirit is its principal author.
Focus Question
To whom is Sacred Scripture entrusted?
•It is entrusted to the Church.
Focus Question
Who are the two authors of Scripture.
•God and the human writers are both true
authors of the Scriptures.
Guided Exercise
Complete a bullet-point summary of
the section “The Truth of Sacred
Scripture” (p.68).
Focus Question
What does it mean to say God is the author
of Scripture?
•The Holy Spirit did not simply assist the
human writers but actually authored what they
wrote. Inspiration is nothing less than divine
authorship.
Focus Question
What effect did God’s inspiration (or divine
authorship of Scripture) have on the Sacred
Authority?
•It did not in any way diminish the role of the
human writers; rather, it enabled them to write
the truths revealed by God, who preserved
them from error.
Focus Question
Which Person of the Blessed Trinity is the
author of Sacred Scripture?
•Although it is attributed to the Holy Spirit,
like all the words of God, the inspiration
given to the writers was an action of all three
divine Persons of the Blessed Trinity.
Focus Question
What does it mean to say a Gospel is
“according to St. Mark”?
•God used St. Mark as an instrument to
write a Gospel.
Focus Question
Why is the Bible supernatural?
•It has a supernatural origin, God, and it has
supernatural content, the wisdom of God.
Focus Question
What are the two types of truth revealed in
the Bible.
•God has revealed supernatural truths about his
intimate life and the eternal decrees concerning
human salvation. He has also revealed natural
truths people could reach through reason but which
he wished to make known easily, with absolute
certainty, and without error.
Focus Question
To what does the sanctity of the Bible
refer?
•It refers to the moral perfection of the doctrine
contained it it.
Focus Question
What are the three aspects of the sanctity
of the Bible?
•They are its divine origin, its purpose, and its
precepts.
Focus Question
How is the Bible holy in its divine origin?
•In Scripture, evil is rejected and good is upheld.
Focus Question
How is the Bible holy in its purpose?
•Its purpose is the salvation of all. The New
Testament explicitly reveals the channels of grace
Christ instituted by which man can become holy.
Focus Question
How is the Bible holy in its precepts?
•The Old Testament reveals precepts of the natural
and moral law. In the New Testament, Christ
perfects the moral precepts of the Old Testament by
declaring their true meaning, establishing the best
way of fulfilling them, and teaching his disciples how
to achieve greater sanctity.
Fundamentals of
Interpreting the Scriptures
Lesson Objectives
•The literary forms in the Bible
•The four senses of Scripture
•Factors in interpreting the Bible
Fundamentals of Interpreting the Scriptures
Basic Questions
What literary forms are found in the Scriptures?
•One factor to understanding the Bible is the literary form in
which a passage is written, for example, history, law, prophecy,
apocalyptic, wisdom literature, poetry, or an epistle.
Fundamentals of Interpreting the Scriptures
Basic Questions
In what four senses may a scriptural passage be
interpreted?
•Every passage of Scripture has a literal meaning. Many
passages can also be read in a spiritual sense: allegorical, moral,
and anagogical.
Fundamentals of Interpreting the Scriptures
Basic Questions
What global factors must be considered in interpreting
the Bible?
•In interpreting Scripture, one must keep in mind the intention
of the human divine authors, the content and unity of the whole
Scripture, the Tradition of the Church, and the analogy of
faith.
Anticipatory Set
Read aloud the following passage from the
Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:28-30) and discuss
the following question:
On what principles should a ‘literalist’
(as opposed to literal) interpretation be
rejected?
Focus Question
Why can there be no contradiction among
the passages of Sacred Scripture?
•God is the author of the whole Bible.
Focus Question
What is the nature of an apparent
contradiction between two passages of
Scripture?
•It is improperly interpreted or understood;
otherwise, there is no contradiction.
Focus Question
What aspects of history does Scripture
reveal?
•The Bible narrates historical events as well as the
divine meaning and theological purposes of those
events.
Focus Question
The Bible is free from error. What does
this not guarantee?
•It does not guarantee individuals can interpret it
correctly.
Focus Question
What are some factors to be considered to
understand the intent of the human author
of a book of the Bible?
•The conditions of the time and culture; the literary forms
used at the time; and the customary and characteristic
patterns of perception, speech, and narrative must be
considered.
Focus Question
What is a literary form?
•It is a style of writing that communicates a message
through particular creative means.
Focus Question
What are some literary forms found in
Sacred Scripture?
•They include historical, juridical, prophetic, apocalyptic,
wisdom, poetic, and epistles.
Guided Exercise
Complete a focused reading of the paragraph
“Since Sacred Scripture..” (p. 69) and keep in
mind the following question:
Why is it necessary to know the Catholic
Faith in order to interpret Scripture
properly?
Focus Question
Is Genesis a collection of fictional stories?
•No. These event occurred; however, they are told to us in a
way that makes the importance of the meaning of what
happened most apparent.
Guided Exercise
Using the vocabulary at the end of the
chapter, answer the following question:
What is the difference between a literal
and a literalistic reading of a text?
Focus Question
What is a good method to begin to
understand a book of the Bible?
•It is best to try to understand the literal sense first. The
literal sense is the meaning intended by the Sacred Author.
Focus Question
What are some literal questions to ask of a
story?
•Who is in the story? What happens in the story? Why
does the action happen? What is the result of the action?
Focus Question
How does a literal approach to the Book of
Revelation help the reader understand the
use of lampstands and bowls?
•We do not know if these objects exist in Heaven, but
their use in the context of the book shows they figuratively
draw connections in the minds of the readers to the most
sacred elements of religious worship.
Focus Question
How does a literal approach to the creation
stories in the Book of Genesis help the
reader to understand the author’s intentions?
•The unfolding of creation indicates creation itself is to be
seen as a temple for the worship of God.
Focus Question
What are the two literary senses of Sacred
Scripture?
•They are the literal and the spiritual.
Focus Question
Which literary sense is primary?
•The literal is primary because every passage has a literal
sense.
Focus Question
What is the literal sense?
•It is everything the Holy Spirit intended to express
through the words themselves.
Focus Question
Give an example of the literal sense of a
biblical passage.
•“God created the heavens and the earth: (Gn 1:1) means
God made everything out of nothing.
Focus Question
What is the literal sense proper?
•It is the direct or ordinary meaning of the words.
Focus Question
What is the literal sense improper?
•This sense understands words when taken in their
figurative (or metaphorical) meaning.
Focus Question
What is the spiritual sense?
•This interpretation of Scripture sees people and events as
signs of something beyond themselves.
Focus Question
Why is it possible for the Old Testament to
have a spiritual sense even though it was
written over thousands of years by different
Sacred Authors?
•Because God is the author of both the Old and New
Testaments and he is infinetly wise, he could have disposed
the events and words of the Old Testament so things of the
past typified (or prefigured) those to come in the New
Testament.
Focus Question
Are all senses present in every passage in the
Bible?
•The literal sense proper is always present. The literal sense
improper and the spiritual senses may or may not be
depending on the passage.
Focus Question
How can a reader discover a Sacred Author’s
intention?
•The reader must take into account the conditions of the
Sacred Author’s time and culture, the literary genres in use
at his time, and his modes of feeling, speaking, and
narrating.
Focus Question
What three criteria did the Council of Fathers
of Vatican II indicate to help interpret
Scripture correctly?
•One should pay attention to the content and unity of the
whole of Scripture, the living Tradition of the Church, and
the analogy of faith.
Focus Question
What is the analogy of faith?
•It refers to the coherence of the truths of the Faith among
themselves and within the whole plan of God’s Revelation.
How to Read the Bible
Lesson Objectives
•How to read the Bible
How to Read the Bible
Basic Questions
How should one read the Bible?
•One should read the Bible under the Church’s guidance—
beginning with the more accessible books—in a spirit of prayer
and with faith.
Anticipatory Set
Read the prologue to St. Luke’s Gospel (1:1-4)
and discuss the following question:
Why might the Gospel of St. Luke be
a good place to begin to read and study
the Bible?
Focus Question
How does the Bible reveal how it should be
interpreted?
•Christ granted his teaching authority, or Magisterium, to
the Apostles; they passed on this authority to their
successors, the bishops. Therefore, the Scriptures indicate
people should look to the Magisterium to help interpret the
Bible.
Focus Question
What twofold apostolic authority do bishops
possess to understand the Bible?
•This authority consists of:
1. The Church’s long study of the truths of the Faith;
and
2. The supernatural assistance of the Holy Spirit as the
teachers of the Church.
Focus Question
Can each bishop interpret the Scriptures
without error?
•No; this authority belongs to the Church as a whole,
not an individual bishop.
Guided Exercise
Complete a paragraph shrink on the
paragraph “Genesis and Exodus…”
(p. 75).
Focus Question
What is one of the best resources
available to understand how the Church
interprets Scripture?
•In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the
doctrines of the Church are explained; it is replete
with quotations from Sacred Scripture and the Fathers,
council, and saints of the Church.
Focus Question
Why is it true to say the more familiar a
reader is with the many parts of the
Bible, the richer his or her reading of it
becomes?
•Every part of the Bible exists in reference to other
parts of the Bible.
Focus Question
Where is a good place to start to study
the Bible?
•St. Luke’s Gospel is a good place to start because he
is a great storyteller and his Gospel was written
especially for people who knew little about Jewish
customs and traditions.
Focus Question
Why is it important to pray before
reading the Bible?
•God is the perfect guide when one comes into contact
with his Word.
Focus Question
In what context is Scripture best
understood?
•It is best understood within the context of a life of
prayer.
Focus Question
Why is faith the essential condition to
read the Bible?
•Faith provides the right dispositions to read the Bible
because of the Fall and the resultant pride and
darkened intellect, a person may not want to
understand what the Bible really teaches.
Guided Exercise
Complete a focused reading of the paragraph
“The Church allows…” (p. 77) and discuss
the following question:
How does attending Mass regularly help
a person understand the Scriptures?
Conclusion
Compose a bullet-point
summary of the Conclusion (p.
77-78) proving no more than
one point per paragraph.