WHAT IS A CATHOLIC ?
"I delivered unto what I also have received" (I Cor. 15, 3)
A Catholic is one who submits to the Catholic Church in what must be believed to gain heaven (the Credo) and in how to live according to this doctrine (the Commandments, the Sacraments, and the Prayers). In the first place then, a Catholic will learn from the Church how to worship God (First Commandment), through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in particular. In relation to this, the Church will teach how to venerate the Blessed Sacrament and, in a more general way, how to pray to God, what words to use in our basic prayers. The Church is a Mother, and, as all mothers, she teaches her children how to talk to God.
The submission to the Traditional Magisterium of Rome is therefore an essential mark of true Catholicism, and has been so for 2000 years. Faith is to believe the truths revealed by God and proposed by the Church.
Fr D. Couture
The submission to the Traditional Magisterium of Rome is therefore an essential mark of true Catholicism, and has been so for 2000 years. Faith is to believe the truths revealed by God and proposed by the Church.
Fr D. Couture
Definition of the sources of Faith: Sacred Scripture and Tradition (Paragraph numbers refer to Denzinger 1975- DzS Vatican 1, 1870 A.D.)
Vatican I (1870 A.D.) - Dei Filius
DzS 3006: Now this supernatural revelation, according to the belief of the Universal Church, as declared by the Sacred Council of Trent, is contained in written books and unwritten Traditions, which were received by the Apostles from the lips of Christ himself, or came to the Apostles by the dictation of the Holy Spirit, and were passed on as it were from hand to hand until they reached us.
Vatican I (1870 A.D.) - Dei Filius
DzS 3006: Now this supernatural revelation, according to the belief of the Universal Church, as declared by the Sacred Council of Trent, is contained in written books and unwritten Traditions, which were received by the Apostles from the lips of Christ himself, or came to the Apostles by the dictation of the Holy Spirit, and were passed on as it were from hand to hand until they reached us.
Council of Trent (1546 A.D.)
DzS 1501: (…) This [Gospel], of old promised through the Prophets in the Holy Scriptures, [1] our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, promulgated first with His own mouth, and then commanded it to be preached by His Apostles to every creature [2] as the source at once of all saving truth and rules of conduct. It also clearly perceives that these truths and rules are contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions, which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the Apostles themselves, [3] the Holy Ghost dictating, have come down to us, transmitted as it were from hand to hand. Following, then, the examples of the Orthodox Fathers, it receives and venerates with a feeling of piety and reverence all the books both of the Old and New Testaments, since one God is the Author of both; also the Traditions, whAether they relate to Faith or to Morals, as having been dictated either orally by Christ or by the Holy Ghost, and preserved in the Catholic Church in unbroken succession.
DzS 1501: (…) This [Gospel], of old promised through the Prophets in the Holy Scriptures, [1] our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, promulgated first with His own mouth, and then commanded it to be preached by His Apostles to every creature [2] as the source at once of all saving truth and rules of conduct. It also clearly perceives that these truths and rules are contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions, which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the Apostles themselves, [3] the Holy Ghost dictating, have come down to us, transmitted as it were from hand to hand. Following, then, the examples of the Orthodox Fathers, it receives and venerates with a feeling of piety and reverence all the books both of the Old and New Testaments, since one God is the Author of both; also the Traditions, whAether they relate to Faith or to Morals, as having been dictated either orally by Christ or by the Holy Ghost, and preserved in the Catholic Church in unbroken succession.
Proof of that Transmission from God the Father to the Son to the Apostles to us
Sacred Scripture
OLD Testament
Moses (2000 B.C.)
Ex. 3, 15: And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
David (1000 B.C.)
Ps. 21, 5: Our fathers trusted in thee: They trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
Ps. 43, 2: We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the days of old.
Sacred Scripture
OLD Testament
Moses (2000 B.C.)
Ex. 3, 15: And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
David (1000 B.C.)
Ps. 21, 5: Our fathers trusted in thee: They trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
Ps. 43, 2: We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the days of old.
Macchabees (150 B.C.)
1 Mac 2, 19-20: Although all nations obey King Antiochus, so as to depart every man from the service of the law of his fathers, and consent to his commandments, I and my sons, and my brethren will obey the law of our fathers.
NEW Testament
Our Lord has received everything from His Father
Jo 8, 26-28: I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you: howbeit he that sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these speak I unto the world. They perceived not that he spake to them of the Father. Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am [he], and [that] I do nothing of myself, but as the Father taught me, I speak these things.
Jo 14, 31: But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.
He passed it on to the Apostles
Mt 28, 20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Mc 16, 15: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.
Jo 17, 8: For the words which thou gavest me I have given unto them; and they received [them], and knew of a truth that I came forth from thee, and they believed that thou didst send me.
Who received it and passed it on
1 Cor 15, 3: For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received.
2 The 2, 14 (15): So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours
2 Pet 1, 16-21: For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there was borne such a voice to him by the Majestic Glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased and this voice we [ourselves] heard borne out of heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount. And we have the word of prophecy [made] more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
1 Mac 2, 19-20: Although all nations obey King Antiochus, so as to depart every man from the service of the law of his fathers, and consent to his commandments, I and my sons, and my brethren will obey the law of our fathers.
NEW Testament
Our Lord has received everything from His Father
Jo 8, 26-28: I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you: howbeit he that sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these speak I unto the world. They perceived not that he spake to them of the Father. Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am [he], and [that] I do nothing of myself, but as the Father taught me, I speak these things.
Jo 14, 31: But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.
He passed it on to the Apostles
Mt 28, 20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Mc 16, 15: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.
Jo 17, 8: For the words which thou gavest me I have given unto them; and they received [them], and knew of a truth that I came forth from thee, and they believed that thou didst send me.
Who received it and passed it on
1 Cor 15, 3: For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received.
2 The 2, 14 (15): So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours
2 Pet 1, 16-21: For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there was borne such a voice to him by the Majestic Glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased and this voice we [ourselves] heard borne out of heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount. And we have the word of prophecy [made] more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
The Magisterium always uses the argument of Tradition along with Sacred Scripture to define all Articles of Faith (see above Trent and Vatican I)Doctrine Two Natures in Our Lord
433 A.D. Pope St. Xystus III
DsS 271: That which we think and speak of concerning the Virgin Mother of God and the manner of the Incarnation of the Only Son of God, we talk briefly and only as much as is necessary, not to add something, but to assure you fully, as we have held it from the beginning, for having received it from Holy Scriptures and from the tradition of the holy Fathers, without adding anything to the faith that was exposed by the holy fathers of Niceae . As we have already said, it suffices for the recognition of the true faith and for the refutation of all heresies.
Grace
529 A.D. II Council of Orange
DzS 370: It has come to our notice that some, in their simplicity, want to speak of grace and of free-will without precaution and in a manner that does not correspond to the rule of the Catholic faith. This is why, in conformity to the exhortation and the will of the Apostolic See, it appears to us just and reasonable, the necessity to produce and approve by our own hands, these chapters that have been transmitted to us by the Apostolic See, that the ancient Fathers gathered from the books of Holy Scriptures, in order to teach those who think in a manner that they should not.
DzS 396: Thus, according to the judgments in Holy Scripture presented above, and the definitions of the early Fathers, we must, with the help of God, preach and believe that the sin of the first man has so corrupted and weakened free-will that ever since then, no one can love God as he should, nor can anyone believe nor do any good for God if one has not been touched by the grace of divine mercy.
Trinity
633 A.D. IV Council of Toledo
DzS 485 (Chap. 1): In conformity to the Holy Scriptures and to the doctrine that we received from the holy Fathers, we confess that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are of one Divinity and Substance ; believing in the trinity in the diversity of persons and preaching the unity in the divinity, we do not confuse the persons and we do not separate the substance.
Incarnation
680 A.D. Council of Rome
DsZ 548: Consequently, just as we confess that He truly has two natures or substances, which is the divinity and the humanity, without confusion, without division and without change, likewise we confess that He has two natural wills as well as two operations, since the rule of piety teaches us that the one and only Lord Jesus Christ is perfect God and perfect man 501-522 ; for it has been shown to us that what the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church and the venerable Synods acknowledge, has been established by evangelical and apostolic tradition and the teaching of the holy Fathers.
Duty to maintain the expressions of the Fathers
1228 A.D. Pope Gregory IX
DsZ 824: … In truth, we were struck interiorly with sorrow in our heart (Gn 6,6) and saturated by the bitterness of wormwood (Lm 3,15) by that which … some among you work fervently through some impious novelties to push the limits set by the Fathers (Pr 22,28) ; indeed, the understanding of Sacred Scripture, which has been delimited, through the effort of the holy Fathers, by the limits of the interpretation such that to transgress them would not only be bold but even impious, they turn it into philosophical doctrine concerning natural things in the manner showing off their Science and not for the benefit of their listeners, in kind, they do not appear as men who teach about God or as theologians, but as men who slander God.
Indeed, though they should expose the doctrine of God according to the traditions known by the saints and not by carnal means but by means « of which power comes from God, capable of destroying all the proud powers that set themselves against the knowledge of God and to make all though captive so as to lead it to obey Christ » (2 Cor 10,4), seduced by diverse and strange doctrines (He 13,9), they take the tail for the head (Dt 28,13 Dt 28,44) and force the queen to put herself in service of the maidservant, meaning that that which is heavenly at the service of earthly doctrines, by attributing to nature that which belongs to grace.
Role of the Pope
1870 A.D. I Vatican Council
Pastor Aeternus DsZ 3070: For the Holy Ghost was not promised to the successors of Peter that they may make known a new doctrine under His revelation, but that with His assistance, they religiously keep and faithfully make known the Revelation transmitted by the Apostles, that is the deposit of faith. Their apostolic doctrine had been received by all the venerable Fathers, venerated and followed by the holy orthodox Doctors.
Conclusion: Homogeneous progress of Catholic Doctrine
Pius IX Vatican I, Dei Filius, 1870
DzS 3020: In addition, the doctrine of the faith that God revealed was not proposed as a philosophical discovery to be improved upon through human reflection, but as a divine deposit entrusted to the Spouse of Christ that She may keep it faithfully and present it infallibly. Consequently, the understanding of Sacred Dogma, which should be kept in perpetuity, is that which our Mother the Holy Church presented once and for all and never is it permissible to deviate from it under the pretext or in the name of a more developed understanding.
433 A.D. Pope St. Xystus III
DsS 271: That which we think and speak of concerning the Virgin Mother of God and the manner of the Incarnation of the Only Son of God, we talk briefly and only as much as is necessary, not to add something, but to assure you fully, as we have held it from the beginning, for having received it from Holy Scriptures and from the tradition of the holy Fathers, without adding anything to the faith that was exposed by the holy fathers of Niceae . As we have already said, it suffices for the recognition of the true faith and for the refutation of all heresies.
Grace
529 A.D. II Council of Orange
DzS 370: It has come to our notice that some, in their simplicity, want to speak of grace and of free-will without precaution and in a manner that does not correspond to the rule of the Catholic faith. This is why, in conformity to the exhortation and the will of the Apostolic See, it appears to us just and reasonable, the necessity to produce and approve by our own hands, these chapters that have been transmitted to us by the Apostolic See, that the ancient Fathers gathered from the books of Holy Scriptures, in order to teach those who think in a manner that they should not.
DzS 396: Thus, according to the judgments in Holy Scripture presented above, and the definitions of the early Fathers, we must, with the help of God, preach and believe that the sin of the first man has so corrupted and weakened free-will that ever since then, no one can love God as he should, nor can anyone believe nor do any good for God if one has not been touched by the grace of divine mercy.
Trinity
633 A.D. IV Council of Toledo
DzS 485 (Chap. 1): In conformity to the Holy Scriptures and to the doctrine that we received from the holy Fathers, we confess that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are of one Divinity and Substance ; believing in the trinity in the diversity of persons and preaching the unity in the divinity, we do not confuse the persons and we do not separate the substance.
Incarnation
680 A.D. Council of Rome
DsZ 548: Consequently, just as we confess that He truly has two natures or substances, which is the divinity and the humanity, without confusion, without division and without change, likewise we confess that He has two natural wills as well as two operations, since the rule of piety teaches us that the one and only Lord Jesus Christ is perfect God and perfect man 501-522 ; for it has been shown to us that what the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church and the venerable Synods acknowledge, has been established by evangelical and apostolic tradition and the teaching of the holy Fathers.
Duty to maintain the expressions of the Fathers
1228 A.D. Pope Gregory IX
DsZ 824: … In truth, we were struck interiorly with sorrow in our heart (Gn 6,6) and saturated by the bitterness of wormwood (Lm 3,15) by that which … some among you work fervently through some impious novelties to push the limits set by the Fathers (Pr 22,28) ; indeed, the understanding of Sacred Scripture, which has been delimited, through the effort of the holy Fathers, by the limits of the interpretation such that to transgress them would not only be bold but even impious, they turn it into philosophical doctrine concerning natural things in the manner showing off their Science and not for the benefit of their listeners, in kind, they do not appear as men who teach about God or as theologians, but as men who slander God.
Indeed, though they should expose the doctrine of God according to the traditions known by the saints and not by carnal means but by means « of which power comes from God, capable of destroying all the proud powers that set themselves against the knowledge of God and to make all though captive so as to lead it to obey Christ » (2 Cor 10,4), seduced by diverse and strange doctrines (He 13,9), they take the tail for the head (Dt 28,13 Dt 28,44) and force the queen to put herself in service of the maidservant, meaning that that which is heavenly at the service of earthly doctrines, by attributing to nature that which belongs to grace.
Role of the Pope
1870 A.D. I Vatican Council
Pastor Aeternus DsZ 3070: For the Holy Ghost was not promised to the successors of Peter that they may make known a new doctrine under His revelation, but that with His assistance, they religiously keep and faithfully make known the Revelation transmitted by the Apostles, that is the deposit of faith. Their apostolic doctrine had been received by all the venerable Fathers, venerated and followed by the holy orthodox Doctors.
Conclusion: Homogeneous progress of Catholic Doctrine
Pius IX Vatican I, Dei Filius, 1870
DzS 3020: In addition, the doctrine of the faith that God revealed was not proposed as a philosophical discovery to be improved upon through human reflection, but as a divine deposit entrusted to the Spouse of Christ that She may keep it faithfully and present it infallibly. Consequently, the understanding of Sacred Dogma, which should be kept in perpetuity, is that which our Mother the Holy Church presented once and for all and never is it permissible to deviate from it under the pretext or in the name of a more developed understanding.