Most of us know what Scripture is, and as Christians we revere the Bible in a very special way as God’s revelation to us. This revelation, however, can only be rightly understood in the light of Tradition and the Magisterium.

Tradition

For many Catholics, tradition brings to mind practices and customs passed down through the ages like the rosary, the stations of the cross, and other rituals of the faith. Though these are important, they are only a small part of a larger reality of "Tradition" with a capital "T." Such Tradition - normally referred to as sacred or apostolic Tradition - consists of the teachings that the apostles passed on orally through their preaching. These teachings largely overlap with those contained in Scripture, but their mode of transmission is different.

Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:15 writes: "So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter."

Dei Verbum, the dogmatic constitution on divine revelation that came out of Vatican II further clarifies: "Now what was handed on by the apostles includes everything which contributes to the holiness of life, and the increase in faith of the People of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life, and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes."

A little example will make this clear. Most scholars agree that the first five books of the Bible were not written in their final form until 400 B.C. Yet Abraham lived in 1800 B.C., and Moses in 1200 B.C.. So how did people get to hear the stories about the lives of these men and all those who followed them? How did people follow the commandments of God if nothing was written about them? By word of mouth that passed down from generation to generation and by the manner in which people lived! This is the process of Tradition, of picking up a great heritage by living in it! It is the far more effective way of learning. As an illustration, consider the language we speak. We spoke it much before we learned the rules of grammar in school. How? Simply by living in it and hearing it spoken around us.

This is perhaps the reason why Jesus never wrote anything, other than, perhaps, a few words in the sand. People listened to him and heard not only his words but the tonal inflections of his voice accompanied by facial expressions that revealed far more than mere words could possibly convey. Paul too, lived with various communities long before he ever wrote to them. What had more impact on the people? His life with them or the brief letters that he wrote them later?

Now we can perhaps better understand that Tradition is everything involved in the living experience of the Word of God passed from Jesus to the Apostles and then from one generation to the next down to us. It is not separate from Scripture, but linked to it. And though Scripture is unique in that no other document is quite inspired in the way that Scripture is, it is only within the whole body of life and experience and writing called Tradition that the Scriptures take on their intended meaning for us. They are two legs of one stool, the third leg of which is the Magisterium.  

Magisterium

Magisterium is a Latin word which simply means the teaching authority of the Church. This comprises the bishops, who are the successors of the apostles, who teach in union with the Pope, who is successor of Peter. The first few links in the tradition of apostolic succession can be seen in Paul’s letter to Timothy where he writes: "[W]hat you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well" (2 Timothy 2:2).

Personal interpretation of Scripture often results in contradictory viewpoints. Who determines which is right? The Magisterium. Paul, in another letter, this one to Titus, wrote that such people should teach Scripture according to how it has been taught. "He [a bishop] must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it." (Titus 1:9)

The books that comprise Sacred Scripture, itself, were decided by the Magisterium, when they discerned in the 2nd through 4th centuries which books were inspired. This does not, however, place the Magisterium over the Word of God, but under it. Dei Verbum, para 10 states: "The task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully by divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit; it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed." 

Exercise

Read the following Scripture verses and identify the three elements of Scripture, Tradition and Magisterium.

• Matthew 28:18-20
• Acts 2:42
• 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
• 2 Thessalonians 2:15
• 2 Timothy 3:14-17
• Titus 1:7-9