“like a wise man who built his house on rock”

This is lesson of 1 of 2.

When building a large home, building, or structure, the first thing that is needed is a solid foundation. There is a legend that is told about an architect who built a library for a college, but forgot to take into account the weight of the books. So the library sinks a little each year. For our faith, if we don’t take into account the books, the rain, the wind, and anything that might shake us, even to our very core, then we will collapse like the house Christ spoke of in the Gospel reading today.
 
What is our base? Our base is three fold: Sacred Tradition, The Magisterium, and Sacred Scriptures. Think of it as a tripod. When one of the legs is removed, it can no longer stand up right and firm. When we don’t have this base, we sink faster than quicksand. Tradition comes from the Latin traditio, which means, a giving over, a delivery, or a handing down. There are two types of tradition: oral tradition and written tradition, which is called Sacred Scripture. If we think of food and how recipes are handed down, there are two primary ways: The primary way is orally, or by showing the person how to make it in person and teaching them to imitate you. The secondary way is to write down the recipe for someone, or put it in a book for others to view. The Apostles handed on what was given to them by Christ. Many of these oral traditions were later written down and preserved; this is where we get Sacred Scripture. The Second Vatican Council, in regards to Sacred Tradition, says: “It was passed down by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received – whether, from the lips of Christ, from His way of life and His works, or whether they had learned it by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.” [1] The Magisterium is the Church’s teaching authority, vested in bishops, as successors of the Apostles, under the Roman Pontiff, as successor of St. Peter. Also vested is the Pope, as Vicar of Christ and visible head of the Catholic Church. [2] The Magisterium has been given the power and authority to interpret tradition and to teach it to the faithful. The Pope is St. Peter. The Bishops are the Apostles. The Pope and Bishops together continue the mission of Christ to teach and guide the faithful. Just as the Supreme Court may not rewrite the Constitution, but rather may only interpret it; the Magisterium of the Church cannot rewrite Tradition, either oral or written, but rather may only interpret and teach it.
 
What came first, the Church or the Scriptures?The Church came first. The Church is born at Cavalry from the side of Christ. The Church celebrates this birth of new life in the event of Pentecost, in which Jesus gave the power of the Holy Spirit so that the apostles would go to the ends of the earth as His witnesses. [3] Sacred Scripture calls the Church the foundation of truth. “But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” [4] The Church (Sacred Tradition and Magisterium) is present from the beginning. It is the Church in fact, through the Council of Hippo and the leadership of Pope Damasus I, that affirmed and approved the canon (list of books) in the Bible. The Church came first, and then 360 years later came the Bible.

What is Sola Scriptura? Since the formation of the Bible in 393 AD, the firm foundation of the Church was not challenged until the 1500’s by the Protestant Reformers. This is almost 1100 years in which the rule of authority rested on the three legs of Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Magisterium. “The Protestant Reformers said that the Bible is the sole authoritative source of religious truth whose proper understanding must be found by looking only at the words of the text itself. This is the Protestant teaching of sola scriptura (Latin: by Scripture alone). According to this teaching, no outside authority may mandate an interpretation, because no outside authority, such as the Church, has been established by Christ as an arbiter to determine which of the conflicting interpretations is correct.” [5]
 
What is wrong and incorrect about Sola Scriptura? Sola Scriptura does not recognize oral tradition, which existed for 393 years prior to compiling the Bible. Sola Scriptura does not recognize the teaching authority of the Church (Bishops and Pope), which includes the interpretation of Scripture. Sola Scriptura allows each individual to interpret Scripture for themselves. What occurs in private individual interpretation is a relativism where Scripture is molded to man rather than man being molded to Scripture. This private interpretation does not create unity and oneness, but rather differing doctrines and practices. In the end, with Sola Scriptura, each person, becomes their own authority, their own Pope and Bishop, and they pray, believe, and live what they believe Scripture asks them to pray, believe and live.   
 
What are examples of Sacred Tradition (Oral)?  The Mass and the Trinity are two examples of Tradition that are not specifically stated in Scripture, but are implied. The writings of the Church Fathers are key to understanding Sacred Tradition during the first 700 years of the Church. When we look at the writings of the Church Fathers, we see teachings about the Mass, the Eucharist, the person of Christ, Mary, the Trinity, and other teachings that were handed down by the Apostles. 

Who are the Church Fathers? The Church Fathers are saintly writers of the early centuries whom the Church recognizes as her special witnesses of the faith. Antiquity, orthodoxy, sanctity, and approval by the Church are their four main prerogatives. They are commonly divided into the Greek and Latin Fathers. It is generally held that the last of the Western Fathers (Latin) closed with St. Isidore of Seville (560-636), and the last of the Eastern Fathers (Greek) was St. John Damascene (675-749).   
 
Do we have a solid base? Yes! We have the rock of St. Peter as our base. We have everything given to us by Christ. We are blessed to be an apostolic Church. What Christ revealed to the Apostles was practiced, believed, and lived. The Apostles took the message of the Gospel to the ends of the known world at that time. This message continued to be passed on faithfully in the west and east by the Church Fathers. As Christianity became more accepted and even legal in the 300’s, oral or Sacred Tradition began to be written down and solidified in the Bible (393 AD) and the Ecumenical Councils, which began in 325 AD. For example, the first Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicea, formulated the Nicene Creed. We truly see the leadership of the Bishops of the Church through the Councils.
 
Another way of thinking of this base is a cockroach. A cockroach has 6 legs, 3 pairs a front, middle and back pair. The interesting thing is that at any one time one of the legs from each pair has to be on the ground. For example front right, middle left, back right. The back legs provide thrust, the middle balance, the front direction. The Church has Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and Magisterium and they are always providing the grounding the foundation the Church needs. The back legs are Sacred Tradition, the thrust and power that the teachings of Christ and the apostles give when the go out with power to the whole world. The middle legs are Sacred Scripture, the written tradition that brings stability and balance and the front leads are of course the Pope and Bishops united in guiding and leading the Church. The cockroach is one of the oldest species on the planet because it is fast, stable and has good direction; these are the same reasons why the Church is indestructible.
 
What trials have you had to endure? What “floods” and “winds” come blowing into our lives? 
 
St. Gerard, as he was dying of tuberculoses, had one of his religious brothers hang a sign on his doorframe for all to see. It read, “Here the will of God is done, as He wills it, and as long as He wants”. This should be our reminder that whatever trials come our way, if we stay close to God, we will never collapse and our rock of faith will stand firm.
 

[1] Vatican II Documents; Consititution of Divine Revelation, II:7
[2] Fr. John Hardon; Modern Catholic Dictionary; page 329
[3] Acts 1:8
[4] 1 Timothy 3:15
[5] Catholic Answers; The Essential Catholic Survival Guide; page 63