We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

Deep in our timid hearts is a desire to be loved mildly, nothing more. That way, we retain control, we set the terms, we avoid risk. Our loving God, in His ferocious intensity, will have none of it. He defines the meaning of our lives, and we are saved from our anemic loves and brought by degrees into intense loves, like His own.
Ray Ortlund

Giving is a “grace” as it demonstrates that God has met your needs and that His grace has inclined you to give to others.
Kent Hughes

    • Tradition

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    Tradition

    TRADITION

    BASIC R.C. BELIEF One source of Divine revelation, the other being Sacred scripture. During the years between the beginning of the Church and the completed scripture, people relied on the Apostles’ oral teachings. Then, as cultures were growing, they felt that the Bible was not able to meet their needs, so tradition was developed to meet the demands of men of all ages. This teaching authority resided in the pope and authorized theologians. Because of this, tradition became a meaningful part of life.

    Cardinal Bellarmine said that when the Universal Church observed one of their practices that was not in Holy Scriptures, they were constrained to say that it must be a tradition from Christ or His Apostles.

    POST VATICAN II “The sacred synod encourages the sons of the Church who engage in biblical studies constantly to renew their efforts; with complete dedication and in accordance with the mind of the Church. Sacred theology relies on the written Word of God, taken together with Sacred Tradition” (DEI VERBUM, Vatican II document).

    From DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON DIVINE REVELATION, Vatican II, Sections 9,10. “There exist a close connection and communication between sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tends toward the same end. … Sacred Tradition and sacred scripture form one sacred deposit of the Word of God which is entrusted to the church.

    From SIMPLICITY, John Michael Talbot, page 54. “Care must be taken, though, that the Scriptures not be studied in isolation from the ongoing teaching of the church. True, we have the Spirit of God within us to guide and direct us. We have an objective body of teaching in the Scriptures. But remember: it was the church that authenticated these Scriptures, and it is the teaching office of the church which provides the commentary or the instruction to interpret these biblical documents. A balance must be maintained between tradition and Scripture.

    CHRISTIAN COMMENT In order to make God’s Word meaningful, the Holy Spirit was sent to be the Infallible Teacher of the Church; He can interpret scripture for any culture. Before the New Testament scriptures were available, Christian teachers used available epistles and the Old Testament. In II Thessalonians 2:15, the word tradition means teachings, and Paul states these were “by word or epistle.” The epistle was the Word of God, and Paul’s oral teaching was based on Old Testament scripture (Acts 26:22).

    Roman Catholic tradition not only adds to the Word of God, it severely alters it.

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