13. "...the Spirit of Truth...will be in you." John 14:17

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 13

AVE MARIA Series

13.  Can the Church err in a question of faith?

The faithful as a whole cannot err in faith, because Jesus promised his disciples that he would send them the Spirit of truth and keep them in the truth (John 14:17).  [80-82, 85-87, 92, 100]

The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the Apostles. …... 13

”In speaking of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles as the One who would guide and teach them, Jesus also said that the Spirit would enable them to remember what He had told them. Jesus promised something incredible: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John. 16:12f). What the Spirit would “hear” would be the inner Trinitarian communication among the Three Divine Persons.” –Bishop Paul S. Loverde of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia.

Just as the disciples believed Jesus with their whole heart, a Christian can rely completely on the Church when he asks about the way to life.  Since Jesus Christ himself gave his apostles the commission to teach, the Church has a teaching authority (the magisterium) and must not remain silent.  Although individual members of the Church can err and even make serious mistakes, the Church as a whole can never fall away from God’s truth.  The Church carries through the ages a living truth that is greater than herself.  We speak about a depositum Fidei, a deposit of faith that is to be preserved.  If such a truth is publicly disputed or distorted, the Church is called upon to clarify again “what has always and everywhere been believed by all”  (St. Vincent of Lerins, d. 450).

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you…” St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23

[80-82, 85-87, 92, 100]

II. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADITION AND SACRED SCRIPTURE

One common source. . .

80   "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal."( Dei Verbum .)⁴⁰    Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own "always, to the close of the age".(Matthew 28:20.)⁴¹ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

. . . . . two distinct modes of transmission

81   "SACRED SCRIPTURE is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit.”(Dei Verbum 9.)⁴² --CCC

"And HOLY TRADITION transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching."(Dei Verbum 9.)⁴³ –CCC

82   As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, "does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence."(Dei Verbum 9.)⁴⁴ --CCC

The Magisterium of the Church

85   "The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ."(Dei Verbum 10 § 2.)⁴⁷  This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome. --CCC

86   "Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith."(Dei Verbum 10 para 2.)⁴⁸ –CCC

87   Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears me",(Luke 10:16; compare Lumen Gentium 20.)⁴⁹   the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.

The supernatural sense of faith

92   "The whole body of the faithful. . . cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith (sensus fidei) on the part 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."(Lumen Gentium 12; compare St. Augustine, De praed. sanct. 14,27:Patrologia Latina 44,980.)⁵⁵ --CCC

IN BRIEF

100   The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him. --CCC