The Evangelium #10

1. Scripture and
Tradition

2. Scripture and Tradition (I)
Saint Matthew writing his Gospel by Caravaggio

3. Scripture and Tradition (I)
Scripture and Tradition
together constitute the
single deposit of revealed
truth given by God to the
Church and infallibly taught
by the Magisterium.
KEY DEFINITION

4. What is Scripture?

5. What is Scripture?
Scripture is the single
collection of 73 books
called the Bible.
This collection is the entire
content of God’s inspired
written truth, revealing
himself and his saving plan.

6. What is Scripture?
Given its importance for
salvation, God, through
the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, has guaranteed that
the Bible records faithfully
and without error,
everything that he wanted
written and no more.
(c.f. Dei Verbum 11)

7. What is Scripture?

8. What is Scripture?
This picture emphasises that Scripture is inspired
by God but written through true human agency.
The feet of St Matthew
One foot is on the ground and
one is raised, indicating the
earthly and heavenly influences
behind the evangelist.
Angel
Matthew
Communication
The angel brings to St
Matthew’s mind the details he
should include in his gospel.

9. What is Tradition?
Saint Jerome in his Study by Antonello da Messina
St Jerome was a father and doctor of the Church who taught the truth of the
Tradition and who produced the ‘Vulgate’ translation of Scripture into Latin.

10. What is Tradition?
Tradition is what is revealed by God and
handed on by the apostles, including
those things not explicitly recorded in
Scripture.
‘Tradition’ comes from the Latin tradere,
which means ‘to hand on’. The disciples
taught before they wrote, and this oral
teaching remained authoritative
alongside written Scripture.
Hold to the traditions which you were taught by us,
either by word of mouth or by letter.
2 Thess 2:15

11. What is Tradition?
Tradition expresses that breadth of
divine teaching which cannot be
exhaustively communicated in any one
written form, as the apostle John states:
There are also many other things which Jesus did;
were every one of them to be written, I suppose that
the world itself could not contain the books that
would be written.
Jn 21:25

12. What is Tradition?
Some truths of Tradition have
subsequently been given dogmatic
definition by the ‘Magisterium’.
Examples are the number of the
sacraments and Mary’s
Assumption. The definition of the
books of Scripture is itself the
fruit of the Tradition.
Other manifestations of Tradition
can be found in the liturgy, art
and music of the Church.

13. What is the Magisterium?
Christ handing the keys to St Peter by Pietro Perugino
This reminds us that Christ gave Peter the authority to teach infallibly the revealed
truth which Scripture and Tradition communicate.

14. What is the Magisterium?
The Magisterium is the teaching office
of the Church exercised by the Pope,
the successor of Peter, and the bishops
in union with him.
With the authority of Jesus Christ
(Jn 16:13; Mt 16:19) the Magisterium teaches
infallibly the revealed truth which
Scripture and Tradition communicate.
I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority
of the Catholic Church already moved me.
St Augustine, Contra Epistolam Manichaei 5, 6 (ccc. 119)

15. What is the Magisterium?
The principal teachings of
the Magisterium are the
dogmatic decrees of the
papacy, the Creeds and the
other doctrines of the
twenty-one Ecumenical
Councils since the time of
the apostles.

16. Summary
Questions
to reinforce
key points
Discussion
questions
Practical
activities
Presentation Part II
Summary Activities I
Please select an activity or go immediately
to part II of the presentation

17. Summary
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
• Scripture and Tradition together constitute the
single deposit of faith given by God to the
Church.
• Scripture is the single collection of 73 books
called the Bible. It is the entire content of
God’s inspired written truth, revealing himself
and his saving plan.
• Tradition is what is revealed by God and
handed on by the apostles, including those
things not explicitly recorded in Scripture.
• The Magisterium is the teaching office of the
Church exercised by the Pope, the successor
of Peter, and the bishops in union with him.

18. Questions to reinforce key points
Scripture
Tradition
Magisterium
By what three interlocking principles
do we know God’s revelation?
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
1
2
3
Click on a box to reveal one
of the answers

19. Discussion questions
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
• Discuss why we have both
Scripture and Tradition. Why is
a merely written Revelation
insufficient?
• Discuss why we need the
teaching office of the Church,
the Magisterium.
Select one or more of the following:

20. Practical activities
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
• Read the Compendium of the
Catechism questions 11-17.
• Read part or the whole of a
document of the Magisterium
such as Dei Filius of Vatican I
or Dei Verbum of Vatican II.
Select one or more of the following:

21. Scripture and Tradition (II)
The Conversion of St Augustine by Gozzoli.
St Augustine’s conversion was brought about by reading Scripture. He became a great
father and doctor of the Church’s Tradition in explaining Scripture.

22. OLD TESTAMENT NEW TESTAMENT
46 books 27 books
PENTATEUCH FORMER
PROPHETS
LATER
PROPHETS
WRITINGS GOSPELS ACTS PAULINE
WORKS
CATHOLIC
LETTERS
REVEL-
ATION
Genesis
Exodus
Numbers
Leviticus
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
[Ruth]
I, II
Samuel
I, II Kings
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
and others
Psalms
Proverbs
Chronicles
Job
and others
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts of
the
Apostles
Romans
Galatians
Ephesians
Titus
and others
James
I, II Peter
I-III John
Jude
Revelation
or
Apocalypse
BEFORE 
the birth of Jesus Christ
 AFTER
the death and Resurrection of Christ
The structure of the Bible
This shows the structure of the Bible into Old and New
Testaments and the major groups of books.

23. How do I navigate Scripture?
A sample Biblical text from the Gospel of Matthew showing the
numbering of the text in terms of chapters and verses.

24. EXAMPLE REFERENCE Mt 27:2
the title of
the book:
Mt
(Matthew)
the chapter
number:
27
the verses: 2
How do I navigate Scripture?
Any text in the Bible can be found from the title of the book,
the chapter number and the verse number.
The book titles, their abbreviations and page numbers
can be found at the beginning of any Bible.

25. Tobit
Judith
1 and 2 Maccabees
Wisdom of Solomon
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
Baruch
and some additional parts of
Daniel and Esther
How do I navigate Scripture?
Differences between Catholic
and Protestant Bibles regarding
the books of the Old Testament
From early Tradition, and with her
infallible authority, the Catholic Church
accepts the books listed on the left
among the inspired books of the Old
Testament (ccc. 120). Protestant traditions
set aside these books from the Old
Testament, calling them ‘apocrypha’.
Many Protestant versions of the Bible
do not include these books.

26. The authentic reading of Scripture
The Meditative Prayer of St Dominic by Fra Angelico.
This shows the saint prayerfully reading the Scriptures.

27. The authentic reading of Scripture
Read as one
The Bible must be read as a unified
work in which God has chosen to
reveal himself. Although the Bible is
made up of many diverse texts from
different times and cultures, it reveals
a single story of God’s providence
and salvation.
The Old Testament points towards its
own fulfilment in the New; the
meaning of the New Testament is
manifested by the Old.

28. The authentic reading of Scripture
Read within the Tradition
God has entrusted the whole of
Scripture to the Church. It is only by
the Church’s authority that the Bible’s
73 books are recognised as the unified
word of God. Only the Church has the
right and capability of authoritatively
expounding Scripture.
Profound insight into Scripture is
found in the writings of the saints,
fathers and doctors of the Church.

29. The authentic reading of Scripture
Read in the literal sense
The literal sense is the primary and direct
sense of Scripture which God intends to
convey through human agency. It is the
meaning the writer intends, the
interpretation of which is aided by the
study of history and context.
A literal reading does not mean a
literalistic reading of texts intended as
metaphors or parables.
The literal sense also includes the making
of cross-references among Biblical books.

30. The authentic reading of Scripture
Read in the spiritual sense
In the spiritual sense of Scripture, God
has ensured that the realities mentioned
in the text can also point to other
realities. Allegory often links
something mentioned in Scripture,
especially in the Old Testament, to
Christ or to the Church. Tropology
(the moral sense) links something
described in Scripture to the living of
the Christian life of grace. Anagogy
links the realities mentioned in
Scripture to those of heaven.

31. Summary
Questions
to reinforce
key points
Discussion
questions
Practical
activities
Summary Activities II
Please select an activity or go immediately
to the concluding prayer
Concluding Prayer

32. Summary
Activities Menu
• The two parts of the Bible are the Old
Testament, written before the birth of
Jesus Christ, and the New Testament,
written after the death and Resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
• The Old Testament contains 46 books.
The New Testament contains 27 books.
These are divided into chapters and verses
to aid navigation through Scripture.
• Scripture is authentically read when it is
read as one and within the Tradition. The
two senses for reading Scripture are the
literal sense and the spiritual sense.
Concluding Prayer

33. Questions to reinforce key points
Read as one
Read within the Tradition
Read in a literal sense
Read in a spiritual sense
How do I read the Scripture authentically?
Activities Menu Concluding Prayer
1
2
3
Click on a box to reveal one
of the answers
4

34. Discussion questions
Activities Menu
• Discuss how we read Scripture
in a fully Catholic way.
• Discuss some personal
experiences of reading or
studying Scripture.
Select one or more of the following:
Concluding Prayer

35. Practical activities
Activities Menu
• Practise locating some specific
passages of Scripture, for example
from books, chapters and verses
cited in this course.
• Read the Compendium of the
Catechism questions 18-24.
Select one or more of the following:
Concluding Prayer

36. Final Prayer
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power
of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third
day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of
the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of
saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, And life everlasting.
Amen.