Traditions are important in our lives and provide many benefits, such as, a way to govern ourselves in a world where moral standards are now often being compromised. We intentionally create and continue traditions because they provide a sense of belonging and meaning to our lives. Family rituals nurture connection and give us comfort. Traditions Matter! Traditions represent a critical piece of our culture. They help form the structure and foundation of our families and our society. They remind us that we are part of a history that defines our past, shapes who we are today and who we are likely to become. Once we ignore the meaning of our traditions, we are in danger of damaging the underpinning of our identity. Tradition contributes a sense of comfort and belonging. It brings families together and enables people to reconnect with friends. Tradition reinforces values such as freedom, faith, integrity, a good education, personal responsibility, a strong work ethic, and the value of being selfless. We must strive to utilize every opportunity available to us to reinforce the values and beliefs that we hold dear. Many ethnic cultures would have traditions in family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages, etc. For example, in Chinese families that a newly married couple serve tea, on their knees, to their parents as an act of filial piety to their parents. According to Chinese tradition, filial piety (hsiao) was the primary duty of all Chinese. Being a filial son meant complete obedience to one's parents during their lifetime and--as they grew older--taking the best possible care of them. The concept of filial piety is present in most of the cultures in the world, although its form, salience and importance may differ. This is in line with the 4th commandment: Honour thy Father and Mother. Alternatively we would land up taking these values for granted, and result in our beliefs getting diluted, over time, that our way of life will become foreign to us. Itʼs like good health. You may take it for granted until you lose it. If we disregard our values, weʼll open our eyes one day and wonʼt be able to recognize “our world” anymore. The values that support the backbone of our country, our family, and our faith will have drifted for so long that the fabric of our society will be torn. Sadly, it’s already happening in the world we live today. Our traditions act as a compass for all of our human relationships and personal interactions, the qualitative experiences of our family life, and ultimately, the development of civilized societies themselves. As we honor traditions, so we learn to honor ourselves, and in the final analysis, each other. What makes something a tradition is that it is handed down from one generation to the next, creating a living, dynamic flow of rhythm and predictability — like the girl in the kitchen watching her mother and grandmother cook, discerning how to take her place within a meaningful legacy. Or little boys who also used to wander in their artisan father's workshop to learn their trade or craft. This is how you had the same craft for generations in some families (from shoemakers to musicians), and in the same way that you find families of saints! This was how eventually guilds were formed. It is critical for children to be a part of family traditions. It connects them to that greater whole and leads to heightened empathy, a more fulfilling happiness and engaged citizenship. Having no respect for tradition or traditions to some extent means despising one's own parents and ancestors, their way of life and what they were standing for. If the common trunk of the lineage is despised and the branches split, there can be no unity in society and in any nation, resulting in social unrest, and turm Mutual charity is necessary for the survival of social life and the City in general: "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Colossians 3:14) We desperately need our traditions. Part of the responsibility of having the chance to live at all — should we choose to look at it that way — is to be a part of the transmission of our particular family and ethnic customs. In so doing, we honor past generations by passing on their rites and rituals to the next generation. In this way, our family lineages stay stable and strong. Since ceremonies outlive us, they make us feel part of that larger sense of things as we pass them down to our own children, and theirs. That is how we realize our immortality — not in living forever, but in being part of living traditions. As Catholics, understanding Catholic Tradition is essential to understanding the Catholic Church and the Catholic Christian faith which help us in our fervour for the faith and devotion. The word “tradition” actually means handing down something to another person; (as described earlier) and this was how the Bible came about, as it was historically handed down from the apostles through generations until the Bible was printed. This is similar to how other traditions had been handed down as elaborated earlier. In fact the Bible is the written part of Tradition. But there is more than the written part in Catholic Tradition. We often write Tradition, with a capital ‘T’, to mean Sacred Tradition. This Catholic Tradition is different from those traditions (small ‘t’) that are merely customs, and which are not part of Divine Revelation. Since the time of the Apostles, the Catholic Church has always taught that the fullness of Divine Revelation does not rest in the Bible alone, but comes to us in 2 complimentary streams: the written Word (Sacred Scripture) and the spoken/oral Word (Sacred Tradition). Additionally, the Catechism also states that Sacred Tradition is how the Church knows which books are truly inspired and belong in the Bible, and it is also the source of the proper interpretation of Sacred Scripture. Sacred Tradition comes from Christ. It’s the full, living gift of Christ to the Apostles, faithfully handed down through each generation. It is through Tradition that the Holy Spirit makes the Risen Lord present among us, offering us the very same saving Word and Sacraments that he gave to the Apostles! Scripture testifies to this meaning of Catholic Tradition as the normal mode of transmitting the Faith: “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.” (2 Thess 2:15) “For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you….” (1 Cor 11:23) “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received….” (1 Cor 15:3) “…I know whom I have believed [i.e., Jesus], and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.” (2 Tim 1:11-14) “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim 2:1-2) “…I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3) This is the most basic meaning of Catholic Tradition: it is the true Faith itself, given to the Apostles by Christ and faithfully transmitted to each new generation. (Catechism, 77-78) We have a duty to keep it not so much because it was "handed down", but in reality, because it is the Truth revealed by God. Throughout the ages, the Popes, Saints and Holy Doctors have taught that the first duty of all Catholics, including the hierarchy in Rome, is to maintain Tradition; that is, to maintain the purity of the Faith in doctrine and practice. We are also commanded to abhor novelty. Pope Saint Pius X wrote in his Encyclical Against Modernism: "But for Catholics nothing will remove the authority of the second Council of Nicaea, where it condemns those 'who dare, after the impious fashion of heretics, to deride the ecclesiastical traditions, to invent novelties of some kind . . . or endeavor by malice or craft to overthrow anyone of the legitimate traditions of the Catholic Church' . . . Wherefore the Roman Pontiffs, Pius IV and Pius IX, ordered the insertion in the profession of faith of the following declaration: 'I most firmly admit and embrace the apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions and other observances and constitutions of the Church'." [Pope St. Pius X, Pascendi, Encyclical against Modernism, 1908, para. #42.] The Church does not depend on the bible alone for the certainty of the revealed truth. Both Tradition and Bible must be accepted and honored with equal devotion and reverence. The both make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God entrusted to the Church. The Church has the authentic authority to interpret the word of God both in its written form and in the form of tradition Thus, Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and teaching authority of the Church are connected that one cannot stand without the other (Cf. DV, 9,10). guardian.ng/opinion/the-catholic-church-the-bible-and-sacred-tradition/ Re: the Traditional Latin Tridentine Mass. Likewise being true to tradition, Catholics ought to adhere to the Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, it is the Roman Rite Mass of the Catholic Church which appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. But the Traditional Latin Tridentine Mass existed since the 1300 long before 1570 when the Roman Missall was published, and this continued until 1969 when the new Mass, the Mass of Pope Paul VI was introduced, after the Second Vatican Council. Commonly called the Novus Ordo, it is the Mass that most Catholics today are familiar with. This is clearly a deviation from Catholic Tradition. What was wrong with the Traditional Latin Mass that it has to be changed? Look at the fruits of the Traditonal Latin Mass compared to the fruits brought about by the Novus Ordo Mass and the changes that was made since 1969. Yet the discarding of Tradition and the introduction of novelties has been the defining element of the post-Conciliar Church. Below are some links to more information on this subject. The Traditional Mass vs. the New Mass Another source on the Traditional Latin Mass and the new Mass Decline of Catholic Mass attendance since 1970. http://www.u.arizona.edu/~aversa/modernism/Novus_ordo_record.pdf The following below are excerpts from an article, which elaborates the contrast in experiencing the changes between the Tridentine Mass and the Novus Ordo. Article: Stand Firm – Hold To Tradition 10TH SEPTEMBER 2021 BY JOHN LACKE I would like to examine this point of unity by looking at how life was for Catholics in the year 1960. (note that the Traditional Catholic Mass existed from from 1570 to 1963 when it was banned) In 1960, an international Catholic government diplomat, with a Latin-English missal, could attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass anywhere in the world and he would be able to follow the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If he was in Germany or France, in Italy or Spain, in Africa, Asia or a country in Eastern Europe, he would have the same readings and the exact same experience at Holy Mass. If the Catholic diplomat had a young son who was trained to serve the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, this boy could also serve the Holy Mass anywhere in the world. Whether he was in Germany or France, in Italy or Spain, in Africa, Asia or a country in Eastern Europe, he could serve the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because the celebration was universal throughout the Roman Catholic Church. This was possible regardless of whether or not the father and son were fluent in the vernacular languages of the places in the world that they attended the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because the Latin language used, created unity in how the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated. Similarly, a Catholic priest, in 1960, could celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the local congregation in any part of the Catholic world and in each of these places the congregation would be able to actively participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, because the visiting priest would be celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass exactly as their local priest would have celebrated it. If the visiting priest did not speak the local language, he could be assisted by another priest or deacon who could preach the homily if necessary. Back in 1960, when the time came for Holy Communion, whether it be in Germany or France, in Italy or Spain, in Africa, or Asia or in any other country in the world, all of the faithful would receive Holy Communion kneeling at altar rails covered with an altar cloth, and they would receive Holy Communion only from a priest and only on the tongue. What these examples demonstrate is that there was unity, right across the whole world, in how the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated in the Catholic Church. (Not only unity but the obvious reverence of the priest and the faithful throughout the Mass which upholds the dignity of the holiness and sacredness of the Mass.) Were there bad priests, mediocre priests, holy priests and saintly priests back in 1960? Or course there were, just as the same exists in our day. Perhaps some priests celebrated the Traditional Mass in a disrespectful manner, nonetheless, one could follow the Mass regardless of where one was in the world. Let us now move forward to the year 1980 (with the New Mass). Now our Catholic diplomat would not be able to follow the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass when in a foreign country unless he was conversant with the language of that country. His son, the altar boy, would only be able to serve the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with great difficulty, because of the different norms and customs that developed across the world. He would not be able to serve Holy Mass at all if he was not fluent in the language of the country where his father was stationed. A Catholic priest, visiting a foreign country where he was not fluent in the local language, would not be able to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the people in that country. He could concelebrate with a local priest, but the language barrier would still exist. When the time came for Holy Communion, some would stand, some would receive Holy Communion on the hand, some would receive on the tongue, many would be prevented from kneeling to receive Holy Communion. The unity that existed in 1960 with regard to the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the distribution of Holy Communion which had been maintained for centuries, no longer existed in 1980. In the space of twenty short years, what was once a universal practice had almost ceased to exist. It is obvious to see, that the Novus Ordo of Pope Paul VI, actually fostered disunity in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass across the world, where once there was unity. This is not to criticise the validity of the Novus Order Mass or to criticise the motivations of those who introduced it, rather, it is simply to point out the fact that disunity had been introduced into the Liturgy where before there was unity in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. To accuse those who are attached to the Traditional Catholic Mass as being the ones who have created disunity, is clearly not in accord with the observable facts in this matter. Again this is not meant to disparage the Second Vatican Council, which was a validly called council of the Catholic Church, but simply to point out the truth of the matter. Once there was unity in how the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated throughout the whole world, after the new Mass was introduced, there was disunity in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass across the world. I have personally attended the Novus Ordo Mass in both France and Spain where I had difficulty following the Mass because I speak neither French nor Spanish. I have attended the Traditional Catholic Mass in both Italy and France where no such difficulty arose because the Holy Sacrifice was celebrated exactly as if I had been at the Traditional Catholic Mass in Ireland. Pope Benedict XVI, in the letter which accompanied his own ‘Motu Propio’ , ‘Summorum Pontificum’. of 2007, also noted the disunity that came about after the introduction of the Novus Ordo’ The Catholics I know who attend the Traditional Catholic Mass, do so in order to worship God in a way that they find reverent and spiritually satisfying. Let us also be mindful of Our Lord’s own words, “Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword.” (Matthew 10:34) Holding on to Tradition to counter the ills of this world.
Due to the spread and effects of Modernism and Liberalism in the world has contributed to changes or errors in the Church and the ills in this world (e.g. separation of Church and State, anti-Christian laws, gay marriages, rights to abortion, transgenderism, etc, etc). Therefore all the more Catholics should be vigilant in holding on to Tradition and traditional Catholic values to safeguard families and future generations. Popes Pius IX and Pius X have fought against these philosophies through their encyclicals Quanta Cura and Pascendi Dominici Gregis respectively. As it will be too lengthy to cover these topics I have given below links for your interest. Liberalism is a Sin Liberalism & it's effect on society Before and After Vatican II Statistics Do Not Lie Precipitous decline Pope Pius IX on Liberal Catholics Sacred Tradition, together with Scripture, includes those beliefs and practices that are most important to the Church because they have been revealed by God and because they have been affirmed by the teaching authority of the Catholic Church. That is why Sacred Tradition can help us to live a better Christian life. Let us pray for the courage to remain faithful to Tradition, our Traditional Catholic Faith come what may and let us continue to pray earnestly for the Pope and our brethren. Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place all our trust in Thee. |
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