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Instead, Matthew wrote things down much later, well after Jesus died, rose, and ascended into heaven. None of the Gospels were written during Jesus’s life on earth. He died in A.d. 33, and the earliest Gospel manuscript, which is the Aramaic version of Matthew (alluded to by ancient sources), was written between A.d. 40 and 50. The other three Gospels — Mark, Luke, and John — were written between A.d. 53 and 100. Matthew and John, who wrote the first and the last Gospels, were two of the original Twelve Apostles, so they personally heard what Jesus said and saw with their own eyes what He did. Mark and Luke weren’t apostles but disciples, and most of their information on what Jesus said and did wasn’t a first-hand eyewitness account; rather, their information was handed down to them by others who were witnesses. (Remember that the word tradition means “to hand down.”) The unwritten or spoken Gospel was told by word of mouth by the Apostles well before the evangelists, the Gospel writers, ever wrote one word. Luke received much of his data from Jesus’s mother, the Virgin Mary, and Mark received plenty of info from Peter, the apostle Jesus left in charge.
If some time passed between what Jesus actually said and did and when the Gospel writers put His words and actions on paper (actually on parchment), what took place during that period? Before the written word was the unwritten, or spoken, word. In the Old Testament, things happened and were said long before they were written down. So, too, in the New Testament, Jesus preached His sermons and worked His miracles, died on the Cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven long before anyone wrote it down. No one took notes while He preached. No letters were written between Jesus and the Apostles. Sacred Tradition predates and precedes Sacred Scripture, but both come from the same source: God.
The New Testament is totally silent on whether Jesus ever married or had children. The Bible says nothing about His marital status, yet Christians believe He had neither a wife nor kids. Sacred Tradition tells that He never married, just as Sacred Tradition says that the Gospels number only four. Without a written list, who decides (and how) if the Old Testament contains 39 books in Protestant Bibles or 46 books in Catholic Bibles and the New Testament has 27? If Catholics were to believe only in the written word, then no answer would exist. But another avenue exists, the unwritten word, and we can go by that.
Existing separately from human tradition
Human traditions are man-made laws that can be changed. An example of a human tradition is Catholics not eating meat on Fridays during Lent. Celibacy for priests of the Western (Latin) Church is another human tradition, which any pope can dispense, modify, or continue.
Sacred Tradition is considered part of the unwritten word of God because it has been believed for centuries, since the time of the Apostolic Church, which refers to that period of time in Church history from the first (while the Apostles were still alive) to the second century A.d. (before the second-generation Christians died). It’s called Apostolic because the Apostles lived at that time.An example of a Sacred Tradition is the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. A dogma is a revealed truth that’s solemnly defined by the Church — a formal doctrine that the faithful are obligated to believe. Although it’s not explicit in Sacred Scripture, the Assumption of Mary means that Mary was assumed (physically taken up), body and soul, into heaven by her divine Son. Even though it wasn’t solemnly defined until 1950 by Pope Pius XII, this doctrine has been believed (and never doubted) by Catholic Christians since the time of the Apostles. Other examples of Sacred Tradition can be found in the doctrines defined by the 21 General or Ecumenical Councils of the Church, from Nicea (A.d. 325) to Vatican II (1962–1965). (See Chapter 6 for more on the councils.)
IF YOU’RE CATHOLIC, YOU GOTTA GO PUBLIC
When you profess the faith, that is. At the Baptism of an infant, the parents and godparents are asked, “Do you renounce Satan, and all his works and all his empty promises?” (If the person being baptized is at the age of reason, 7 or older, he is asked the question directly.) If the answer is yes, then the priest or deacon proceeds with “Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth?” And so on.
After Baptism, Christians — when they’re at the age of reason — are expected to publicly profess the faith by reciting or singing the Nicene Creed at Mass with the entire congregation. Want to know more about what happens at Baptism? Head over to Chapter 8.
The Creed
The most crucial and influential part of Sacred Tradition is the Creed. The word comes from the Latin credo, meaning “I believe.” A creed is a statement or profession of what members of a particular church or religion believe as being essential and necessary. The two most ancient and most important creeds are the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed; the latter is recited or sung every Sunday and on holy days of obligation at Catholic Masses all over the world. (Like Sundays, holy days of obligation are specific days in the calendar year on which Catholics are required to go to Mass. See Chapter 10 for more on holy days.) The Nicene Creed was the fruit of the Council of Nicea, which convened in A.d. 325 to condemn the heresy of Arianism (see Chapter 4) and to affirm the doctrine of the divinity of Christ. The oldest creed, however, is the Apostles’ Creed. Although it’s doubtful that the Twelve Apostles themselves wrote it, the origin of this creed comes from the first century A.d.
A sophisticated development of the Apostles’ Creed, which is a Christian statement of belief attributed to the Twelve Apostles, the Nicene Creed reflects one’s loyalty and allegiance to the truths contained in it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the Creed is one of the four pillars of faith, along with the Ten Commandments, the seven sacraments, and the Our Father. The text of the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, which follows, succinctly summarizes all that Catholicism regards as divinely revealed truth:
The Apostles’ Creed: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from there He will come 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.
The following list explains the Apostles’ Creed in detail, so you can get a better understanding of this Sacred Tradition and the Catholic belief system. (It’s divided into 12 articles for easier digestion.)
Article 1: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth. This affirms that God exists, that He’s one God in three persons, known as the Holy Trinity, and that He created the known universe. Creation is understood as making something from nothing. The created world includes all inanimate matter, as well as plant, animal, human, and angelic life.
Article 2: And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. This attests that Jesus is the Son of God and that He’s most certainly divine. The word Lord implies divinity, because the Greek word Kyrios and the Hebrew word Adonai both mean “Lord” and are only ascribed to God. So the use of Lord with Jesus is meant to profess His divinity. The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew word Jeshua, meaning “God saves.” So Catholics believe that Jesus is Savior.
Article 3: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit [and] born of the Virgin Mary. This affirms the human nature of Christ, meaning that He had a