The appeal of tradition

It is not always obvious what sort of life a Christian ought to live. We know that we should be pure in heart, hunger for righteousness, forgive our enemies and pray for them. We are to imitate Christ’s self-sacrificial love, even to death on a cross.  But what does that mean at 5:00 A.M. when the alarm goes off and I have to make breakfast for the kids, beat the traffic, pay the mortgage,  keep appointments, vote, and pay taxes? It’s not always obvious. 

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How shall we live together as Christians? The problem becomes even more difficult at higher levels of social organization or culture. It is often very far from obvious what justice demands in civil society, or what prudence dictates in international policy. What research projects should we fund? What monuments should we erect? What art should we commission? What songs should we sing? What books should we read? What philosophy should inform our science, criminal justice, or education?

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The gospel contains some absolute moral demands, lofty ethical ideals, and transcendent dogmas, but it is remarkably silent on their cultural elaboration. You cannot find anything like a coherent political philosophy in Scripture. St. Paul is silent on writing fiction or poetry. Jesus never talks about chant or polyphony. We don’t even know if he was a tenor or a bass.

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The Papal magisterium offers some help here, but nothing comprehensive or exhaustive, thank God. Papal documents usually limit themselves to abstract principles or the occasional censure of specific errors. We don’t look to Popes for elaborate systems of public policy, philosophy, or education. When Popes have attempted to elaborate such systems, the results have often been shortsighted, naïve, or reactionary.

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All this explains why there is no such thing as the Catholic culture. There have been Catholic cultures throughout history, more or less informed by Gospel values. But there is no such thing as the one, normative Catholic civilization. Even within the tradition of Western European Latin Christianity, we can discern stark differences between the traditional Irish, Spanish, Italian, French, or German Catholic communities.

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Does this diversity mean we are left without authoritative guides to culture and practical Christian living? Are we simply confined within a set of abstract ideals, perhaps elaborated in papal documents? No. Catholic life is far richer than that. The richness and depth of Catholic wisdom is embodied for us in Catholic tradition.

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There are three legs to the stool of Catholic authority: Scripture, Magisterium, and tradition. Take away one of them, and the stool collapses. Of the three, the one that is the most vast, unbounded, and evocative is Catholic tradition. Within that tradition, the Church elevates models of sanctity, of sound philosophy, of orthodox theology, and of exquisite art for our edification.

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Where do we find this tradition? What are its limits? Tradition is unbounded, just like the narrative of an individual life. If tomorrow we discovered an unknown book by St. Augustine, tradition would be proportionately richer. If the Church held another ecumenical council, as she has done on average every century, tradition would grow again. For all we know, we may still be living in the early Church. There might be one hundred thousand more years of Church tradition yet to come. Who knows?

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There are some privileged forms tradition has taken through the years. We venerate especially the lives of saints, martyrs, confessors, and virgins. We look to the fathers and the doctors of the church. The councils are beacons. The various liturgies, the sacraments, and devotions are crucial. The mystics, in their raptures, inspire us. Consecrated lives illume us. Both canon and civil law direct us. The patrimony of Catholic art, music, philosophy, theology elevate us.

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What does holiness mean at 5:00 when the alarm is blaring? The traditional answer is that holiness for me means fidelity to my state of life. Catholic tradition supplies me with abundant examples from countless walks of life down through the years.

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How shall we live? What shall we do? How can we choose between so many good things, or judge between so many objective values? The virtue that discerns such things is prudence. We learn prudence by spending time with prudent people. This is the gift of Catholic tradition. Tradition is the canonical prudence of the Church over the centuries, embodied in laws, texts, prayers, and lives. It is the patrimony of the Church and of the human race. We neglect tradition to our peril.

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