How updated are you with the rich tradition of our Catholic heritage? - Daily Reflections October 18,2013

FEEL WITH THE CHURCH

 

We celebrate today the feast of St. Luke the evangelist, writer of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. In the First Reading, we read Paul as imprisoned and abandoned by everybody except Luke.

       Companionship is essential in discipleship. A disciple literally means one who learns from another. Paul did not decide one day that he would write epistles and evangelize the world. He spent time with his mentors, people who had been directly with Jesus. Paul definitely learned from the Apostles themselves. In the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), we see Paul in discussion with the rest of the Apostles. Now in the First Reading, we see that Luke was a faithful companion of Paul. Aside from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is reasonable to assume that Luke also learned from Paul in the Jesus event, and vice versa.

       We belong to a Church that can proudly claim a direct link to the line of the Apostles. Our present bishops can trace a direct and unbroken link to the Apostolic chain. Through the laying on of hands, the Apostolic succession continues, which is a grace only the Catholic faith can claim.

       In reading the Scriptures, therefore, it is important that we not only read them. We must also remember the more than two thousand years of tradition that has kept it and interpreted it. We call this disposition sentire cum ecclesia— that is, to feel with the Church, to think with the Church, and to understand with the Church. Intelligence and eloquence are not the only things we need to appreciate and unravel the riches of the Scriptures. Away from the spirit and the tradition that has preserved the gift of God’s revelation, it is very easy to fall into a misguided interpretation of His Word tailored to suit one’s preference, ideology and personal agenda.

       On the feast of Luke the Evangelist, let us rekindle a deep love and appreciation of God’s Word. Let us renew as well our bond with the Spirit, the tradition and the ecclesial wisdom that has preserved and nourished the precious gift of God’s revelation. Fr. Joel O. Jason

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: How updated are you with the rich tradition of our Catholic heritage?

 

We honor You, O God, for the graciousness of Your revelation. Draw me out from the laziness of isolation and help me to sentire cum ecclesia. Amen.