the importance of an oral tradition

The apostles have preached the Gospel to us from the Lord Jesus Christ;
Jesus Christ [has done so] from God.
Having, therefore, received their orders…
and thus preaching through countries and cities,
they appointed the firstfruits [of their labours],
having first proven them by the Spirit,
to be bishops and deacons of those who should afterwards believe.
Is it any surprise if those in Christ who were entrusted with such a duty by
God appointed those [ministers] before mentioned,
when the blessed Moses also…noted down in the sacred books all the injunctions
which were given him, and when the other prophets also followed him,
bearing witness with one consent to the ordinances which he had appointed?
Clement of Rome

(Trajan’s Market complex, Rome, Italy / Julie Cook / 2018)

Only 1 out of 10 in the Roman Empire was literate.
9 out of 10 were illiterate and couldn’t read!
To build the Church upon a book would’ve been a stupid idea if that was all that there was.
We’re already now into the fourth and fifth century and nobody had this book to even read.
Where did they hear it?
In the Mass.
Think about this: if you were in these first generations and you didn’t have this book,
think about how you would listen to the readings at Mass differently than you do today!
Those were words of gold for you because you couldn’t read them for yourself.
You would listen and you would memorize what you were hearing because you might
never hear those words again in your life.
Steve Ray
from Finding the Fullness of Faith

the gift of paradise

“Where there is no obedience there is no virtue,
where there is no virtue there is no good,
where there is no good there is no love,
where there is no love, there is no God,
and where there is no God there is no Paradise.”
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

(sea oats along the beach at Rosemary Beach, Fl / Julie Cook / 2018)

Jesus could’ve put an end to this right now with Pilate, but he didn’t.
He let it go on because he was going to war. This was his victory march.
He was going to win and it would all be shown on Easter morning, the day of Ascension,
and when he is glorified in Heaven. And you want to know when the real end result will be?
When all of us, who this work paid for our sins,
stand cleansed in the blood of the Lamb before God’s throne on the end day and he says,
‘Welcome into my presence, you good and worthy servants.’
Steve Ray
from The Pain of the Crucifixion