THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE MAGISTERIUM

CARRYING ON THE FAITH

PASSING ON THE GOOD NEWS

• DURING THE LATTER HALF OF THE FIRST CENTURY, THE ORIGINAL APOSTLES, “THE EYEWITNESSES OF JESUS”, BEGAN BEING MARTYRED OR DYING OF OLD AGE.

• JUDAS ISCARIOT- COMMITTED SUICIDE RIGHT AFTER JESUS' ARREST

• JAMES THE GREATER-BEHEADED IN 44 AD(FIRST APOSTLE MARTYRED)

• BARTHOLOMEW-SKINNED ALIVE AND BEHEADED IN THE FIRST CENTURY

• ANDREW-CRUCIFIED IN 60 AD IN PATRAS, GREECE

• JAMES THE LESSER-STONED AND BEHEADED IN EITHER 62 OR 69 AD

• SIMON THE ZEALOT-MARTYRED BY SAW IN ABOUT 65 AD

• PETER-CRUCIFIED IN ABOUT 67 AD

• THOMAS-LANCED AND DIED 3 DAYS LATER IN INDIA 72 AD

• MATTHEW-SOME TIME IN THE FIRST CENTURY, MARTYRED, BUT ACCOUNTS ARE DIFFERENT ON HOW

• PHILIP-CRUCIFIED IN THE YEAR 80 AD

• JUDE THADDEUS-MARTYRED BY SAW/AX IN 1STCENTURY

• JOHN-DIED OF OLD AGE IN APPROX. 95AD

THE GOSPELS

• UP TO THIS POINT, THE STORY OF CHRIST WAS PASSED DOWN AS ORAL TRADITION

• AS THE APOSTLES STARTED DYING OUT, EARLY CHRISTIANS REALIZED THE NEED TO WRITE THINGS DOWN.

• THE FIRST GOSPEL WRITTEN WAS THE GOSPEL OF MARK, WRITTEN ABOUT 70 AD

• MATTHEW AND LUKE WERE WRITTEN BETWEEN AD 80-90

• THESE THREE GOSPELS ARE RELATED AND HAVE MANY COMMONALITIES AND ARE OFTEN CALLED THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS (FROM THE GREEK--- SYN-SAME AND OPTIC-VIEWPOINT)

• THE GOSPEL OF JOHN WAS WRITTEN LATER (JOHN LIVED LONGEST) AND HAS THE COMMONALITIES OF THE EARLIER GOSPELS, BUT HAS OTHER HAPPENINGS AND EVENTS NOT IN THE OTHER THREE

THE NEW TESTAMENT

• THE REST OF THE NEW TESTAMENT WAS ALSO WRITTEN DURING THIS TIME PERIOD.

• THE OLDEST BOOKS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT ARE THOUGHT TO BE THE 14 EPISTLES TO THE EARLY CHRISTIANS WRITTEN BY SAINT PAUL

• THE OTHER SEVEN EPISTLES AND THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES AND THE BOOK OF REVELATION WERE WRITTEN AFTER

• THESE BOOKS, ALONG WITH THE GOSPELS, MAKE UP THE 27 BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

HOLY SPIRIT AS AUTHOR

• AS CATHOLICS, WE BELIEVE THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT INSPIRED THE WRITERS OF THESE BOOKS, SO THAT HE, NOT THE HUMAN SCRIBE, IS THE REAL AUTHOR OF THE BIBLE.

• THE HOLY SPIRIT ALSO WORKED WITH THE CHURCH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRADITION WHICH ARE THE WRITTEN AND SPOKEN BELIEFS THAT CHRISTIANS HAVE PASSED DOWN FROM THE TIME OF CHRIST.

• SO AS CATHOLICS, WE RELY ON THE FAITH PASSED DOWN FROM THE SCRIPTURE OF THE BIBLE AS WELL AS THE TRADITION WE HAVE RECEIVED AS A GIFT FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT.

THE MAGISTERIUM

• THE APOSTLES LED BY SAINT PETER WERE THE LEADERS OF THE EARLY CHURCH. CHRIST CHOSE HIS SUCCESSOR AND HIS PRIESTS.

• OUR POPE AND BISHOPS ARE THE DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF PETER AND THE APOSTLES AND AS SUCH, WE FOLLOW THEIR TEACHINGS.

• THE “TECHNICAL” WORD FOR THEIR TEACHINGS IS THE MAGISTERIUM OF THE CHURCH.

• THROUGH LETTERS(EPISTLES!!), STATEMENTS AND DOCUMENTS THAT COME FROM THE POPE AND FROM COUNCILS AND SYNODS, THE MAGISTERIUM CONTINUES TO TEACH US JUST AS THE APOSTLES DID FOR THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.