LET NOVELTY CEASE TO ATTACK ANTIQUITY
These are the famous words of Pope St. Celestine in the year 431 to the Ecumenical Council at Ephesus. Years later St Vincent of Lerins adhered to this rule when he cited it in his own doctrine --where quod ubique, or universitas est incertum, i.e. where universal agreement on a point of doctrine is uncertain, the faithful must then inquire into the quod sempor or antiquitas i.e. into the constancy and antiquity of the churches teaching on the matter.
St Vincent stated: "Let nothing more be granted to novelty because no addition should be made to antiquity, let not the clear belief of the ancients be polluted by an intermixture of mire."
And what does the bible say on the topic of tradition and novelties:
"So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us." 2 Thessalonians 2:15
"Now I praise you because you remember me in everything, and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you." 1 Cor. 11:2
"Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep aloof from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us." 2 Thessalonians 3:6
Our culture is obsessed with change and novelty. Our political leaders shove change down our throats and disregard the wisdom of those who came before us. Christianity has indeed become thoroughly polluted by the lies of progress and novelty. Those who like to call themselves bible Christians seek in vain to recreate the ancient church without the benefit of any tradition whatsoever.
The Catholic Church should be immune to needless change, trends and worldliness. Humanity needs the Church to be an unchanging beacon of truth and timelessness. With respect to the liturgy we know that the traditional mass is the will of God by the length of time it has endured in the Church. The traditional mass is the "mass of the ages" and we are guaranteed of its ability to communicate the faith, save souls, and that it is the will of God.
But no one says it better than G.K. Chesterton: "The Catholic Church is the only thing which saves a man from the degrading slavery of being a child of his age. ...A thing as old as the Catholic Church has an accumulated armoury and treasury to choose from; it can pick and choose among the centuries and brings one age to the rescue of another. It can call in the old world to redress the balance of the new.
"...the New Religions are suited to the new world; and this is their most damning defect. Each religion is produced by contemporary causes that can be clearly pointed out. Socialism is a reaction against Capitalism. Spiritualism is a reaction against Materialism; it is also in its intensified form merely the trail of the tragedy of the Great War. But there is a somewhat more subtle sense in which the very fitness of the new creeds makes them unfit; their very acceptability makes them inacceptable. Thus they all profess to be progressive because the peculiar boast of their peculiar period was progress; they claim to be democratic because our political system still rather pathetically claims to be democratic. They rushed to a reconciliation with science, which was often only a premature surrender to science. They hastily divested themselves of anything considered dowdy or old-fashioned in the way of vesture or symbol. They claimed to have bright services and cheery sermons; the churches competed with the cinemas; the churches even became cinemas. In its more moderate form the mood was merely one of praising natural pleasures, such as the enjoyment of nature and even the enjoyment of human nature. These are excellent things and this is an excellent liberty; and yet it has its limitations.
We do not really want a religion that is right where we are right. What we want is a religion that is right where we are wrong..."
|
