.- Speaking
to a crowd of over 50,000 gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict
XVI used the occasion of his regular Wednesday audience to expound on
the idea of apostolic tradition, saying that the Church relies not only
on material information passed down through the centuries, but on the
effective presence of Jesus himself.
The Pope based his audience on the subject of Ecclesial communion as well as the broader concept of tradition.
"Ecclesial
communion”, which is “aroused and sustained by the Holy Spirit, [and]
safeguarded and promoted by the apostolic ministry - does not only
extend to the believers of a particular historical period, but embraces
all times and generations," said the Pope.
He added that
"Thanks to the Paraclete, the early apostolic community was able to
experience the Risen Lord. Successive generations do the same, as the
faith is transmitted and lived through faith, worship and the communion
of the People of God.”
The Holy Father
likewise stressed that “This transmission of the 'things' of salvation
is what constitutes the apostolic tradition of the Church." The Holy
Spirit "actualizes the salvific presence of the Lord Jesus, through the
ministry of the apostles ... and through the entire life of the people
of the new covenant."
He then
explained that “This ongoing actuality of the active presence of the
Lord Jesus in His people - worked by the Holy Spirit and expressed in
the Church through the apostolic ministry and fraternal communion - is
the theological meaning of the term Tradition.”
This commonly
used term, he clarified, “is not just a material transmission of what
was originally given to the Apostles, but the effective presence of the
Lord Jesus ... Who, in the Spirit, accompanies and guides the community
He gathered."
"Tradition," the
Pope said, concluding his address, "is the communion of the faithful
around legitimate pastors over the course of history, a community
nourished by the Holy Spirit.”
“It is”, he
said, “the organic continuity of the Church, ... the permanent presence
of the Savior Who comes out to meet, redeem and sanctify us in the
Spirit."
