GLOSSARY OF TERMS
AUTHORITY. The quality by which
persons or institutions make laws
necessary for unity and the common good (CCC nos. 1897-1912).
MAGISTERIUM. The teaching office
of the church entrusted to it by
Jesus Christ since the time of the
apostles (CCC nos. 85-87).
DEPOSITUM FIDEI. The “sacred
deposit” of the faith contained in
scripture and tradition. Term introduced at the 16th-century Council
of Trent (CCC no. 84).
SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. Closely
bound elements that together
contain the deposit of faith (CCC
nos. 80-82).
SENSUS FIDEI. The “sense of faith”
shared by the whole church, officially introduced in the Vatican
II document Lumen Gentium
(nos. 12 and 35). First proposed by
John Henry Newman (CCC nos.
904-907).
older by calendar years, neither was
technically your parent until they
both came together and you were
conceived. In the same way, while
sacred texts of many kinds were
written by prophets and sages for
centuries, the book we call the Bible
didn’t exist until the community of
the church compiled, sorted, and
confirmed its contents.
The tradition of the church is
therefore responsible for scripture
as we know it. Yet it’s unfair to say
tradition came first because it took
those ancient writings and so many
more to produce the community who
would know itself as the people of
God. The texts existed, and the community existed, and when the two
came together inspired by the Holy
Spirit, both scripture and tradition
took their first unified breath. The
magisterium, or teaching church,
provides and promotes the deposit of
faith. And the deposit contains both
scripture, which is no longer added
to, and tradition, which is vital and
expanding in each new age. ;
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is a gi;
for which we are called
to give thanks.
ticipating in the sacramental life of
the church and nourishing our own
spiritual growth. Speaking of faith
as a deposit might sound like it’s
something locked up for safekeeping to prevent it from being stolen or
damaged. Actually, nothing could be
further from the truth! This is one
treasure that needs to get out more.
The deposit of faith comes in
two main containers, marked
scripture and tradition. Which came first,
people often wonder, and which is
more important? That is a little like
saying: Which came first, your mother or your father? While one may be
VISION 2013
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Blessed John Paul II
Living the joy of the Beatitudes,
serving the needy elderly
in 32 countries
around the world,
in the footsteps of
Saint Jeanne Jugan.
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Sr. Constance Carolyn
601 Maiden Choice Lane
Baltimore, MD 21228
Tel: 410.744.9367
serenity@littlesistersofthepoor.org
www.littlesistersofthepoor.org
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