Scriptural Reference Guide
The Catholic Church bases her teaching upon one
source: The word of God. This divine revelation is transmitted in two ways:
through Scripture and apostolic tradition. Many assume that only the writings
of the apostles are the word of God. However, their oral transmission of
the faith is also considered the word of God (1 Thess. 2:13). Few Protestant groups today accept the validity, let alone the authority, of tradition.
In fact, many believe that Scripture is the only definitive source
of divine truth. For this reason, they are critical of certain doctrines
of the Catholic Church, which, according to them, have no basis in Scripture.
In fact, those who embrace the theory of sola scriptura attempt
to use the Bible to contradict, to prove baseless, certain Church teachings,
such as the Real Presence and the existence of purgatory. However, these
teachings are reflected in Scripture, as the passages we will look
at illustrate.
Our purpose here is not to dissect the opposition.
Rather, our purpose is to provide a scriptural evidence for these doctrines.
Under each Catholic doctrine in the list that follows are passages from
Scripture that witness to the doctrine’s divine origin. For the Catholic,
what follows will make clear the harmony of Scripture and tradition: truth
cannot contradict truth. Whether God speaks to us through the Bible or
through the voice of tradition, the word spoken is always a true and steadfast
guide.
Please note that all scriptural citations are taken
from the Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition of the Holy
Bible.
Scripture and Tradition
"I commend you because you remember me in everything
and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you" (1 Cor.
11:2).
"Follow the pattern of the sound words which you
have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard
the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells
within us" (2 Tim. 1:13-14).
"So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the
traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter."
(2 Thess. 2:15)
"You, then, my son, be strong in the grace that
is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses
entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim.
2:1-2).
"First of all you must understand this, that no
prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because
no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy
Spirit spoke from God" (2 Peter 1:20-21).
"‘Though I have much to write to you, I would rather
not use paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you and talk with you
face to face, so that our joy may be complete" (2 John 12).
Faith and Works
"‘Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," shall
enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who
is in heaven’" (Matt. 7:21).
"‘Why do you call me "Lord, Lord," and not do what
I tell you?’" (Luke 6:46).
"For he will render every man according to his
works . . ." (Rom. 2:6-8).
"For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous
before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified" (Rom. 2:13).
"For if we sin deliberately after receiving the
knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but
a fearful prospect of judgments . . . (Heb. 10:26-27).
"What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says
he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?" (Jas. 2:14).
"So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead"
(Jas. 2:17).
"But some one will say, ‘You have faith and I have
works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will
show you my faith. . . .Do you want to be shown, you foolish fellow, that
faith apart from works is barren? (Jas. 2:18-20).
"You see that a man is justified by works and not
by faith alone" (Jas. 2:24).
The Trinity
"Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness . . .’" (Gen. 1:26).
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit" (Matt. 28:19).
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)
"But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled
your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds
of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And
after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How is it that you have
contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’"
(Acts 5:3-4)
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love
of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Cor. 13:14).
Christ’s Divinity
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called
‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’"
(Is. 9:6).
"Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father
who is in heaven’" (Matt. 16:16-17).
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
"Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you,
before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58).
"‘I and the Father are one’" (John 10:30).
"For in him [Christ] the whole fulness of deity
dwells bodily" (Col. 2:9).
"In many and various ways God spoke of old to our
fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by
a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created
the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his
nature, upholding the universe by his word of power . . ." (Heb. 1:1-3).
"But of the Son he says, "Thy throne, O God, is
for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom.
. . . And, "Thou, Lord, didst found the earth in the beginning, and the
heavens are the work of thy hands." (Heb. 1:8, 10)
Real Presence in the Eucharist
"‘Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has
eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the
wilderness, and they died. This is bread which comes down from heaven,
that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever;
and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.’
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give
us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly truly, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have
no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,
and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and
my blood is drink indeed’" (John 6:47-55).
"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered
to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which
is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup,
after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant of my blood. Do this,
as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat
this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes"
(1 Cor. 11:23-26).
"Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the
cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body
and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:27).
The Papacy
"And he called to him his twelve disciples and
gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal
every disease and every infirmity. The names of the twelve apostles are
these: first, Simon, who is called Peter . . ." (Matt. 10:1-2).
"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock
I will build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against
it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven’" (Matt. 16:18-19).
"‘Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to have
you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that
your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your
brethren’" (Luke 22:31-32).
"He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him,
and said, ‘So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas’
(which means Peter)" (John 1:42).
"When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to
Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said
to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my
lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love
me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to
him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John,
do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time,
‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know that I love you.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep’" (John 21:15-17).
Purgatory
"For if he were not expecting that those who had
fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to
pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is
laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious
thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered
from their sin" (2 Macc. 12:44-45).
"Make friends quickly with your accuser, while
you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the
judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say
to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny" (Matt.
5:25-26).
"Each man’s work will become manifest; for the
Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire
will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man
has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any
man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be
saved, but only as through fire" (1 Cor. 3:13-15).
"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the
righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put
to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; in which he went and
preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly did not obey . . ." (1
Peter 3:18-20).
"But nothing unclean shall enter it [heaven] .
. ." (Rev. 21:27).
Honor Due to the Virgin Mary
"And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary,
the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed
is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother
of my Lord should come to me?’" (Luke 1:41-43).
"And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate
of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me
blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is
his name’" (Luke 1:46-49).
"If one member suffers, all suffer together; if
one member is honored, all rejoice together" (1 Cor. 12:26).
Praying to the Saints
"‘And as for the dead being raised, have you not
read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said
to him, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob"? He is not God of the dead, but of the living . . .’" (Mark 12:26-27)
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which
clings so closely . . ." (Heb. 12:1).
"And when he had taken the scroll, the four living
creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding
a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of
the saints" (Rev. 5:8).
NIHIL OBSTAT:
I have concluded that the materials
presented in this work are free of doctrinal or moral errors.
Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004
IMPRIMATUR:
In accord with 1983 CIC 827
permission to publish this work is hereby granted.
+Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004
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