Why Catholics Use Scripture and Tradition

God bless you Father Mike, I’m on my path to conversion to the Roman Catholic Church.

Ya know, as a Protestant, I always had to give the answer of “this is just my interpretation” because I had no authority as a Baptist over a Presbyterian. A Methodist has no teaching authority over a Pentecostal. It’s eventually just people giving academic Ted talks to each other. I used to hate the idea of tradition but when I really started analyze it, I began to understand why we need tradition. The Reformation alone shows why we need tradition and authority. Without the responsibility of holding fast to the WHOLE of the Christian Faith, we will be left in the chaos.

"Homonymsfathermikeschmitzandthisisascencionpresents...." Love that opening.

My goodness Father Mike- so timely!! I was out for my walk today after watching your video.....I was tracked down by a Jehovah's Witness this morning on my daily prayer walk. He was a nice enough man, but really wanted to talk about the bible with me, so instead of being short with him, I politely listened. He took my politeness as an "in" to join him in learning and understanding the bible according to his religion. I explained to him that I am a Catholic- I was born Catholic, I wandered for many years questioning my faith, but Jesus helped me realize that the Catholic Church is truly where I belong to learn of his love, wisdom and guidance. Needless to say, my conversation needed to end when he started to intimate that the Catholic Church has been infiltrated by Satan, and I am now following false prophets.....I wished him all the blessings of our lord Jesus, and went on my way, very content and comforted that I now know and am strong in my faith in Jesus and the Catholic Church- and that my faith has led me to your amazing weekly teachings!!!

I know you probaby won't see this but thought I would ask. Ive started looking a the Catholic church(The beliefs, views, ect.) Alot of friends+family have been very opposed to this but I've noticed that their view of the Catholic church is not the truth of what the church is. How can I start the conversation from a place of truth and not misconceptions.

Yes. This is Catholic apologetics 101. Every Catholic should be able to explain this concept to any Protestant

Apologetics is key for us the youth now a days to learn so that we can have strong roots in our faith! Thank you father we need more videos like this.

You have a gift Fr Mike. I'm dating a Catholic. And I always have all these questions that she can't answer and you always explain them in a way that is easy to understand without making protestants feel defensive. I'm quietly considering converting, I would greatly appreciate more videos in the subject. For example. Does it really matter whether we're Catholic or Protestant in terms of our salvation? Keep up the great work. God bless younand keep giving you wisdom!

2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

I want to find Catholic friends.. someday.. I’m such a loner as a Catholic.. 😣

So glad to becoming catholic. I get confirmed on April 8th. God is so good. Keep me in your prayers as my old Protestant views try to haunt me. So good to be apart of the true church now!

Dude. Knocked it out of the park. You framed the argument beautifully without taking shots at those who would disagree. "Where is trinity in the Bible?" 😂

Bottom line... Sacred Scriptures comes from TRADITION. Sacred Scripture did not even exist in the form we have today until the 4th century. But the Church existed from year 1. So for 400 years the Church was guided by TRADITION, not scripture. And it is this TRADITION that was used to inform the Catholic Church as to which writings would be considered the word of God and thus Sacred Scripture.

Truly appreciate how you touch upon the Church's teaching voice as back as 315 AD and 398 AD ... It's so vital for the modern day Catholic to keep this in mind always.

I am protestant and the way you answered this has really challenged my thinking in a positive way. I'm no where near being catholic yet but you are helping me to go out and do more research on the early church

God Bless you Father Mike! Thank you for this! It helped me so much! Prayers for I have come back for the Faith & taking RCIA classes 🙏🏽❤️.. I was baptized Catholic but raised Episcopalian.

I’m a Protestant but I appreciated this video. Game me something to chew on.

Father Mike, as a Protestant, I want to say that I appreciate you. I appreciate your candor, your passion, your energy, and your heart. There is a need for dialogue. There is a need for civility. Christ prayed that we would be unified. I appreciate your attitude, and clearly, your teaching is thoughtful and well-intentioned. It makes my heart glad to know that there are godly men like you upholding the faith in Catholic churches around the country, and I am glad you have this ministry. I am glad that you have created a platform and are using your gift of teaching to instruct believers in matters of the faith. It is needed, and I pray for continued blessings and success in your ministry. I mean all of this truly. I don't have to believe in the authority of the magisterium to accept the canon of the Bible. I can make that determination myself (with some divine guidance). Recently, I have read some passages from 1 Clement, The Shepherd of Hermas, and the Letter of Barnabas, and let me tell you ... I understand why these were left out of the canon. They made the right call ... but, I don't need to accept their authority to agree with them. I'm reading the same books they were. I'm seeing the same things they were seeing, and I am coming to the same conclusion. How can that be? I would say, because the same Holy Spirit which spoke to them as they were reading and deciding is the same Spirit which looks over my shoulder and gives me discernment when I am reading and deciding. I don't defer to the Roman magisterium. I defer to the Holy Spirit—just as the Roman magisterium did. They too deferred to the Holy Spirit when the councils came to this conclusion. That makes the Holy Spirit the ultimate authority—not the magisterium. The magisterium is just a middle man, and I don't have to go through them—not when I have access to the same Holy Spirit as they do. They are not "above me," and they must be submissive and open to the Spirit same as me. In this regard, we are not different. Now, I appreciate their wisdom. I appreciate their thoughtfulness and care ... but, the magisterium has not always gotten everything correct—which makes sense, because they are men—subject to the same sinful nature we all are, but ... that said, you Catholics do a VERY good job on these things generally, lol! I think we Protestants would do well to "peek" at your Catholic theological homework sometimes, because the work is often meticulous and excellent ... On Martin Luther cutting the deuterocanonical books—I agree with you. They should probably still be used in the Bible. One of the proof texts for Sola Scriptura that Protestants like to use is II Timothy 3:16 ... but, in context, Paul was clearly referring to the Septuagint indirectly—which included those books. Now, I sort of see why the Reformers cut them, because they were not in the Masoretic text, and, I think there is a case to be made for the Old Testament coming from the Hebrew tradition, so lets use the Hebrew canon ... but, the *APOSTLE* Paul seems to indicate at least indirectly that the second canon was "scripture," so ... I don't see why the Reformers feel justified in going against Paul ... Still need to consult a Protestant theologian to explain that one to me! But the other thing you miss is that it wasn't ONLY the "magisterium" and those two councils which decided on the canon in the fourth century. The early church collectively made that decision many, many times for hundreds of years leading up to that point ... and it was by the Spirit which they made that decision ... The Corinthians decided to make copies of Paul's letters and spread them around. Were they members of the magisterium? By whose authority were they under to decide that was scripture worth preserving and spreading? What about pastors which chose not to do readings from the Gospel of Thomas in their services because they believed it to be heretical. Were they members of the "magisterium?" Clearly not. The problem with your position is that you ignore the role the Holy Spirit played in the process of canon formation, then, you place all of the credit and authority with the "magisterium" when it was actually the Holy Spirit the entire time. The only thing the councils of Rome and Carthage did was affirm the work the Holy Spirit had already done ... but I don't need their "infallible stamp" to convince myself of that fact. I can read the books and make that determination on my own—just as the early church did and just as the councils did ... and, I do find it comforting to know we all agree—as we should—because the same Spirit testifies to us all ... So, yeah ... I do not buy your argument that as a Protestant I "accept the authority of the magisterium." I accept the authority of the Holy Spirit—which is where the magisterium should be claiming they get their authority from—but ... for me, they are just one voice. Sometimes God speaks through them and sometimes He doesn't—it's just them giving their opinion—but ... that's why God equips each Christian with their own truth detector: the Holy Spirit. And I don't fault Catholics for looking to the magisterium just like I don't fault Baptists for looking to their theologians for answers, but ... sometimes, "authorities" are wrong, and Martin Luther was right to say, "His holiness is not above scripture!" when the Pope claimed his authority superseded scripture. Sometimes, you have to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and trust it even when it goes against the supposed "authorities," but ... that path must never be taken lightly. It takes a lot of prayer and meditation (and reflection upon the scriptures) to make sure that voice you are hearing is the Holy Spirit and not your own. On Sola Scriptura, I believe the spirit of it—that the Pope and tradition should not be superseding the Bible, but ... Yes, Sola Scriptura is NOT in the Bible. I have ALL KINDS of problems with it ... I think we need the church and tradition as practical matters, but ... in the Reformation, it became "the Bible, Church, and Tradition" versus "Scripture Alone", and I REALLY hate the framing of that whole debate, because it COMPLETELY leaves out the Holy Spirit, which ... that is the third person of the trinity and the one who came after Jesus left ... Why isn't He even in the conversation? How are we leaving Him out of the debate when He had a role in authoring scripture and is the one who gives the church discernment and inspiration which led to healthy traditions? So ... I just don't like any of this framing and would prefer a complete restructuring with a new doctrinal framework which puts the third person of the trinity at the center instead of "infallible books" (which can easily be misinterpreted by the reader without guidance from the Spirit) and "infallible human teachers" (who, if they are hearing correctly from God, is only because of the ministry of the Spirit) ... which are roughly the Protestant and Catholic positions presently ...

Thank you Fr. Mike your explanations are always so helpful. I like to view your videos then do countless hours of study on subjects you teach us. You aide me in me life to Evangelize.

I played one of you videos for my granddaughter, 19, and all she could say was "wow! He's good-looking!" I really hope that's not all she got out of it.