Victor R. Claveau, MJ
Sacred Tradition is divinely revealed truth. There is another form of tradition in the Church that is changeable inasmuch as it was not divinely revealed. Catholics call this tradition with a small “t.”
For example, Scripture does not state on what day Jesus Christ was born. An old tradition tells us the Son of God, as man, was born on the 25th of December, and the Church accepted and set that date for its celebration. Christians, in obedience to the Church, have observed it every year since Christ ascended into heaven.
The observance of Lent, the Friday abstinence, the celebration of Sunday instead of Saturday as the Sabbath — on these, Scripture is for the most part silent. But tradition clearly tells us they were observed in apostolic times. The Church approved of them and transmitted them from generation to generation to the present day. But the Apostles did not write of them. Why should they? They were taken as a matter of course. Some of the early Christians — disciples of the Apostles, or their disciples in turn — wrote of them to inculcate in their fellow Christians what the Apostles had taught and preached.
The same applies to other customs that had not been written but which were practiced. Since traditions with a small “t” are not doctrinal and immutable, they can be retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the Church. Whenever we speak of tradition in general, we must remember the word has two distinct meanings for the Catholic: First, Sacred Tradition, which is divine Revelation and unchangeable; and second, man-made traditions, which are changeable.