Balancing Tradition and Forward Progress in Our Missionary Call
Dear Friends in Christ,
One of the great challenges and blessings of our Catholic faith is holding together two powerful realities: our deep and ancient Tradition and our ongoing call to renewal and evangelization. The Church, like a living body, breathes with both lungs—rooted in the wisdom of the past, yet ever moving forward under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
From the very beginning, Jesus Christ entrusted His mission to the apostles, commanding them: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). That missionary mandate has not changed in over two thousand years. Yet the world around us has changed dramatically. The Church of the early martyrs looked different from that of the medieval cathedrals; the Church of the Reformation era looked different still. Today, in our digital, globalized, and often secular world, we are once again called to live out the unchanging Gospel in new and creative ways.
To balance Tradition and progress, we must first understand what Tradition truly means. In Catholic theology, “Tradition” (with a capital “T”) is not merely about preserving customs or styles; it is about the living transmission of faith itself. As the Second Vatican Council taught in Dei Verbum, the Word of God “is handed on from the apostles to their successors so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound, and spread it.” Tradition is alive because Christ is alive. It is the ongoing conversation between God and His people through the ages.
At the same time, we must remember that fidelity to Tradition does not mean immobility. The Spirit who inspired the apostles still speaks to the Church today. Vatican II’s Evangelii Nuntiandi and more recently Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium remind us that the Church must be “permanently in a state of mission.” Our task is not to guard a museum, but to open doors—to allow the treasures of our faith to shine in a world hungry for meaning, beauty, and truth.
This tension between preservation and progress is not something to be feared but embraced. Think of a tree: its roots run deep into the soil, drawing life from what lies hidden below. Yet those same roots allow it to grow upward, to branch out, to reach toward the light. Without roots, the tree withers; without growth, it dies. So it is with the Church. Our rootedness in Sacred Scripture, the Sacraments, and the teachings of the Magisterium keeps us grounded. But our outreach, innovation, and missionary creativity allow that life to bear fruit in the present age.
For us at the parish level, this means being attentive both to the sacred and the contemporary. We must cherish our liturgy, our devotions, and our sacred traditions—not because they are old, but because they connect us to Christ and the communion of saints. Yet we must also look for new ways to share the Gospel—with our families, our schools, our workplaces, and especially with those who have drifted away from the faith. Digital media, service opportunities, and personal invitation can all become instruments of evangelization when animated by love.
The key is discernment. Not every new idea serves the Gospel, but neither does every old practice automatically preserve it. The measure is always Christ Himself: does this draw people closer to Him? Does it help us love God and neighbor more deeply?
Let us, then, move forward together—anchored in the timeless truth of our faith, yet open to the fresh wind of the Spirit who makes all things new.
With gratitude and hope,
Fr. Tom Lanza
Pastor, St. Matthias Parish & School