Word to the Wise
Friday, September 18, 2009 - Friday in the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Timothy 6:2c-12 and Luke 8:1-3]Teach and urge these things. Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes.
When I served my Dominican province in the position of Novice Master (i.e. I was in charge of the guys who were doing their probationary year - their first year - in the Dominican Order), it was necessary for me to remind them that there would be many voices with advice or teaching about how to "do" the novitiate (or "handle" their Novice Master!), but only ONE of those voices would make the recommendation about their suitability for profession of vows - my voice - and they would do well to concentrate their listening on that voice. I think of my experience as a Novice Master when I read the words from the First Letter to Timothy today, but the issue is far greater than that. It is a matter of recognizing the authentic voice of Jesus Christ in the midst of all who profess to teach in his name! This was a chronic problem in the time of St. Paul and remains a problem today! In the Catholic Church, we have such a voice and we call it "the Magisterium." And just as in the time of St. Paul, there are voices that claim to know and teach the "message" far better than those who are charged with the duty. The Holy Spirit can, indeed, work in the heart of any believer, but that does not mean the Holy Spirit has dismissed the Magisterium from its role! Believers do have the duty to point out to the Magisterium any elements that are not presented in a manner that will gain honest and intelligent assent, but that is not the same as a "morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes." Yes, "the truth is one," but many voices lay claim to it without realizing they may be distorting that truth to suit private or collective agendas. The Magisterium is not just one voice among many to choose from. It is THE voice. But truth does compel me to say that it occasionally suffers from laryngitis! AMEN