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Fr. Gerard’s Weekly Column: 2/9/25

Whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

In today’s second reading, St. Paul addresses divisions in the Christian community in Corinth. From its earliest moments, divisions have been a threat to the life and ministry of the church. This continues to be true in our own day. We are well aware of groups or leaders who call themselves Catholic but speak and act in ways that exhibit their disagreement and even rejection of Catholic teaching. We know that even amidst every day self-identified Catholics, we will hear disagreement or rejection of some aspect of the church’s teaching.

Jesus knew divisions would be a problem; our fallen human nature makes it hard for us to stay united. He gave us, therefore, an instrument of unity: the Church’s Magisterium that is the teaching authority that Christ gave to Peter and the Apostles. Peter and the other Apostles spread the Good News in the first Christian generation, and they appointed successors who, under the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit, continued the tradition. In addressing the earliest of divisions, St. Paul appeals to this teaching authority and unbroken tradition to solve the dissension that’s tearing apart the community in Corinth.

That Apostolic Succession has lasted to our own day. Even though some are tempted to see the renewals of the Second Vatican Council as a rejection of the old, one of its most important documents, Lumen Gentium, reaffirms the role of the Magisterium and teaches the following:

“This Sacred Council… teaches and declares that Jesus Christ, the eternal Shepherd, established His holy Church, having sent forth the apostles as He Himself had been sent by the Father; and He willed that their successors, namely the bishops, should be shepherds in His Church, even to the consummation of the world. And in order that the episcopate itself might be one and undivided, He placed Blessed Peter over the other apostles and instituted in him a permanent and visible source and foundation of unity of faith and communion.” Dogmatic Constitution on the Church #18

What we believe about who Christ is and how to follow him doesn’t change like a political platform. Nor is it a buffet of doctrines that we can choose from, depending on what we like or dislike. Would being a Christian mean anything at all if everyone just invented their own custom-tailored Christ? The church would lose not only its unity when the faith becomes subjective, but it is weakened and, therefore, no longer has the power to transform and evangelize. We, therefore, look to the successors of the apostles, the pope and bishops to keep us faithful to Christ and to unite us as one body in the same Christ.

The greatest obstacle to the magisterium’s mission of unity is a lack of trust. Many say they don’t trust the bishop or the pastor. Certainly, the reverse is true, too. Church hierarchy have a distrust in those who coop the faith or regard its teachings as subjective. However, this is an issue that goes beyond church. Multiple surveys show that trust in institutions, leaders, educators and the media has rapidly decreased in the modern era. Without trust, the pathway to truth and unity is ruptured.

Where can we begin the restoration of trust? I am going to suggest that it is within the marriage covenant and family life that trust is best cultivated. This is because trust has its foundation in love. The spouse or the child trusts because they recognize the genuine sacrificial love of the spouse or the parent. The bond of sacramental marriage is one that not only builds on human love but infuses it with the charism of divine love, which is sacrificial and trustworthy.

Trust founded in love is why I have been called to the celibate life of a Roman Catholic priest. We are beyond the times and eras when people were united in the teachings of the church because “Father said so.” My hope is that the faithful I serve will recognize my sacrificial love for them and that, because of that recognition, they will trust, be united with Christ and his Church, and live the truth revealed to us in Christ.

WORLD MARRIAGE DAY –Christian Marriage is more than a social and legal institution. It involves a call from God and a response from two people who promise to build, with the help of divine grace, a lifelong, intimate, and sacramental partnership of love and life.

The website For Your Marriage www.foryourmarriage.org has many resources that can challenge and strengthen couples living this sacrament every day. In addition, Retrouvaille is a program for married couples facing difficult challenges in their relationship. Information on this practical program designed to improve communication, build stronger marriages, and help couples reconnect can be found at www.helpourmarriage.org. Together we celebrate and pray for all who are living the vocation of Holy Matrimony.

Peace,

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