Opening Prayer
I thank Thee, Lord, for the Church as the delivery mechanism of Thy Holy Scripture, for without her, I would not even know which books to trust. I distrust my own limited understanding and choose instead to depend on the saints and teachers Thou hast provided. Let my study of the Bible be a search for Thy truth within the Church.
I petition Thee for the grace to never “devise a private conscience” based on my own fantasies. Let me always take the teachings of the universal Church as my rule of interpretation. Protect me from the way that seems right to a man but leads only to hell, and keep me anchored in the faith delivered through Thy Church.
Amen.
Luke 15:1-10
1Now the publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 3And he spoke to them this parable, saying: 4What man of you that hath an hundred sheep: and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost, until he find it? 5And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing: 6And coming home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost? 7I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance. 8Or what woman having ten groats; if she lose one groat, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it? 9And when she hath found it, call together her friends and neighbours, saying: Rejoice with me, because I have found the groat which I had lost. 10So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance.
St. Thomas More
St. Thomas More argues that we cannot “boldly devise for ourselves a conscience” based on private fantasies. We need the Church because “it was the Church through which the Scripture has come into our hands.” This Sacramental understanding posits that the Church is the “Mother and teacher.” This is essential for the Mystical Body, for without the “unity of the Church”, we are “like a branch broken from the stem”. Our “knowledge and understanding” must depend on the Universal Church.
More asserts that without the Catholic Church, as St. Augustine said, “we couldn’t know which books are Holy Scripture.” To study Scripture to “find out if the faith is true” is a path to “fall into errors,” for the faith is the “rule of interpretation.”
“God’s precepts will never be obeyed if every man may boldly devise for himself a conscience based on a commentary on God’s Word that he’s crafted himself.”
— St. Thomas More
Mary and the Magisterium
Mary is the “Mirror of Virtue” who “took all these things to heart.” She is the “Treasure of the Lord” whose life provides the “rule of interpretation” for the Incarnate Word. The Magisterium, through the Bishop, has the authority to “interpret authoritatively”, protecting the flock from the “Assaults of heresy”. As the “Servant Leader”, the Bishop guides us to “conduct ourselves virtuously” within the Church’s embrace.
- When I read the Bible, do I make use of the Catechism?
- Do I trust the Church as my mother and teacher, or do I rely on my own "fantasies"?
Closing Prayer
Jesus Christ, Word of God, you’ve given us the Church to help us understand what you say. Help me embrace her wisdom.
Amen.
