Opening Prayer
Lord, I ask for the grace to be a learner within Thy Church rather than an arguer. Deliver me from the temptation of “private judgment” and the desire to pick and choose which of Thy teachings I will accept, for to believe one part of Thy truth while rejecting another is an absurdity. I desire to submit my reason to Thy living authority rather than to my own fancies.
I petition Thee for the token of true faith: an immediate and implicit submission of the mind. Give me the humility to accept the whole of Thy message, for Thy authority makes every part of it true. Secure the foundations of my belief so that I may be a learner at the feet of the Church, the mother of my faith.
Amen.
Matthew 25:14-23
14For even as a man going into a far country, called his servants, and delivered to them his goods; 15And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to every one according to his proper ability: and immediately he took his journey. 16And he that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same, and gained other five. 17And in like manner he that had received the two, gained other two. 18But he that had received the one, going his way digged into the earth, and hid his lord’s money. 19But after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them. 20And he that had received the five talents coming, brought other five talents, saying: Lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents, behold I have gained other five over and above. 21His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22And he also that had received the two talents came and said: Lord, thou deliveredst two talents to me: behold I have gained other two. 23His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant: because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Blessed John Henry Newman
Blessed John Henry Newman clarifies that faith requires accepting the Church as a “living authority.” We cannot be “cafeteria Catholics,” selecting parts of the Creed to believe while rejecting others. This is rooted in the Mystical Body, where the Apostolic Tradition is a single, indivisible whole. As the Church Fathers taught, “if one part was to be believed, every part was to be believed.” This unity is manifested in the Eucharist, the “Mass of the early Christians”, where the “same yesterday and today” Christ is encountered through the Apostolic Succession.
Newman argues that in the time of the Apostles, there was “no room whatever for what is now called private judgment.” To believe partially is to contradict the “very notion of believing.” He emphasizes that the Church is our teacher, and we enter her fold not to argue or examine based on “private tastes and fancies,” but to submit to the “word of the Apostles.”
“The Church was their teacher; they did not come to argue, to examine, to pick and choose, but to accept whatever was put before them.”
— Blessed John Henry Newman
Mary and the Magisterium
Mary’s “unquestioning obedience” is the model for all Catholics. She did not “pick and choose” her role but accepted the whole of God’s plan. The Magisterium, through the Bishop, “preserves the unity” of the Church, ensuring that the faithful do not fall into the “assaults of heresy” by attempting to “devise for himself a conscience”. The Pope and Bishops, as “Servant Leaders”, protect us from “private judgment,” which Newman identifies as the enemy of true Faith.
- Do I ever act like a "cafeteria Catholic" by doubting difficult dogmas?
- Are there some teachings of the Church that I find difficult to embrace, and have I prayed for the grace of understanding?
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of the Church, and for giving her your own authority to teach, so that I can know the truth with certainty.
Amen.
