Archbishop Fulton Sheen rightfully stated: There are not a hundred people in America who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions of people who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church — which is, of course, quite a different thing……..The Church doesn’t have a mission; the mission has a Church…… About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they’re just one thing, and we shouldn’t complicate the matter…… When we ask, “Can I disagree with the teachings of the Church and still be Catholic?” what we’re really asking is, “Can I not be Catholic and still be Catholic?”

Gospel text: (Mk 3:7-12)

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing, 
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, 
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, 
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, 
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him 
and shout, “You are the Son of God.”
He warned them sternly not to make him known.

 

So the first thing we should take from this passage is that we must always listen carefully to what is preached and try to discern whether or not what is said is fully in union with what Jesus has revealed.  This is the main reason we should always rely upon the preaching of Jesus as it is revealed through our Church.  Jesus guarantees that His truth is spoken through His Church.  Therefore, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the lives of the saints, and the wisdom of the teaching authority of the Magisterium must always be used as a basis for all we listen to and preach to others.

 

Reflect, today, upon how completely you trust our Church.  Sure, our Church is filled with sinners; we are all sinners.  But our Church is also filled with the fullness of the truth and you must enter into a deep trust of all that Jesus has and continues to reveal to you through His Church.  Offer a prayer of gratitude this day for the teaching authority of the Church and recommit yourself to a full acceptance of that authority.