So did you notice the irony of posting this on an internet blog?
I am not going to delve into a full on argument on what is the Magisterium, actually I do not have to, it is straightforward, or overwhelm you with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I am pondering that the internet takes so much out of what is the true teaching of the Church.
First though a couple of quick points; the Magisterium is the teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church, especially by bishops or the Pope. This comes from the Oxford Dictionary so right away you can step away from the Church to have someone else tell you what is the meaning of what is defined as the official and authoritative teaching of the Church. Yet, this is standard knowledge. You want to know more about the Magisterium then go to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and you find what is the teaching of the Catholic Church. And the Magisterium is the teaching and this is one part of handing down the faith along with the Scriptures and Tradition.
My concern is, will the internet eventually water down what is taught through Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium?
I do not think many people using the internet to espouse their Catholic views and teachings have a sinister plot in mind. Sure true evil will attempt to hijack the faith, but it always does no matter the medium. It is the vast amount of people, who by the teaching are to share the faith, get on the internet and start letting some of their interpretations interfere with what is truly church teachings as they try to share and teach the faith. These are good intention people, yet over time they start creating so much content that the core of Catholicism gets away from them.
And I am not talking about people who say the Catholic Church needs to keep up with the times. Anyone who says this is not understanding the point of what is the Church and more often than not, aren’t Catholic. The Church is not trying to win over converts by making them happy, no the Church has the responsibility of teaching from the word of God. The first part of teachings come from Scripture. There is no denying that the faith is based on the word of God, not the word of man. So until God comes down and gives us new teachings for the modern times, it is not the Church’s duty or responsibility to try and project what in scripture needs to be changed because times change.
I am worried that so many people producing content creates a scenario that to me is the main problem with non-denominational churches. So many pastors and preachers go to a university to learn theology then go out into the world, create a “Christian” church, but offer so much of themselves to their congregation that even though they use all the right words, the true message is deluded or misinterpreted or worse hijacked completely for that person’s own advantage. I am not saying all these would be pastors succumb to this, yet, by having so much personal interpretation, even well intentioned individuals can stray. And it is this same fear I have for well intentioned Catholics wanting to share their faith that maybe at times they lose track of what they were taught.
The internet is so vast that the Vatican could not even begin to monitor all the content produced under Catholic theology.
So what are we to expect. The easy answer is to rely on the Church and what it is teaching, yet there are many programs that are from the Church or are true to the Church’s teachings on the internet. How does a person determine which are the ones to explore? There are many ways, yet the basic is to rely on reading from the Catechism, talking to your Priest, listen to what your Bishop is saying, talk to a Director of Religious Education in your parish for good resources, and of course reading from what is written by the Pope. And even good programs can still need a critical eye. I am a big fan of Dr. Barron’s, now Bishop Barron, Word on Fire programs, yet you need to determine your own feelings about what is produced or more importantly how it is marketed. There are some fabulous teachings in the programs, but you still need to know your own faith to truly appreciate what is taught versus being caught up in the productions themselves.
Man is fallible and that is why the Church continues to study scripture to make sure it teaches the word of God the way God wanted it. The Church also relies on apostolic teaching, or the teaching from the apostles handed down from generation to generation. Yes there are the four Gospels, yet there were many communications and letters to the different communities from the Apostles to help the Church in its’s infancy understand what Christ wanted us to know and do. The Apostles reached out to the world with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit to show the world what they experienced and learned living with Christ. The Apostles taught others who took these teachings of the Apostles and shared it to even more. And these same people kept many of the writings and letters of the Apostles to hand down to their communities and to the next generations. And all through the ages the Church has had to work through all the competing or contradicting philosophies and theologies while maintaining its true mission to teach the love of Christ for and to man.
“The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love” from the conclusion of the Prologue of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
And to understand Apostolic teaching:
“So that this call should resound throughout the world, Christ sent forth the apostles he had chosen, commissioning them to proclaim the gospel: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."4 Strengthened by this mission, the apostles "went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it.” also from the Prologue, the Life of Man to know and love God.
So does all this mean you are to avoid the internet?, No. Quite the contrary, please use the internet to research your faith. There are many wonderful resources out there, but you need to know your faith to appreciate what is offered and even appreciate the good intentioned who veer off course a bit, yet knowing where the succeed and where they veer. It is up to all of us to share our faith to help some of us learn more and primarily to bring others to the faith.
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Inflation also affects the homeless and it does so in two ways. First they, like you, are spending more for less, but unlike you their income is dwindling. You at least have your salary with your perfunctory 2 or 3 percent raise from last year or earlier this year, which due to inflation means you have less to give to others which by your generosity many homeless rely on. So the homeless are now living on less resources to buy less for the same dollar.
I do not have an answer for this problem, but it just irritates the heck out of me to hear the rich complain when all in all they aren’t hurting for anything still. And the people who most want to help the impoverished are the ones struggling to help themselves.
And if the oil companies produce record profits again this summer, it definitely says we are at the mercy of the rich versus our government being at the service of the people.
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