Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Matthew 5: 17-19

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

The Law came down to Israel from God through Moses. It told the people how to live in right relationship with God. Jesus is the Torah made flesh, the Living Law. Moses told the people how to live in right relationship with God. Jesus showed us. He passed his instruction on to the Twelve who passed it on to their replacements. This became the doctrine of the Catholic Church.

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.

As a Catholic I do not have the right to teach my opinion over what the Church teaches. I do not have the right to stand at Mass and say, “I believe…” and then get to the parking lot and say, “But the Church is wrong on…” I am not a true Catholic if I willfully live my life contrary to Church teaching.

If I am ordained a deacon this responsibility and the punishment for willful disobedience is magnified tenfold. As an ordained minister I am endowed with a much greater responsibility and accountability for what I teach and how I live my life simply because I represent the Church who represents Jesus. If I lead the innocent away in what I say or do I do not only incur the punishment for my own sin but the punishment for the sins of those I lead astray.

For this reason it is imperative for all Catholics to learn and know Church teachings. It is even more imperative for the clergy and those in positions of instruction to know and understand this teaching. Willful ignorance is not an excuse and willful disobedience a great sin. We live in an age where faith is relative. Truth is subjective. For a Catholic faith and truth are never relative or subjective. The truth is the Living Law who we are called upon to enthrone into our hearts and imitate in all that we say and do. The Torah lives within us and comes to life by our action and word. Those who stay true to this find favor with God and eternal joy with him in heaven at the completion of time.