Take Responsibility for Changing the Church
by Fr. David M. Knight
Monday, November 11, 2024
Thirty-Second Week of the Year
Ti 1:1-9/Lk 17:1-6 (Lectionary 491)
Titus 1:1-9 gives just a glimpse of early Church structure. The words “elder” (presbyteros) and “bishop” (episcopus) in the New Testament are used interchangeably, and here they both mean what we call pastors of parishes. Titus was what we call a bishop.
Paul told Titus to provide every town with an “elder” (ordained priest). No special formation was required; just a virtuous life. However, the pastor must be “married only once,” and “must have a firm grasp of the word... so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.”
We tend to forget that
the system of seminary education, which has now become an essential feature of the Church's life, had its origin only in the sixteenth century in a decree of the Council of Trent.... Before St. Augustine no trace can be found of any special institutions for the education of the clergy... From the thirteenth century to the Council of Trent.... only about one per cent of the clergy were able to attend university courses. The education of the vast majority, therefore, was more and more neglected, while the privileged few enjoyed indeed the highest intellectual advantages, but received little or no spiritual training.... What was lacking was character-formation and the practical preparation for the ministry..... In 1556, the word seminary seems to have been used for the first time in its modern sense, to designate a school exclusively devoted to the training of the clergy.... The decree of the Council of Trent [requiring seminaries] has ever since remained the fundamental law of the Church on the education of priests.
Apparently, until the lamentable state of the Church brought on the Protestant Reformation, no one noticed that priests were not being adequately prepared intellectually or spiritually. This is the first act of responsible stewardship: just to notice what needs to be done or done differently. And this is the duty of every Catholic consecrated in Baptism as “Priest, Prophet and King,” or steward of the kingship of Christ.
What do you notice in the Church that needs to be reformed before the number of Catholics who no longer assemble with us for Mass equals the defections of the Protestant Reformation?
Luke 17:1-6: There are and will be “scandals” in the Church. Jesus says that when we notice these we “must rebuke the offender.” If laypersons notice wrong directions in priests and bishops, they are obliged by Baptism to “rebuke” them —with the respect and love we owe to everyone, but with sufficient insistence to forestall defections by reform. The Church survives by forgiving sin, not denying it.
Initiative: Take responsibility for Church and world as a faithful steward.
Reflections brought to you by the Immersed in Christ Ministry
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