Thursday, May 04, 2006

Who has teaching authority?

Today's first reading is from Acts 8:26-40. The Holy Spirit inspires Phillip to stop a carriage and speak to a eunich who is reading from the Holy Scriptures. Phillip asks the man, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

The man replies, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?”

And, how can someone instruct others in the meaning of Scripture without having an authority to back them up?

Jesus promised the first pope that, "Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock, I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
~Matthew 16:18

2 comments:

Darrell said...

I'll always have a special association with the passage about Phillip and the eunich. Yesterday at mass, Father asked me if I'd like to do the scipture reading for the first time. I was nervous, but our Thursday night mass is always a small crowd, so I happily accepted. It was really nice to play that kind of role in mass! And you're right, the instructive role of the church... along with the authority to baptize... is made clear in that passage of scripture.

Staying in Balance said...

Congrats on your first time reading, Darrell! A weekday Mass is a great way to start.

Dymphna's favorite quotes


"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

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