Remain Faithful to the Magisterium

While I plan to keep comments on the blog limited to the task at hand, namely the commodification of life, There are some subjects that speak to why I believe what I believe.

One of the central meditations in my life comes from the Gospel of John, Chapter 6. Commonly known as the Bread of life discourse, the main tenet comes at the end.

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.“

The key is the end, where many of his disciples leave as they cannot believe what Jesus said. Note that Jesus does not run after them, nor does he entreat them to return, nor would he support any other version of what he said…..As Peter says “You have the words of eternal life.

So what about Maureen Dowd. She published an op-Ed in the New York Times Where she takes the church to task. She calls the Magisterium a bunch of adolescent boys, fixated on sex. And people read her and nod their heads and get their “Catholicism update” for the week. Maureen Dowd is not a theologian. Nor is she a religious sister. She has a degree in English from Catholic University. That must be it. She certainly has not read the Catechism, nor has she taken any time to understand the Church teachings. It is just so much more fun to sling mud at it. It is just another form of walking away as the message is just too hard. Of course, that is not what they say. But just go back to John 6.  It is right there.