In today’s first reading, St. Paul’s words to Timothy are both tender and firm. “Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it.” (2 Timothy 3:14)
They are the words of a spiritual father urging his son in the faith to hold fast, not just to any teaching, but to the truth that has been handed down through trustworthy witnesses. Paul reminds Timothy that the faith he received is not a private invention, nor a fleeting opinion, but a sacred deposit, passed on through the Church.
This passage speaks directly to us today. In a world of shifting values and competing voices, Paul’s exhortation is a call to remain faithful; faithful to the Gospel, faithful to the Scriptures, and faithful to the Church that safeguards them. It is a call that is important to remember in the modern world where it is easy to “shrug off” the teachings of the Church.
Many people today are shaped by a culture that prizes personal freedom and self-expression. This can lead to a mindset where personal interpretation of Scripture or moral issues is seen as more authentic than Church teaching. The Magisterium may be viewed as outdated or overly institutional. It is cultural individualism.
Some Catholics may struggle with particular moral or doctrinal teachings especially on issues like sexuality, marriage, or social justice and conclude that the Church is wrong or behind the times. Rather than wrestle with the teaching, they may dismiss the authority behind it. This is often less about rejecting the whole Magisterium and more about selective dissent.
The media often portrays the Church as rigid or resistant to progress. When secular values conflict with Church teaching, Catholics may feel pressure to conform to the dominant narrative and distance themselves from ecclesial authority.
Many Catholics have not been deeply formed in the faith. Without a clear understanding of what the Magisterium is and how it serves the Church by preserving truth they may see it as just another human bureaucracy rather than a Spirit-guided authority.
The abuse scandals and other failures by Church leaders have understandably shaken trust. Some Catholics, hurt or disillusioned, may generalize these failures and reject the Church’s teaching authority altogether.
Notwithstanding, the important, salvific question remains “how do we know what is truly of Christ?” How do we discern the authentic teaching from the counterfeit?
Here, the role of the Magisterium becomes essential. The Magisterium is the teaching authority of the Church, exercised by the Pope and the bishops in communion with him. It is not a human invention. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit, rooted in Christ’s promise: “He who hears you hears me” (Luke 10:16). It is through the Magisterium that the Church interprets Scripture faithfully, guards the deposit of faith, and ensures that what we believe is truly what Christ taught.
Paul says, “You know from whom you learned it.” For Timothy, that meant Paul himself, and the apostolic tradition. For us, it means the Church. We do not stand alone with our Bibles, trying to decipher truth in isolation. We stand within a living tradition, guided by the Spirit through the Church.
And what is the fruit of this fidelity? Paul tells us: the Scriptures, rightly understood, are “capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” They equip us for righteousness and for every good work. But only when read in the light of the Church’s teaching.
So today, let us thank God for the Magisterium. Let us pray for Bishop Michael, the bishops, for Pope Leo, and for all who teach in the name of the Church. And let us recommit ourselves to being faithful—to what we have learned, to what we have believed, and to the Church through whom we have received it.
Image credit: Road to Emmaus | James Tissot, 1886 | Brooklyn Museum | PD-US