The Alt Magisterium

 St. Paul once wrote to the Church at Corinth:

Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 16Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.  (1 Cor. 1-17)

Here's the bad news:  the Church is seeing division among its members play out on social media.

Here's the good news: apparently, if one is to believe Holy Scripture, the only really new part of this is the social media, podcasts, hashtags and tweets.  We've seen it all before and, no doubt, we will continue to see it until the Second Coming of Christ.

I refer to the followers of these interesting media savvy Catholics as the Alt Magisterium.  I do so with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek because, unlike the true magisterium, these people have no authority.  Rather, they have the ability to create tee shirts on Zazzle that proclaim which team they are on.  What they do not have is the ability to cast out from The Church those they deem unworthy of sitting in a pew.

Let me make myself clear - I do believe there is a clear distinction between right and wrong.  I also want to be clear that I declare myself to believe all the Holy Mother Church professes and declares to be Truth.  

I also believe that one is either in the boat or out of it - and the Barque of Peter is boat one should choose.  That is my opinion.  I don't go door to door with a pitchfork or a gun to force anyone onto the deck but neither do I waiver in my belief in its trustworthiness to carry me through the storm and safely to port.

I also do not think it is wrong to have an opinion about the Pope, his writings, his behavior, etc.  One of my gals - St. Catherine of Siena - certainly had strong opinion about how a pope should behave and where he should live.  She expressed those opinions as well but she did so while exercising the Cardinal Virtues.  I don't happening today.  In fact, if I may offer my opinion, I see a marked absence of virtues and a huge helping of fear mongering.

Faithful Catholics today have added pressure to be a light in a world that often rejects us before they actually know what we stand for and who we are and this can hamper our ability to evangelize.  It is tough to stay the course of love and tolerance while also staying steadfast to Truth.

My challenge to my fellow Catholics is to turn to those who did it before us.  Look at what Catherine accomplished.  Read her letters to the Holy Father.  Ask yourself if you want to be right or if you want to win an argument.  And also, have the courage to ask yourself if you are being lead away from the Throne of Peter or closer to it.

Today I try my best to practice what I preach.  It is difficult.  I get so discouraged.  What I take true comfort in is knowing that the Church has gone through worse....and I am determined to be a Catherine.

Please help me with your prayers.