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On
the submission we owe the Church
106.1 First Point
It
was on this day that Saint Peter, after the dispersion of the apostles,
established his see at Antioch and was recognized by the faithful as the
Vicar of Christ. This was the occasion when those who had embraced the
faith began in this city
to adopt the name of Christians.[i]
The Church has instituted a special feast to commemorate and honor this
event, giving us an opportunity to consider with special attention the
submission we owe to the Church and to the one who is its head.
The Church is our mother; to her we must be united in every way; on
her we must depend in everything concerning religion. We must be
submissive to all her decisions and listen to them as oracles. It is the
Church, in fact, that makes the truth known to us. We must accept it from
her mouth without any hesitation and without examination. All we have to
say in answer to what the Church proposes to us is, I believe, without
hesitating, without any doubts whatsoever.
We should, moreover, welcome everything the Church proposes to us
and do so with great docility. It is Jesus Christ himself who has given
the Church his power and authority over us, and who tells us that anyone
who does not listen to the Church should be looked upon by us as a pagan
and a publican.[ii]
This caused Saint Augustine to say that he would not believe the Gospel if
he were not bound to do so by the authority of the Church.
In your work you are obliged to teach children the truths of our
holy religion. You must also show yourself, by necessity, outstanding by
your simple and humble submission to all the decisions of the Church. Are
you in this disposition?
106.2
Second Point
The
Pope, being the Vicar of Jesus Christ and the visible head of the Church
as well as the successor of Saint Peter, has wide authority over the
entire Church, and all the faithful who are its members should look upon
him as their father and as the voice God uses to give his orders to them.
He possesses the universal power of binding and loosing[iii]
that Jesus Christ gave to Saint Peter, and to him Jesus Christ has
committed the responsibility, first given to this holy apostle, of
feeding his flock.[iv]
Your role, then, is to work in order to increase and take care of
this sheepfold; you should, therefore, honor our Holy Father the Pope as
the holy shepherd of this flock and as the High Priest of the Church. You
should respect his every word. It should be enough that something comes
from him for you to be infinitely attentive. Is this how you have acted up
to the present? Adore God's authority in this sovereign Shepherd of souls,
and in the future look upon him as the great teacher of the Church.
106.3 Third Point
The
Bishops have been established by God to be the defenders of the Church.
They are also, says Saint Paul, the first ministers of Jesus Christ and
the dispensers of the mysteries of God.[v]
You must, therefore, honor their persons, respect their words, and
be submissive to them in everything that concerns the care of the souls
that have been entrusted to you. Since bishops have been appointed by God
to watch over the doctrine and morals of those who labor under their
ministry, and are in charge of the entire spiritual guidance of their
diocese, all those who are employed in this labor to procure the salvation
of souls must only do so in dependence on them. By this means they will
draw down upon themselves and on their work the blessings of God.
Acknowledge that it is God who established this hierarchy, and submit
yourself to it.
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It
is significant that De La Salle wrote this meditation during the time when
the Pope's authority was being seriously challenged over the issue of
Jansenism, especially in France. Six different popes issued no less than
twelve decrees against the adherents of this doctrine over a period of
sixty years. The final condemnation came in the Bull Unigenitus
from Pope Clement XI in September 1713. Cardinal Noailles of Paris led
several bishops in opposition to this condemnation, and appealed to a
General Council over the head of the pope. De La Salle was greatly
disturbed by this, as he indicated in a letter to Gabriel Drolin. The firm
support of the pope, illustrated by this meditation, is one of the chief
characteristics of De La Salle's teaching to the Brothers and through them
to the students in the Christian Schools. Regarding the original title of
the feast, the Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch, Saint Gregory the Great
(on whom De La Salle wrote a meditation for March 12) says that Saint
Peter was regarded as the head of the Church in Antioch for seven years
prior to his going to Rome. The feast is now called simply the Chair of
Peter. It was celebrated as early as the fourth century in Rome itself.
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