Wednesday of the
Tenth Week in Ordinary time
(II Corinthians 3:4-11; Matthew 5:17-19)
A woman was making her case for changes in Church
teaching. She focused on the issue of
divorce and remarriage. Her reasoning for
defending the right of Catholics in such a situation to receive Holy Communion
was straight forward. Just as Jesus
brought the teaching of the Old Testament to a new level, so the Holy Spirit is
advancing the people of God a step beyond.
Divorce, women ordinations, same-sex marriage are parts of the fresh
teachings. But such a logic conflicts
with Scripture as well as established Church teaching.
In today’s first reading St. Paul indicates the grandeur
of the gospel. He sees it as much more
glorious than the already wondrous teaching of the Jewish Scriptures. The gospel helps to clarify what Paul
means. Jesus says that he has come to
fulfill the law and the prophets. In
other words, he will bring them to perfection.
In the Gospel according to John he speaks of the Holy Spirit as coming
to the Church. Its role, however, will
not be to modify the gospel but to clarify its hidden and debatable meanings.
We may feel confused at times because the Church changes
some practices. Certainly the use of the
common languages for the sacraments presented such a change. But it is inaccurate that the Church has
changed its basic teachings. She can
never change her stand on the inviolability of marriage, its reality as a union
of a male and a female, and the reservation of the priesthood for men. However, Church leaders realize that attitudes
of male dominance are sinful and must be eradicated. They know to remain faithful to the gospel they
must promote the equal dignity of all.
