Authority and Prayer

I have my monthly formation meeting  for the SFO this weekend.  This month’s material has to do with authority and truth.

Our study book (Catch Me a Rainbow Too) has this to say:

“The authority of scripture is the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is the foundation and source – a person, not a “thing.”  Authority inspired by the Holy Spirit is respected and obeyed.  Authority going counter to the Holy Spirit need not be followed.  Authority that ignores the Holy Spirit must be challenged.  That much is clear.

What is less certain is how to determine who speaks with the authority of the Holy Spirit.”

The chapter then states that God is the ultimate authority for truth, and that the teachings of Jesus have authority.

Then you work your way down the human side of the equation from the apostles, to their successors, to the Pope, the bishops, pastors, the Church as a whole, and finally to theologians and scripture scholars.

Of course, all the humans in that chain are fallible.  The farther you progress, the more susceptible the source, until you finally reach the theologians and scripture scholars, who occupy much the same position as the Pharisees and Scribes in Jesus’ day.

It is human (and particularly American) nature to question authority.  We need not look far, at least in my opinion, to find validity for that position.  Much of our secular authority clearly has no use for Truth as represented by God.  The authority of the Holy Spirit is not a consideration in their musings.

And even our religious leaders struggle to discern the truth, as witnessed by scandals in the priesthood or the commencement invitation from the ordained leaders at Notre Dame to our pro-choice President.

The inability or unwillingness of our leadership to discern truth and to use authority wisely is why it is so difficult “to determine who speaks with the authority of the Holy Spirit.”

It is also why prayer is such a critical component of a life well lived.  Discernment is not easy, but the means to make the determination are at our disposal.  They are contained in the gospels in the recorded words of Jesus, which never stray from God’s truth.  Prayer over those gospels must be a consistent component of the search for proper authority, and the search for the truth.

This is why Franciscans are so insistent on living a gospel life.

For if we are not always in the presence of the gospels, then what or whose presence are we in?

And how will we be able to tell the difference between authority abused and authority well wielded?

Recently, I had the honor to attend a meeting that included the Superintendent of Catholic Schools for our diocese.  At the end, I told him I had one thought that I hoped he would consider.  I want my kids, and other kids as well, to receive formal instruction as part of the religious education curriculum on the skill and art of contemplative prayer.

If they learn to prayer while they’re young, and if it becomes a habit, even for some of them, then how different might the world be when those with that skill assume leaderships roles as they mature?

Hopefully, I’ll get another chance to discuss that with him.