Observe what they tell you and not what they do

Catholic Homilies by Fr Linus Clovis

Our Blessed Lord speaks to us, Saint Matthew relates that He spoke to the crowds and to His disciples and although He did this some two thousand years ago in the flesh, none the less He speaks to us today, the crowds and His disciples in the spirit and certainly in the authentic teaching of His Church. He says the scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses chair, so practice and observe what they tell you and not what they do. For they preach but do not practise. St. Thomas would always make a distinction and what is striking is, that the scribes and Pharisees, many of them were priests, and Our Lord didn’t say the priests sit on Moses chair, but rather he made the distinction of those who separate themselves from others. At the same time, Our Lord didn’t want to speak badly of Moses and the Mosaic authority, how could He since this was delivered to us by God. In addition to this St. Paul and St. Peter both tell us, that all authority comes from God. That is essentially why we respect, we honour and we obey because this is the way in which God speaks to us. But we need always to make distinctions which Our Lord certainly does, practise and observe what they tell you. It is understood that as long as what they tell us is not contrary to Gospel, not contrary to the teachings of Christ and certainly not contrary to the teaching of the Church. But He says we have to be careful in what we see them do. How does this apply to us today? In many ways we know what the Church has always taught, throughout the centuries the Church has always taught us the things that belong to God and has defined it in the sacred Councils, in the authentic teachings of the Magisterium, by the lives and the teachings of the saints that are recognised by the Church… For Fr. Linus’ complete homily please listen to the Audio