Magisterium?

[Knight4God]

So I keep hearing about this group…

What exactly is the magisterium?

How do they make decisions?

What kind of decisions have they made in the past?

What is the dynamic between them and the Pope when it comes to ex cathedra statements?

thanks,

 

[StephanieC]

Does this or this help?

 

[jbuck919]

I’m a member of the magisterium. Next time we meet, I’ll send you the minutes.

Seriously, read Stephanie’s links. Like now.

 

[Mom_of_5]

So I keep hearing about this group…

What exactly is the magisterium?

How do they make decisions?

What kind of decisions have they made in the past?

What is the dynamic between them and the Pope when it comes to ex cathedra statements?

thanks,

The magisterium is something that I never heard of all my Catholic years of school, etc. It is simply the teaching and decision making body of the CC, includes the Pope. Most likely, most Catholics have not heard or used that term. Posters on CA use the term frequently and I believe incorrectly on some occasions.

Love and peace,
Mom of 5

 

[tequilamac]

The magisterium is something that I never heard of all my Catholic years of school, etc. It is simply the teaching and decision making body of the CC, includes the Pope. Most likely, most Catholics have not heard or used that term. Posters on CA use the term frequently and I believe incorrectly on some occasions.

Love and peace,
Mom of 5

Really. I’m 51 and have heard of it all my life. Are you saying you have never heard of the teaching magesterium of the Church? That is absolutely incredible.
The teaching Magesterium means the authority of the Church to teach. You have heard the Church has authority to teach, correct?
ewtn.com/faith/Teachings/chura4.htm

 

[tequilamac]

So I keep hearing about this group…

What exactly is the magisterium?

How do they make decisions?

What kind of decisions have they made in the past?

What is the dynamic between them and the Pope when it comes to ex cathedra statements?

thanks,

The Magisterium = Teaching Authority of the Church

 

[Todd_Easton]

So I keep hearing about this group…

What exactly is the magisterium?

How do they make decisions?

What kind of decisions have they made in the past?

What is the dynamic between them and the Pope when it comes to ex cathedra statements?

thanks,

Acts 15:1 - 16:5 is an early example of the Magisterium in action.

 

[Mom_of_5]

Really. I’m 51 and have heard of it all my life. Are you saying you have never heard of the teaching magesterium of the Church? That is absolutely incredible.
The teaching Magesterium means the authority of the Church to teach. You have heard the Church has authority to teach, correct?
ewtn.com/faith/Teachings/chura4.htm

I certainly have heard and know that the Church has the authority to teach…YES!!! The word magisterium is not one that was used during my formative years. Incredible??? No, it all depends where you were taught and when. In my husbands RCIA class the word was not mentioned once and that was only 3 years ago. I went to all his classes with him and explained it to him. I did not want the OP to feel like he/she is the only one in the Catholic world wondering what the very informed Catholics were referring to when using M word.

Love and peace,
Mom of 5

 

[tequilamac]

I certainly have heard and know that the Church has the authority to teach…YES!!! The word magisterium is not one that was used during my formative years. Incredible??? No, it all depends where you were taught and when. In my husbands RCIA class the word was not mentioned once and that was only 3 years ago. I went to all his classes with him and explained it to him. I did not want the OP to feel like he/she is the only one in the Catholic world wondering what the very informed Catholics were referring to when using M word.

Love and peace,
Mom of 5

Sorry. Didn’t mean to be rude. It is just Catholics are always coming on th forum saying they never heard of this and that. And I do find it incredible because I guess I was just fortunate or something because I’ve known of these things forever it seems like. But then i’ve spent most of my life in California? Does that make a difference? Or maybe my home parish growing up was just more standard and with it.

 

[Knight4God]

Thanks for the links…I see.

I had this image in my head of a group of people in Rome

So “Magisterium” can mean “the Pope” or it can mean “Church council” depending on the context. But either way the teaching must be approved by the Pope to be part of the sacred magisterium.

So the US Bishops teaching something is still the magisterium, but they could be wrong, but if the Pope or council under approval of the Pope approves the teaching then it is by definition true.

So question: the wikipedia article uses the phrase “ratified by a solemn definition” to distinguish between those acts of councils that are infallible and those that are not. How is this defined? Are the actual acts of the councils labeled as “solemn” or “non-solemn”?

 

[Knight4God]

I’m a member of the magisterium. Next time we meet, I’ll send you the minutes.

Seriously, read Stephanie’s links. Like now.

haha, it’s ok, I think I can guess…

9am - prayer

10am - breakfast

11am - “played pin the sin on the Baptist” (or maybe only Anglicans do that)

12am - lunch

1-4pm - weighty doctrinal issues time

4-6pm - Eucharist wine sampling (could also be only us Wiskey-palians…I mean Anglicans)

6pm - dinner

10pm - bungie jumping off St. Peter’s (i’m pretty sure we don;t do that, parachuting off Canterbury is much more fun)

 

[LilyM]

Really. I’m 51 and have heard of it all my life. Are you saying you have never heard of the teaching magesterium of the Church? That is absolutely incredible.
The teaching Magesterium means the authority of the Church to teach. You have heard the Church has authority to teach, correct?
ewtn.com/faith/Teachings/chura4.htm

I’m 33 - understood the concept behind the term, but certainly never heard that word ‘Magisterium’ before this year :nope:

 

[jbuck919]

haha, it’s ok, I think I can guess…

9am - prayer

10am - breakfast

11am - “played pin the sin on the Baptist” (or maybe only Anglicans do that)

12am - lunch

1-4pm - weighty doctrinal issues time

4-6pm - Eucharist wine sampling (could also be only us Wiskey-palians…I mean Anglicans)

6pm - dinner

10pm - bungie jumping off St. Peter’s (i’m pretty sure we don;t do that, parachuting off Canterbury is much more fun)

Well, we don’t bother with the prayer. We make do with a NO liturgy.

After months of posting here, I was beginning to wonder if anyone else had a sense of humor.

 

[LilyM]

Well, we don’t bother with the prayer. We make do with a NO liturgy.

After months of posting here, I was beginning to wonder if anyone else had a sense of humor.

Ooh, is that an NO liturgy complete with dancing girls with incense bowls, Native American prayers inserted ad hoc and the celebrants dressed up as Tibetan lamas in the name of ‘inculturation’?

Yeah, some of us have a sense of humour - you need to hang out at the water cooler more.

 

[baltobetsy]

Way back in 1972, when I was a freshman at a Catholic college, the final exam for my religion class was an oral exam. The priest who taught the class asked a couple of questions that I was able to answer, and finished up with the definition of magisterium. I was unable to answer that one, and he carefully explained it to me so that I have never forgotten it. His objective was not to entrap the students in errors, but to make sure we all understood what we needed to know. As an aside, I’m sure if we had asked him to hear our confessions during that final exam, he would have done that, too. God bless him.

Betsy

 

[vern_humphrey]

Thanks for the links…I see.

I had this image in my head of a group of people in Rome

So “Magisterium” can mean “the Pope” or it can mean “Church council” depending on the context. But either way the teaching must be approved by the Pope to be part of the sacred magisterium.

So the US Bishops teaching something is still the magisterium, but they could be wrong, but if the Pope or council under approval of the Pope approves the teaching then it is by definition true.

So question: the wikipedia article uses the phrase “ratified by a solemn definition” to distinguish between those acts of councils that are infallible and those that are not. How is this defined? Are the actual acts of the councils labeled as “solemn” or “non-solemn”?

Not quite. The word comes from the Latin, Magister, meaning a teacher. The Magisterium is the Church’s authority to teach Christ’s message without error. The Magisterium is exercised in three ways:

1. The Ordinary Magisterium, which is the teaching of the
   Catholic Bishops, world-wide, under the supervisioin of the Pope (the Bishop of Rome.) The world-wide teaching is binding on the faithful.
2. The Extraordinary Magisterium, which means Ecuminical Councils (councils of the whole Church) where the Bishops meet under the Pope’s authority and supervision to debate issues that may be especially difficult, weighty, or where there is no consensus. Ecuminical Councils issue decrees which are binding on the faithful.
3. The Pope speaking ex catherdra (“as the Church.”) This is actually quite rare, buit when he does, it is also binding on the faithful.

The Magisterium is limited to matters of faith and morals – the Pope cannot predict the weather or the stock market.

 

[Mom_of_5]

I’m 33 - understood the concept behind the term, but certainly never heard that word ‘Magisterium’ before this year :nope:

I am 67 and only heard the word a few years ago. I knew the concept as that is how it has always been presented. (Teaching) Remember, we have very good, well-read, deeply religious folk on this forum who really have been fortunate to be taught everything. One of the posters was very surprised that not everyone knows (knew) the word, he/she obviously had a good background in his/her religious training. Some of us just thought we did! How embarrassing!

Love and peace,
mom of 5

 

[jmcrae]

Not quite. The word comes from the Latin, Magister, meaning a teacher. The Magisterium is the Church’s authority to teach Christ’s message without error. The Magisterium is exercised in three ways:

1. The Ordinary Magisterium, which is the teaching of the
   Catholic Bishops, world-wide, under the supervisioin of the Pope (the Bishop of Rome.) The world-wide teaching is binding on the faithful.
2. The Extraordinary Magisterium, which means Ecuminical Councils (councils of the whole Church) where the Bishops meet under the Pope’s authority and supervision to debate issues that may be especially difficult, weighty, or where there is no consensus. Ecuminical Councils issue decrees which are binding on the faithful.
3. The Pope speaking ex catherdra (“as the Church.”) This is actually quite rare, buit when he does, it is also binding on the faithful.

The Magisterium is limited to matters of faith and morals – the Pope cannot predict the weather or the stock market.

That’s an excellent definition.

Just a very tiny clarification - “ex cathedra” literally means “from the chair,” referring to “Peter’s chair,” which isn’t an actual chair, as such - this is a metaphorical phrase that refers to the authority conferred on Peter by Christ to infallibly guide the Church in the teaching of doctrine and morals.

In essence, “ex cathedra” refers to the authority conferred on St. Peter and his successors, the Pope, of course, being Peter’s successor.

A bit of related trivia for you, for the next time you want to impress your friends: the word “Cathedral” which also comes from the word “cathedra,” literally means “a place with a chair,” and this is a reference to the authority of the Bishop by virtue of his relationship with the Pope. (The Cathedral, of course, is the Bishop’s church.)

 

[JoeyWarren]

Sorry. Didn’t mean to be rude. It is just Catholics are always coming on th forum saying they never heard of this and that. And I do find it incredible because I guess I was just fortunate or something because I’ve known of these things forever it seems like. But then i’ve spent most of my life in California? Does that make a difference? Or maybe my home parish growing up was just more standard and with it.

You know I have practiced Catholicism since 1985 and I never heard the term Magisterium either during 21 years of Masses. And I have been to numerous churches with many Pastors.

If your church exposure is limited strictly to a Mass, I can see why a lot of people have never heard certain terms. Here is anothe term that I never heard before either: “Papal Infallibility”.

I first came across that term when I started reading “Surprised by Truth” which was a few months before I joined any type of Christian forum.

Now maybe if the Homilies had been “Apologetically Oriented” then it might of come up. 95% of the Priests I have had the opportunity to listen to via Homilies have been Old School types.

Several weeks ago, I was leading an “Adult Religious Education Class” comprised mostly of Cradle Catholics of 50 years or better. I asked them if they knew what a Magisterium was. Not a one could tell me.

I’ve been going to the same church for 14 years now and with the same Pastor for 11 of those. Never once has he uttered the word “Magisterium”. I’ve been to the RCIA class that he teaches 3 times, never once has that word ever been spoken.

So if Catholics come here and say they never have heard a certain word before, then please do believe them.

God Bless.