Every organization has someone in authority, the person or persons in charge, who make the decisions, and who are responsible for handing on the teachings to the next generation. That, in essence, is what the Magisterium does. The Magisterium is the living teaching office of the Church and it consists of the pope and the bishops in communion with him. It is responsible for giving authentic interpretation of the Word of God. It is in service to the Word of God, whether it be in Scripture or Tradition. The Magisterium comes to us from Jesus who named Peter and the apostles as the leaders of his Church and so on to the pope and bishops today. This is called the apostolic succession.
There are also different expressions of the Magisterium. The pope can exercise the supreme Magisterium when he proclaims an infallible dogma of the Church, or with the bishops in an Ecumenical Council. The ordinary Magisterium of the Church is expressed when “a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals” is proposed by the bishops in communion with the pope, even though is not an infallible definition. Read more about the Magisterium in the Catechism, par. 85-100 and 888-892.
Know your faith. Live your faith. Teach your faith.
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