"St. Augustine insisted that Christians avoid two opposite extremes: leaving the church because of the scandal provoked by unfaithful shepherds, on the one hand, and putting trust in good shepherds instead of Christ, on the other. He writes: “Whatever we are like, your hope must not be in us … Your hope must not be in our humanity. Whether good or bad, we are ministers. If we are good, we are faithful ministers and truly servants. Pay attention to what we administer. If we are bad, we do not cease, for that reason, to be a dispenser of the Gospel. That is why Jesus says: ‘Do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.’ "

- Bishop Leonard Blair (Toledo)

(via bobbyswhirl)