Posts Tagged With: Church

Authority: Part 3

Posted on November 8, 2011 by DN

So far we have established that there is a need for authoritative definitions of the articles of faith, and that Christ has established an authoritative body for that purpose. Today’s final installment will show what that body is and where we can find it.

Catholic or Invisible

One might be tempted to ask the question “Is the authoritative church the Catholic Church or the general worldwide church composed of thousands of denominations?” Let us consider each answer.

The authoritative  church could be the composition of thousands of denominations. First, how would or does this church make authoritative proclamations about the doctrines of faith? Who within the church makes these decisions? Does each Christian share in this or is it delegated to a certain group of persons? From where do these persons receive the power to make such dogmatic statements? Furthermore, is there any evidence of this actually occurring?

The authoritative church could be the Catholic Church. First, how does the Catholic Church make authoritative proclamations about doctrines of faith? Who within the Catholic Church makes these decisions? Where do these persons receive the power to make dogmatic statements?

The problem with considering the interdenominational church as a cohesive authoritative body is that there is no consensus among them as to what the truth is…and that’s the truth. If the loose accumulation of denominations is supposed to be the church that can bind and loose it has utterly and completely failed to do its job because it never makes binding dogmatic statements nor can anyone claim to have such authority to do so. Besides, it it did make universal binding dogmatic statements, the doctrinal divisions would cease to exist and any that remained would be considered heretics. But this is just not the case.

The reason that looking at the Catholic Church as the authoritative body makes complete sense is that there is a strong evidence of such a system from the early days of Christianity.

Through countryside and city [the apostles] preached, and they appointed their earliest converts, testing them by the Spirit, to be the bishops and deacons of future believers. Nor was this a novelty, for bishops and deacons had been written about a long time earlier. . . . Our apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be strife for the office of bishop. For this reason, therefore, having received perfect foreknowledge, they appointed those who have already been mentioned and afterwards added the further provision that, if they should die, other approved men should succeed to their ministry.

St. Clement I (c. A.D. 80)

When I had come to Rome, I [visited] Anicetus, whose deacon was Eleutherus. And after Anicetus [died], Soter succeeded, and after him Eleutherus. In each succession and in each city there is a continuance of that which is proclaimed by the law, the prophets, and the Lord

Hegesippus (A.D. 180)

It is possible, then, for everyone in every church, who may wish to know the truth, to contemplate the tradition of the apostles which has been made known to us throughout the whole world. And we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the apostles and their successors down to our own times, men who neither knew nor taught anything like what these heretics rave about.

St. Irenaeus  (A.D. 189)

The Scriptures (as shown in the previous posts) delegate authority to the apostles and here, within the first 150 years of Christianity we see what the apostles have done with this authority, how this authority was passed on and made present to all generations and all peoples for the salvation of souls through the forgiveness of sins which comes from Jesus, from Truth.

Of course placing one’s trust in either the interdenominational church or the Catholic Church takes a leap of faith. However, our faith can and must be formed by reason and wisdom. It simply is unreasonable to believe that the interdenominational church has any real authority or has exercised authority of any kind.  It is wise follow the ways of Christ who gave authority to the twelve. It is wise to follow the ways that the Apostles showed us through the Holy Spirit binding and loosing through them.

Choose Reason.

Choose Wisdom.

Choose Catholicism.

Categories: Miscellanea | Tags: , , , , ,

Authority: Part 2

Posted on November 7, 2011 by DN

Yesterday I wrote about how the resolution of questions of faith are an absolute necessity since these questions directly impact the salvation and damnation of souls.

The Church as Authority

Scripture has both prophesied an authoritative Church and has spoken of its consummation.

And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein.

Isiaah 35:8

This “Holy Way” finds its fulfillment in the apostolic church.

But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law or written in the prophets, having a hope in God which these themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

Acts 24:14-15

St. Luke, in his writings of Paul’s defense to Felix, draws a strong link to the Holy Way that Isaiah spoke of and the new “sect” of Jews (and Gentiles) who follow Jesus. Scripture here, implies that they are one in the same. Isaiah said that this Holy Way would not err from within. Perhaps one might think that this isn’t enough proof; it is just one silly verse from the Old Testament and two from the New. If only this were it.

Twice within the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ gives to men the authority to bind and loose:

I will give you [Peter] the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

St. Matthew 16:19

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

St. Matthew 18:18

What does this mean, “whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven”? How can mortal men do such a thing? How can what a man decides on earth change what is true in the eternal dwelling of God? Of course this is not what Jesus is saying. The only logical explanation is that through the Holy Spirit, what is bound in heaven, will be bound be them on earth. So the things that they bind are not changed in heaven, but that they all the things they bind are already so bound in heaven. So when the Church binds us to believe in the Real Presence, it is not they they have the power to alter what God has taught us, but rather that this has already been declared by the Holy Trinity and is therefore being passed on to us.

If this isn’t enough to convince you, take a look at St. Paul’s words to St. Timothy:

If I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.

1 Timothy 3:15

The household of God, his family is the Church. And the Church is the pillar and bulwark of truth. To know and defend truth is the job of the Church. The Church must have authority to teach truth and to bind its members to that truth.

This obviously begs the question for those who thirst for Jesus, who thirst for truth, what is the Church and where can I find her?

Categories: Miscellanea | Tags: , , , ,

Authority: Part 1

Posted on November 6, 2011 by DN

Maybe saying “it all comes down to authority” is a straw-man argument, a way for me to avoid having to actually think about truth, think about theology. Perhaps it is a prime example of blindly following orders, disregarding what the orders actually are.

But that’s not really what the argument for authority boils down to. Falling back authority is not a straw-man argument, but rather is the only way to move from unsurety to surety. And without moving on to surety, we cannot move into the deeper realms of reality.

A Multitude of Interpretations

Today, there isn’t a single belief in Christianity that is not disputed among Christians or people who call themselves Christians. Take Baptism for example. There are so many varying interpretations on Baptism. There are those who believe that you must be immersed versus being sprinkled. Even among those who believe in immersion you will get a wild variation on how many times you must be immersed. There are some groups within immersion-only that believe Baptism can only take place in living water, such as a natural stream, lake, or ocean. Then you have divisions on whether infants and the mentally challenged can be baptized. And at the height you have the important dispute on whether Baptism is a Sacrament or not.

Or take the Eucharist. You again have people claiming it’s a Sacrament, and others claiming that it is not. Some claim its a symbol, and some claim it is the real, actual flesh and blood of Jesus, and some who claim that it’s still bread but Jesus’ flesh is also with the bread.

But these disputes aren’t limited to the “controversial” aspects of theology, they run right down to the very basics. There are disputes among Christian groups about whether Jesus was actually God or not. There are disputes on whether he was actually resurrected from the dead physically, or in spirit only.

The difficulty with all of these things is that each defender of these varying conclusions can defend their position with Scripture. They all believe that the Holy Spirit leads them to these truths and therefore they must be true. The believe that since they have the fruits of the Spirit in their lives that they are being lead into correct interpretation of these passages.

However, this plainly cannot be true. It is also said that these differing interpretations are unimportant to salvation as long as we have the basics. But I tell you, these are the basics and they are disputed. How is anyone to know what is actually required in order to be saved? Is it faith alone? Or is it faith working in love? Do I need Baptism to be saved or don’t I? Do I need to worship the contents of the tabernacle or is it idolatry? The resolution of these questions is an absolute necessity. So how can we resolve these things?

Categories: Miscellanea | Tags: , , , ,

Arrogance

Posted on October 30, 2011 by DN

Today’s first reading in the Office of the Readings really resonates with being an American Catholic these days especially with all of the attacks by the current Administration on Christian religious freedom, particularly towards the Catholic Church.

After Alexander the Macedonian, Philip’s son, who came from the land of Kittim, had defeated Darius, king of the Persians and Medes, he became king in his place, having first ruled in Greece. He fought many campaigns, captured fortresses, and put kings to death. He advanced to the ends of the earth, gathering plunder from many nations; the earth fell silent before him, and his heart became proud and arrogant. He collected a very strong army and conquered provinces, nations, and rulers, and they became his tributaries. But after all this he took to his bed, realizing that he was going to die. He therefore summoned his officers, the nobles, who had been brought up with him from his youth, to divide his kingdom among them while he was still alive. Alexander had reigned twelve years when he died.

So his officers took over his kingdom, each in his own territory, and after his death they all put on royal crowns and so did their sons after them for many years, causing much distress over the earth.

There sprang from these a sinful offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus, once a hostage at Rome. He became king in the year one hundred and thirty-seven of the kingdom of the Greeks.

In those days there appeared in Israel men who were breakers of the law, and they seduced many people, saying: “Let us go and make an alliance with the Gentiles all around us; since we separated from them, many evils have come upon us.” The proposal was agreeable; some from among the people promptly went to the king, and be authorized them to introduce the way of living of the Gentiles. Thereupon they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem according to the Gentile custom. They covered over the mark of their circumcision and abandoned the holy covenant; they allied themselves with the Gentiles and sold themselves to wrongdoing.

When his kingdom seemed secure, Antiochus proposed to become king of Egypt, so as to rule over both kingdoms. He invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants, and with a large fleet, to make war on Ptolemy, king of Egypt. Ptolemy was frightened at his presence and fled, leaving many casualties. The fortified cities in the land of Egypt were captured, and Antiochus plundered the land of Egypt.

After Antiochus had defeated Egypt in the year one hundred and forty-three, he returned and went up to Israel and to Jerusalem with a strong force. He insolently invaded the sanctuary and took away the golden altar, the lampstand for the light with all its fixtures, and the offering table, the cups and the bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the golden ornament on the facade of the temple. He stripped off everything, and tool away the gold and silver and the precious vessels; he also took all the hidden treasures he could find. Taking all this, he went back to his own country, after he had spoken with great arrogance and shed much blood.

1 Maccabees 1:1-24

The last part is very much like the desecration of our religious freedoms. Obama and the HHS have come in and told us that we must violate our consciences by providing “preventative care” such as contraceptives and abortifacients. People for the LGBTQIAP are demanding that a New York town clerk lose her job for not signing a gay “marriage” certificate and delegating that job to her deputy. They aren’t satisfied until this woman either desecrates her conscience or loses her job.

Perhaps even worse are the Christians who go along with this, even help the desecration take place. Christians who ally themselves with the enemy to make their lives seemingly easier. We are facing today very similar problems as a Church as the Macabbean era Jews experienced.

We need to offer up our prayers, first for those within our own ranks who are betraying Jesus Christ and the truth. We must pray for their total conversion and repentance. Second, we must pray for the enemies of the Church, those who seek to destroy our worship of God by attempting to force us to violate the precepts of God. Third, we must pray for ourselves as individuals, that we have the grace of fortitude so that if the enemies of the Church persist, we would not be lead to forsake our holy religion, but that we would be willing to lose our jobs, lose all of our rights, lose our very lives in order to remain in the truth and love of God.

Categories: America | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Bismarck Bishop to Be Announced Wednesday!

Posted on October 18, 2011 by DN

Karen Herzog. Bismarck Tribune

The name of the new bishop for the Catholic Diocese of Bismarck will be announced Wednesday, according to Joel Melarvie, chancellor of the Bismarck Diocese.

The successor to Bishop Paul A. Zipfel, who submitted his retirement at the mandatory age of 75 in 2010, will be the seventh bishop of the Bismarck Diocese.

The announcement will be made at a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Center for Pastoral Ministry in Bismarck.

The wait to name a successor has taken just about a year, not extraordinarily long as these matters go.

Last year, Zipfel said that it usually takes a couple of years before the transition is complete.

Before Zipfel was named to the Bismarck office in 1997 by Pope John Paul II, the diocese had waited nearly 20 months for a new bishop. The previous bishop, John Kinney, became head of the St. Cloud, Minn., Diocese in 1995.

Zipfel, who came from his native St. Louis to serve the then-nearly 70,000 Catholics in western North Dakota, will remain in the diocese after his successor takes office.

Melarvie said that Zipfel will take an apartment at the University of Mary and plans to do some teaching there. The University last year named its Catholic Studies program after Zipfel in tribute to his service in Catholic education.

The new bishop is named by Pope Benedict XVI.

Commentary: I for one am quite excited to find out who our new Bishop will be in Bismarck. I can tell from reading the few comments on the Tribune website that there are people who are not. Its always the same old thing: bring up the sex abuse scandal. Is that all you people know how to talk about? Do you think that sin is indictment against the Catholic faith itself? If you do then it is an indictment against every group, ideology, and religion that has ever existed! All groups are are composed of sinners! No group is without imperfection! I understand that people are upset that children have been molested. I am too. But these sins are not sins that the Catholic faith encourages. Any priest or bishop who has committed the sins or permitted the sins to persist is in contradiction of the faith (assuming that there are no extenuating details that the public does not know about). That doesn’t nullify the faith. I mean, for Christ’s sake, look at the United States. We permit abortion. We have people in our Congress who support the barbaric killing of innocent children! This is a made up right that does not exist in our Constitution! Does that nullify the Constitution because some of our officials have betrayed it?! No! I’m sorry, but the Catholic Church is both divine and human. It is perfect in its divine essence, in its divine truth, in its divine grace. Yet, many of its members have not yet attained perfect virtue, and some even play with deep vice. This, however, does not change the eternal wisdom and goodness of God that such a Church is founded on.

Categories: Miscellanea | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Satis Cognitum

Posted on October 2, 2011 by DN

It is so evident from the clear and frequent testimonies of holy writ that the true Church of Jesus Christ is one, that no Christian can dare to deny it. But in judging and determining the nature of this unity many have erred in various ways. Not the foundation of the Church alone, but its whole constitution, belongs to the class of things effected by Christ’s free choice. For this reason the entire case must be judged by what was actually done. We must consequently investigate not how the Church may possibly be one, but how He, who founded it, willed that it should be one.

But when we consider what was actually done we find that Jesus Christ did not, in point of fact, institute a Church to embrace several communities similar in nature, but in themselves distinct, and lacking those bonds which render the Church unique and indivisible after that manner in which in the symbol of our faith we profess: “I believe in one Church.”

“The Church in respect of its unity belongs to the category of things indivisible by nature, though heretics try to divide it into many parts….We say, therefore, that the Catholic Church is unique in its essence, in its doctrine, in its origin, and in its excellence….Furthermore, the eminence of the Church arises from its unity, as the principle of its constitution–a unity surpassing all else, and having nothing like unto it or equal to it.”[1] For this reason Christ, speaking of the mystical edifice, mentions only one Church, which He calls His own–”I will build My church”; any other Church except this one, since it has not been founded by Christ, cannot be the true Church. This becomes even more evident when the purpose of the divine Founder is considered. For what did Christ, the Lord, ask? What did He wish in regard to the Church founded, or about to be founded? This: to transmit to it the same mission and the same mandate which He had received from the Father, they they should be perpetuated. This he clearly resolved to do: this He actually did. “As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.” [2] “As thou hast sent Me into the world I also have sent them into the world.” [3]

But the mission of Christ is to save “that which had perished”; that is to say, not some nations or peoples, but the whole human race, without distinction of time or place. “The Son of Man came that the world might be saved by Him.” [4] “For there is no other name under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved.” [5] The Church, therefore, is bound to communicate without stint to all men, and to transmit through all ages, the salvation effected by Jesus Christ, and the blessings flowing therefrom. Wherefore, by the will of its Founder, it is necessary that this Church should be one in all lands and at all times. To justify the existence of more than one Church it would be necessary to go outside this world, and to create a new and unheard-of race of men.

-Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum, 11-14

[1] St. Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromatum, lib. viii., c.17.
[2] John 20:21
[3] John 17:18
[4] John 3:17
[5] Acts 4:12

Categories: Miscellanea | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Rumblings

Posted on August 24, 2011 by DN

There are some pretty clear signals right now that things are happening in my family. The rumblings and tremors we feel right now are just the beginning. As Ke$ha might say, this place about to blow! Everyone thought that the initial quake of my conversion was a once in a lifetime unfortunate event. One building would sway and fall, but the rest of Baptistville would be okay. That initial shock ended abruptly, but there is no denial that there have been continuing aftershocks since that very day. I knew that it wasn’t the end. I knew that this day would come, I just didn’t knew how long it would be. Now my sister has shot the Richter scale up again and now there are all kinds of aftershocks. Aunts and cousins are getting involved, even if at a distance. My mom is getting involved and is even trying to instigate other tremors for some reason that is unbeknownst to me.

In any case, I predict that my family will not make it out of this next event alive, at least not living the same way that we have been. I have a feeling that if this particular quake pulls all the way through to Easter Vigil and the heaven-opening events of Confirmation and First Communion take place in my family again, a whole avalanche of events may be triggered. What are these events? I don’t know. Mass conversion? Maybe, maybe not. More heated theological discussion? Very likely. Tense emotion? Practically guaranteed. Breaking of relationships? I really hope not. Whatever happens, though, my family is being transformed. The light of Christ, the dawn of Truth is trying to pierce into our lives. Some are resisting, some are cooperating, others are waiting to see how things play out.

In the end though, there is no doubt that this place about to blow!

Categories: Miscellanea | Tags: , , , , , ,

The Confusion of the Narrow Gate

Posted on August 21, 2011 by DN

So there has been a lot of discussion lately on Facebook about right and wrong doctrine, which doctrines are vital and which aren’t, and whether any of this matters when it comes to the real question: how do I get to heaven?

I just want to make a few things clear:

Right and Wrong Doctrine

Logically speaking there can only be one truth. For example, a shape with four equal sides and 90-degree angles is a square. That is the truth. It is not a triangle. It is not a circle. It is not a triskaidecagon. It will never be a triangle, a circle or a triskaidecagon. Even if you think it is a triangle, it does not make it one.

God exists as a Trinity (sorry Jehovah’s witnesses, but its true) even if you think he doesn’t. Allah doesn’t exist, even if you think he does. Jesus Christ is entirely God and entirely man, one person, two natures, even if you think he isn’t. With that said, there is one truth about God. Perhaps there are many ways of interpreting certain passages of Scripture, but that certainly does not change the truth about God. Just because I read John 1 and see that the Word was made flesh and believe that God is a fleshy being that physically looks like the letters W O R and D, does not make him so. Similarly, just because I believe that the Eucharist is a symbol, does not make it so. Just because I believe I do not need to go to Confession, does not magically make it so that I don’t. There is a right and wrong when it comes to doctrine.

Vitality of Doctrine

Rupertus Meldenius, a 17th century Lutheran theologian once said:

“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in everything charity.”

Unfortunately he didn’t leave us a list of what was essential and non-essential. Neither does the Bible. Some of us believe the differences between Protestant and Catholic beliefs on Holy Communion are non-essential. I believe that they are very essential because we are talking about the difference between a piece of bread and JESUS CHRIST. I’d say that’s a pretty big difference and very important. Some believe that Baptism is unimportant. Most Christians believe that Baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation, that it is the first moment in which the forgiveness of sins is bestowed on a soul. That’s essential.

It is thus the urgency of correct doctrine becomes evident. There is hardly a doctrine out there at least one person wouldn’t call it essential. Trinity, Sacraments, Faith/Works, Morality, you name it, someone is arguing over it. These things ARE important whether we like to think so or not. So if they’re so important, how do we know what is true and what isn’t?

Authority

In all of this there is one answer: authority. Most of us claim God as the ultimate authority. Many of us claim that he exercises that authority through a book, that all one must do is read that book and they will know the truth. The only problem is that none of us, as I showed above believe the same things about what this book says. Can’t you see that this is a problem, a huge problem?! These differences in opinion can mean the difference between heaven and hell!!! So now what do we do? Who is right?

“Well I’m right.”

“No, you’re reading it wrong. I determined that if you set your clock three hours back, rip two pages out of the calendar and find the square root of pi multiplied by the number of hours between the Babylonian captivity and the birth of Christ, you’ll determine that answer is 52, which means playing cards is immoral.”

“No silly, you only rip one calendar page out, which makes the answer 2, which means that the Holy Spirit isn’t a part of the Godhead, duh!”

You see everybody thinks that they are right. WE ALL MAKE OURSELVES OUR OWN POPES!!! We say that we have no authority but Scripture, but really we have no authority but OURSELVES!!!  We say that we hate the Pope and that he isn’t authoritative, but its only because we would rather pontificate from our own kitchen table than listen to another pontificator.

THIS doesn’t work. We can’t do THAT. Clearly God is much smarter than that. He didn’t just leave this book for each of us to decide for ourselves. He left a Church, a group that began as 12 men to lead the faithful into the truth. He vested in them the power to bind and to loose. He promised them that hell would never overcome its gates. He called it the pillar of truth. He gave one of those 12 men the keys to his kingdom. These men chose other men to join their ranks, such as St. Paul. They also chose men to replace their comrades who had died, mostly from martyrdom. As Christianity spread, these men appointed more men to lead the expanding flock, while all still submitting to the FACT that Jesus gave only one man the ultimate authority among mere men: the key to the kingdom, the key to that narrow gate. Jesus gave Peter the keys, all men would come to Jesus through the teachings of this man. When Peter died, the Apostles gave those keys to Linus, then Cletus, then Clement, then Aristus, and so on until they have currently settled in the hands of Benedict XVI. It is by the teachings of this man and all the Bishops whom are in union with him that we shall pass through the gate. We know what is true because this man has the keys that Christ himself gave out so very long ago. We don’t have to WORRY about pontificating because Christ has given that burdensome task to another. All we need to worry about is submitting to the truths about Christ that the Church has taught us.

As soon as we leave the only authority that Scripture suggests to us, we have no choice but to set ourselves up as our own personal authority. And that will lead us on the broad way which gets us nowhere worth going.

Categories: Miscellanea | Tags: , , , , ,

As a Deer Longs for Flowing Streams

Posted on June 26, 2011 by DN
Categories: America, Miscellanea | Tags: ,

Lenten Journey: Day 35

Posted on April 12, 2011 by DN

From Mount Hor they set out on the Red Sea road, to by-pass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up form Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!”

Numbers 21:4-5

The people of Israel have finally hit a breaking point. They are wearied by the journey that God has brought them on. In their frustration they lash out in anger. The rebel against the leadership that God has set for them, they hate the way of life that God commands of them, and they hate the gifts which are bestowed upon them. “Foolish children,” we feel the urge to say, but wait, let’s look in the mirror for just a moment.

How are we, as a Church any different than Israel? Throughout the Church’s pilgrimage haven’t we stopped and grumbled against the leadership given us? Haven’t we disobeyed? Haven’t even some of us completely abandoned, mocked, and refused to submit to the leaders that God has given us, the Bishops and the Pope? Haven’t we all detested the commands of God, the moral life, the sacraments, the laws of the Church? How many times have I complained about having to eat fish on Fridays? How often do we look at the blessings and great benefits that God has given his Holy Church and felt disgusted?

For what reason?! How can we, who are God’s, look at the things God has given to us and feel that we deserve better, that we deserve more? What more could he do for us than give us an authoritative Church? What more could he do for us, then lead us through sanctifying penance? What more could he do than give us his very own flesh and blood in the Holy Mass?

It is easy to be worn out by the journey God has called us to embark upon. But we can stay strong! The things we often see as burdens are great gifts, things that make us stronger, holier, and closer to God. When we are tempted to go our own way, to abandon the Apostolic faith, to abhor authority, we must see Mother Church speaking the words of Christ from today’s Gospel:

“The one who sent me is with me.  He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

St. John 8:29-30

Jesus’ authority is what brought people to him and kept them with him. He spoke and continues to speak as one who has been given all things. That is precisely why must listen to the Church even when we are disagreeable. The Church has been commanded to teach all things that Christ taught. Furthermore, she, through St. Peter, has been given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus, who is Lord over all, has given all to his Church! The Church is sent by Christ as Christ is sent by the Father, and so the Church can confidently echo Christ’s words: “He one who sent me is with me.  He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.”

Christ is with the Church. God has not left the Church alone. The Church always pleases God in offering up the One Sacrifice of the One Victim in the Holy Mass. This revelation of truth is what has caused people for 2,000 years to come to Christ and to become incorporated into the Body of Christ through Baptism. Hear his voice. Follow his voice. Obey his voice.

I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition.


 

Categories: Miscellanea | Tags: , ,

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