©2019 Victor R, Claveau, MJ
If the answer is no, then we could never assert that our Catholic faith is sound. The Church could not be a true guide, and she could not claim to represent Him. If Christ did guarantee His Church against doctrinal error, then she never has erred, for God’s guarantee is indeed secure. He said, “and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18).
In order to provide a sure source of teaching and to maintain unity in the Church, Christ established the papacy with supreme authority. The Pope’s office is one of succession from Peter and it is marked by the authority of “the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” As the Second Vatican Council reminds us, “the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered. Thus, only in union with the Pope does the college or body of bishops have supreme and full authority over the universal Church” (cf. Matthew 16:18-19; Isaiah 22:15-25).
How about the reformers? Who is wrong—them or Christ? What about the state of the members of the Church at various periods? Was their behavior not absolutely shocking? Indeed, it was, and no one felt the ramifications of their wrongdoing nor wept for the state of church affairs more keenly than did the children of the Church. They were perhaps even ashamed of their Church leadership, at times, and they prayed and fasted for resolution. Some of the greatest saints devoted their lives to remedying matters, but despite the imperfections, never did they entertain the notion of denying the Church as authentically Christ’s own.
If God has seen fit to allow His Spouse to be, at times, weak and vulnerable, certainly it was to try the faith of His children and to demonstrate to them the vitality of their Mother. Ifthe Church has ever stood upright plainly and clearly as divine, there should be no astonishment at our faith in her. However, to see in her the Spouse of Christ, even through trying times, for the simple reason that He declared her to be—that, indeed, is faith. The Catholic Church is most certainly divine. Catholics, on the other hand, like all the rest, are sinners.
The history of the Church has justified this faith. Ifshe were not divine, she would have perished a hundred times over. But look at her now, even our critics recognize that the Catholic Church is the only Christian body that has not compromised her dogma or her exacting moral principles. She has indeed all along, been a victorious warrior who has exercised her spiritual muscles in many battles and, at times, she was hard fought, but she has come through it all still unified with her Spouse, our divine Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jesus began his ministry with a boldness that monopolized the history of the past, with a courage that challenged the present and with an audacity that defied the future. He presented his claim to a kingdom that would not be stopped by the frontier of space or be outstripped by the passing of time. His kingdom would be one of universal brotherhood of men and an eternal brotherhood of souls.
Both ideas were antagonistic to Jews and Gentiles alike. Jesus proclaimed a kingdom which everyone who hears of it must enter, a kingdom visible to all as if from a mountaintop.
His would be a kingdom whose call is scattered like seed upon barren and fruitful soil, and which shall bear both weeds and wheat until the final harvesting. His would be a kingdom as insignificant in its beginnings as a grain of mustard seed yet gigantic in its growth, sheltering all the races and peoples of the world. His would be a kingdom with a subtle but transforming influence, like the leaven that ferments the bread. His would be a kingdom that would be sought like a treasure buried in a field, a kingdom precious beyond compare, as a pearl of great price for which all else must be sold.
He Himself must not only be the Master but the motive of one’s life —all this promulgated while He, the King, foretells His own betrayal, abandonment and infamous execution. This was no ordinary man, who by His words changed the world. Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Did Jesus Guarantee His Church Against Error?
©2019 Victor R, Claveau, MJ
If the answer is no, then we could never assert that our Catholic faith is sound. The Church could not be a true guide, and she could not claim to represent Him. If Christ did guarantee His Church against doctrinal error, then she never has erred, for God’s guarantee is indeed secure. He said, “and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18).
In order to provide a sure source of teaching and to maintain unity in the Church, Christ established the papacy with supreme authority. The Pope’s office is one of succession from Peter and it is marked by the authority of “the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” As the Second Vatican Council reminds us, “the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered. Thus, only in union with the Pope does the college or body of bishops have supreme and full authority over the universal Church” (cf. Matthew 16:18-19; Isaiah 22:15-25).
How about the reformers? Who is wrong—them or Christ? What about the state of the members of the Church at various periods? Was their behavior not absolutely shocking? Indeed, it was, and no one felt the ramifications of their wrongdoing nor wept for the state of church affairs more keenly than did the children of the Church. They were perhaps even ashamed of their Church leadership, at times, and they prayed and fasted for resolution. Some of the greatest saints devoted their lives to remedying matters, but despite the imperfections, never did they entertain the notion of denying the Church as authentically Christ’s own.
If God has seen fit to allow His Spouse to be, at times, weak and vulnerable, certainly it was to try the faith of His children and to demonstrate to them the vitality of their Mother. Ifthe Church has ever stood upright plainly and clearly as divine, there should be no astonishment at our faith in her. However, to see in her the Spouse of Christ, even through trying times, for the simple reason that He declared her to be—that, indeed, is faith. The Catholic Church is most certainly divine. Catholics, on the other hand, like all the rest, are sinners.
The history of the Church has justified this faith. Ifshe were not divine, she would have perished a hundred times over. But look at her now, even our critics recognize that the Catholic Church is the only Christian body that has not compromised her dogma or her exacting moral principles. She has indeed all along, been a victorious warrior who has exercised her spiritual muscles in many battles and, at times, she was hard fought, but she has come through it all still unified with her Spouse, our divine Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jesus began his ministry with a boldness that monopolized the history of the past, with a courage that challenged the present and with an audacity that defied the future. He presented his claim to a kingdom that would not be stopped by the frontier of space or be outstripped by the passing of time. His kingdom would be one of universal brotherhood of men and an eternal brotherhood of souls.
Both ideas were antagonistic to Jews and Gentiles alike. Jesus proclaimed a kingdom which everyone who hears of it must enter, a kingdom visible to all as if from a mountaintop.
His would be a kingdom whose call is scattered like seed upon barren and fruitful soil, and which shall bear both weeds and wheat until the final harvesting. His would be a kingdom as insignificant in its beginnings as a grain of mustard seed yet gigantic in its growth, sheltering all the races and peoples of the world. His would be a kingdom with a subtle but transforming influence, like the leaven that ferments the bread. His would be a kingdom that would be sought like a treasure buried in a field, a kingdom precious beyond compare, as a pearl of great price for which all else must be sold.
He Himself must not only be the Master but the motive of one’s life —all this promulgated while He, the King, foretells His own betrayal, abandonment and infamous execution. This was no ordinary man, who by His words changed the world. Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
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