The Catholic Church is the only church today that can claim to be the one church founded by Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Other denominations can trace their origins back to various human founders at a later date in history.
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said to Peter, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” Jesus handed the authority to guide the Church in His name to Peter and the apostles, to be passed down through the centuries. The Church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 5:23). Christ established only one Church—one body—so that there would not be multiple “bodies” with conflicting doctrines. After all, God cannot contradict Himself. Christ also wanted His Church to be visible, so all may see that the Church is indeed one, just as Christ and the Father are one (John 17:22). This one, visible church, with divine authority and consistent doctrine that Christ established 2,000 years ago is the Catholic Church, the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Timothy 3:15). As Paul asks in 1 Corinthians, “Is Christ divided?” (1 Corinthians 1:13). No. That is not what the Christ intended. So, He established one Church. First of all, a lot of things seem boring to us if we haven’t taken the time to really learn about them. Perhaps you can think of a sport that seemed really dull and confusing to you until you learned the rules of the game. Then, everything became much more exciting. Why? Because you were “in the know,” and that made participating so much better. The more we learn about the Mass, the more we fall in love with it and can get more out of our experience at Mass. If you learn about the biblical roots of the Mass parts, why we do what we do (sit, stand, kneel, cross ourselves, use holy water, etc.), and how important the Eucharist is in our lives, you will begin looking forward to participating in all of these things when you go to Mass because you’ll know what’s going on. Also, practicing your faith is like practicing a sport. Sometimes, practicing can be difficult, but we have to remember that practice points toward a goal—the game. At each and every Mass, we practice what it will be like to worship God in heaven, which will bring us supreme joy and no boredom. Start using Mass as an opportunity to practice prayer, practice talking to God, practice learning the story of the Bible through the readings, and so on.
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December 2024
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