22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Do you see how in the gospel today—Jesus tells us as clearly as possible that the Apostle Peter is the rock upon which the Church is founded? Jesus says without hesitation that Peter is the head of the Church. Jesus tells us that what Peter teaches is true—and that what Peter decrees must be obeyed.
Of course, it is obvious that Jesus intends that the authority that He gives to Peter will continue in all those bishops who come after Peter—and these are the ones that we call “Pope”.
Peter, Bishop of Rome
That is how Saint Peter, the head of the Apostles, eventually became the Bishop of Rome. All the succeeding Bishops of Rome are automatically invested with the authority given by Jesus to Peter.
Since Peter, we have had about two hundred and sixty six Popes. Some of them have been great. Some of them have been mediocre. A few have been disasters—but everyone of them has been given the same responsibility and authority—to teach us what we must do or believe in order to be saved.
Now why would Jesus invest all that authority in one man—in any
man? And why even begin with Peter—the very one who denied Jesus three times? Well I think it is because Our Blessed Lord knew that there would be controversies and trials and issues and arguments that would make it difficult for us to us live always according to the mind of Christ.
Jesus knew that we would need someone whom He could protect who could protect each of us and sanctify us and guide us—with the Authority of Jesus. In that way, we could be assured that what we believed as Catholics is exactly what God wants us to believe.
If we are to know what it means in our daily lives to be a follower of Christ, then we look to the Church with the Pope as its foundation for our surest guide.
Infallibility
Now the Pope has a gift from God that is called the gift of infallibility. Infallibility means that the Pope is protected by God from making an error when he teaches us either about the content and meaning of our Faith or about the moral life.
“Infallibility” does not mean that everything that comes forth from the mouth of the Pope is protected from error. It does not mean that whatever the Pope says is said perfectly or always clearly. “Infallibility” simply means that when the pope—as the successor of Saint Peter—declares something true or false about faith or morals—then what he teaches is guaranteed true and must be believed by all of us.
It is reasonable that God does not want us to believe wrongly, and so He provides a way by which we can always be confident of the truth of our belief—and that, of course, is the Catholic Church—under the Pope.
Look at the Protestants—the so-called Christians. They have no teaching authority and so they believe a million different and contradictory things. One day they can believe that marriage is between a man and woman. And the next day they can believe the opposite. One day Protestants can believe that abortion is the murdering of a child and the next day it is permitted. How can the things that people believe be true and false—at the same time—from one sect to the next? From one day to the next? Is that any kind of Church to belong to—where you are not even sure that what you believe corresponds to the reality of God? That is why God gave us the church with a Pope.
The Church, a Sure Guide
When we are troubled by controversies about religion and the supernatural—or when the moral battles all around us rage, and new developments create new questions about how to live the Christian life, we have a sure answer.
God loves us so much that He wants us to be grounded securely—so that when we say we believe in something or when we want to live morally, we can be sure that what we believe comes from God and not Satan.
The Catholic Church is our sure guide in life. The Church—founded upon the Rock of Saint Peter—will help us to live faithfully on earth so that one day we can arrive safely in heaven. What a wonderful gift.