[stephenkhoo]

Scripture Reflections
Friday, 29 June, 2012, Feast of Ss Peter & Paul, Apostles
THE NATURE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST MUST BE ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 12:1– 1; 2 TIMOTHY 4:6-18; MATTHEW 16:13 -19

Are you proud to be a Catholic? Are you happy to be a Catholic? If you are, it means that you know your identity and you understand the privilege of belonging to the Church that will lead you to Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. If you are not, if you are indifferent or neutral, then it is because you do not appreciate your dignity as a Catholic.

In celebrating the feasts of Sts Peter and Paul together, the Church recognizes that they are the pillars of the Church, for through them the Church truly reflects unity, holiness, universality and apostolicity. These are the marks of the Church of Christ. Hence at mass every Sunday, when we recite the Ancient Creed with all Christians of all ages since antiquity for 2000 years, we affirm our faith in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

The unity of the Church on earth is founded on St Peter. This unity consists of faith, tradition, doctrines, worship, fellowship and leadership. Unity is a gift of Christ to His Church, for only when there is unity, can the Church be a sign of unity for the human race. Without unity, the Church would be divided and it would be a contradiction of the nature of what the Church is; a communion of love.

To serve the unity of the Church, Jesus gave St Peter the authority to pastor the Church. Without pastoral authority, there can be no unity. Hence, after saying to Peter, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church,” the Lord added, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.” The authority given to St Peter and his successors is of course for the service of unity, not to dominate over others so that “the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.”

It is for this reason that the Church insists on the authority of St Peter and his successors to teach infallibly on matters pertaining to doctrines and morals. Of course infallible authority does not extend to matters beyond these areas. Nevertheless, matters dealing with faith and revelation cannot be based on human reason alone. Faith and morals cannot be simply determined by consensus or popular opinion. Indeed, after Peter’s confession, Jesus made it clear that “it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.”

What are the consequences if doctrines and morals were simply based on human reason alone? Then, faith is not needed, neither is revelation necessary; religion would then be man-made, not a divine revelation! So we can be wrong about God and the truths that are taught by the Church! Since the possibility of error is there, then we need not subscribe to the Church’s teaching but rely on our own opinions. Isn’t this what the world is saying? That each one must decide for himself/herself what is right or wrong because we all can think and find the reason? No wonder the world is also divided, because no one can claim to have the truth, for everything is debatable.

Today when we commemorate the solemnity of St Peter, we thank Christ for leaving the Petrine office to the Church, for without central or divine authority, the Catholic Church would not have stood for 2000 years in spite of the vicissitudes of history. Indeed, that the Catholic Church is the oldest institution in history is truly a fulfillment of Christ’s promise to be with the Church until the end of time. History has shown that although the Church has gone through very difficult times she has never been overwhelmed by evil forces or even scandals. And this is because Christ promised to be faithful to the Pope, His anointed successor in the Church. Christ will surely protect His Anointed One just as He sent the angel to deliver Peter the first pope from prison. We know that just as God inspired St Peter so too the Holy Spirit will continue to inspire the Holy Father to guide the Church to the fullness of truth in love and service.

However, the Church is not only one but the Church is also Catholic, that is, universal. If the Church today is universally spread out over the whole world, it is primarily through the work ofSt Paul. As the apostle to the Gentiles, he brought the gospel to all the nations. Through him, the gospel and Church extended beyond Palestine and the Jews to all men and women. Of course when we confess that the Church is Catholic it is not only on the horizontal dimension of the coming together of many people in unity but also vertically when we become one in worshipping the same God.

Thus in Saints Peter and Paul, we find the link between catholicity and unity, when one Church is spread throughout the world, yet expressing the same faith, same doctrines, same worship, same tradition with one soul, one heart and one voice. The implication therefore is that the catholicity and unity of the Church requires that we be in continuity with the apostles and their teachings.

Indeed, the Church cannot preserve her catholicity and unity if she were not founded on the apostles, since they are the ones who transmitted the faith to us. It is therefore imperative that the leaders of the Church must be in continuity with the apostolic succession received through the sacrament of Holy Orders. All bishops who are successors of the apostles must therefore be one with the Church, especially the Holy Father, for apostolic succession is not just a question of receiving a valid ordination but that they must teach in continuity with the universal Church. Thus a priest or a bishop cannot claim to have received the authority to preach the gospel if he is not teaching in union with Christ and the Church. Only because the Word of God is entrusted to the apostolic ministry, can the gospel become a living Word.

Finally, in Sts Peter and Paul, the Church also grows in holiness. The one, apostolic, Catholic Church is holy because both St Peter and St Paul realized that holiness must be rooted in Christ and is a gift from the Lord. They themselves were very much aware of their own sinfulness before the Lord. Peter betrayed Jesus and Paul persecuted the Christians. Yet in spite of their unworthiness, the Lord chose them to be His apostles. Thus, when we see the grace of God at work in their lives, although we are sinners, yet we can find courage and strength in that by the same grace of God, we too can grow in holiness as well.

Indeed, even in spite of the scandals in the Church due to the sinfulness of man, God’s grace of forgiveness triumphs over sin and brings about conversion of hearts and repentance to a life of grace. It is this realization that God loves us in our sinfulness that we can truly grow in grace. So even when we see failures in the lives of religious leaders and lay people, we also see holiness in the lives of many faithful Catholics and priests as well. The canonization of saints is the celebration of the holiness of the Church. At any rate, the holiness of the Church is guaranteed in the celebration of the sacraments when grace is given to us especially through the Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation.