Jun 29 Sun
Should I always side with the Church?
Today, we should fix our gaze upon the Church, founded by God on earth as a beautiful spiritual edifice in which all Christians are living stones. Peter the Apostle was a mortal man, like all others. However, his office as supreme Pastor, instituted by Christ, must endure eternally, by the Lord's command.
With the affection of faithful children, we renew before God our humble allegiance to the Roman Pontiff. He is the foundation stone of the Church, which continues the task of formation and teaching that Jesus entrusted to the first Twelve throughout the centuries, until the end of time.
The Church is the whole of the People of God, the ensemble of all Christians. Clergy and laity are gathered together in a unity of sentiments, desires, and objectives. “For that reason, wherever a Christian is trying to live in Jesus Christ's name, the whole Church is present."
Since the members of the Mystical Body are so varied and diverse in their functions, God has chosen an authority who would watch over his sheep as a good shepherd. And so, the Church has a hierarchical structure with a juridical order and a unity of norms. Some norms are of divine origin, and others are ecclesiastical. They are the safeguard of the integrity and unity of her spirit. They have their foundation in the love with which the Church, as a good Mother, protects the earthly pilgrimage of her children. These norms can never be considered as a superstructure that suffocates Christian life. Rather, they are like orderly channels for the desires of sanctity that the Holy Spirit awakens in souls.
It is an old error to oppose the charismatic Church against the hierarchical Church. There is only one Church, and in her, the law forms part of the means for sanctity. St. Josemaría wrote: “The law, my children, is something very holy within the life of the Church. It is not an empty formula, nor a weapon to keep a tight hold on consciences, but rather a reasonable and supernatural order according to justice. It's not just an instrument of command, but rather a light at the service of the whole Church, to illuminate for everyone the path of fulfillment of the great commandment of Love."
Today, a resolution of fidelity bursts from our souls. And, using the words of St. Josemaría, we ask the Holy Spirit “to give our Holy Father, the sweet Christ on earth, the Vicar of Christ, great fortitude - at once maternal and paternal - to defend the laws of the Church, which are so little known and appreciated in these times."
We place our humble and filial readiness to always side with the Church at the feet of the Virgin, Mater Ecclesiae. At the same time, we ask her to teach us to obey and love the Church more each day.
Pic: Mosaic of Mary, Mother of the Church, in the Vatican walls.