There
is one body and one Spirit. In the same way, you were called to the
one hope of your calling There is one Lord, one faith, one
baptism
Ephesians 4:4
Ephesians 4:4
Jesus is one. There
is no human Jesus and divine Jesus. There is just one Jesus, fully
human and fully divine. These two natures are united in the person of
Jesus. Similarly, there is only one Church. The Church is also divine
and human. How can the Church be divine when we see a lot of sins
being committed by her members?
Jesus is fully
divine and fully human. His divinity means he is perfect in every
way. He could not physically be hurt nor can he die. When Jesus took
on flesh, he became human. He experienced physical and emotional
pain. He experienced everything we can experience. He was tempted
also but he did not sin. His body shed blood. In fact, Jesus died.
Did his death mean Jesus was not divine? He rose from the dead, to
prove he is fully God and fully human. Jesus did not become God when
he rose from the dead. He was God even when he was physically dead.
The perfect God did not have a perfect human body. He had an
imperfect human body that died.
Similarly, the
Church is divine. She can never err in her teaching in faith and
morals. Her actions, the sacraments, the liturgy, the scripture, her
teaching show the power, glory and mercy of God. But because she is
made up of human beings, she is also imperfect. Her body can be
injured through the sins of her members. Her members can and do hurt
other people because of their sinfulness. Church leaders may be
corrupt. Church members may do bad things and teach wrong things. But
these are acts of men and women in the Church. These are not the acts
of the Church. We need to separate the actions and teaching of
individuals within the Church from the institution.
God gave the Church
because of his love. He instituted the office of the Papacy out of
his love. He gave this office the gift of infallibility out of his
love for the world. God does not want his children to grope for the
truth. He wants his children to know the truth. If there is no one to
say what is right in terms of faith and morals, we have everyone
defining the truth based on their own ideas. And this is what is
happening now. Everyone is a theologian. Everyone is their own God.
We have seen sinful
popes in throughout history yet, despite their sinfulness, they have
not changed the teaching of the Church. Many people today want to
change the teaching of the Church on life, sexuality and marriage.
But these people do not understand that the Church will not change
her teaching on these matters, no matter how unpopular it may be.
Throughout history, we have seen how the Church has outlasted
governments, dictators and political movements. And she will continue
to stay no matter what others say because Jesus said, “Not even the
gates of hell will prevail against it.”
In the Book of
Revelation, we see the vision of a new Jerusalem coming down from
heaven. She is the Bride of Christ and she will continue until her
Master comes. She does not exist to gain market share. She exists to
proclaim her Lord and Master and with her, we join her in praying,
“Come Lord Jesus, Come!”
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