Why a Church?

01The question

Why not just me and Jesus?

Maybe you’ve heard it, or said it: “I love Jesus. I just don’t need a Church.” Honest question. So here’s what those first three thousand actually did.

“They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.”

Teaching. Meals. Prayer. Together. Day one.

This wasn’t a fan club that formed after He left: Jesus Himself started it.¹ And he gave it a shape, starting with the Twelve, with Peter at their head.²

Then, on a road outside Damascus, Jesus makes the point Himself. One sentence.

02The turn

“Why do you persecute me?”

A man named Saul is headed to Damascus with arrest warrants, hunting Christians.¹⁴ Near the city, a light from heaven flashes all around him.¹⁵

“He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

Listen closely. Not “why are you persecuting my followers.” Me. Mess with them, you’re messing with him.

That same Saul (you know him as Paul)¹⁷ later writes to the Christians in Corinth: “you are the body of Christ.”³ And Christ “is the head of the body, the Church.” So you can’t really love the head and ignore the body.¹⁸

“When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. When one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”

So what kind of body is it? Catholics answer in four words every Sunday.

03The four words

One, holy, catholic, apostolic

In the Creed, said at every Sunday Mass, the Church is called one, holy, catholic and apostolic.^20,21

One: one source, one founder, one soul, namely God, Christ and the Holy Spirit.²²

Holy: not because the people are, but because Christ gave Himself up for her to make her holy.²³

Catholic: it means “universal”, so everybody’s invited, the whole human race.^24,25

Apostolic: built on the apostles, with bishops carrying their mission forward as their successors.^26,12

And the Pope, as Peter’s successor, is “the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity” of the bishops and everyone else. Christ gave Peter that job; it got passed on.¹³

Holy? You might be thinking about the headlines right now. Fair. Keep reading.

04The honest part

Holy, and full of sinners

The Church has never claimed to be a club for perfect people. She calls herself “at once holy and always in need of purification.” Basically: a hospital, not a museum.²⁷

“All members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners.” Priests, bishops, you, me: in everyone, “the weeds of sin will still be mixed with the good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time.”²⁷

If Catholics have hurt you, that matters. You don’t have to pretend it didn’t happen, and you can take this as slowly as you need. A good priest will want to hear about it. Really.

Which brings it back to you. And to whoever first told you about Jesus.

05The ending

No one believes alone

Think of the first person who showed you something of Jesus. A grandma. A coach. A friend in college. A stranger, maybe.

The Catechism nails it: “No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone.” Somebody handed faith to you, and someday you’ll hand it to somebody else.²⁸

That’s why the Church calls herself a mother: her faith was there before yours, gave birth to it, and keeps feeding it.²⁹

On Pentecost, three thousand people found out they belonged to something way bigger than themselves. There’s still room. Plenty.