We always talk about our relationship with Jesus and placing Him at the center of our lives.  But what’s our relationship like with the Catholic Church?  Do we love her?  Do we have an ambivalent relationship with her?  Do we perhaps distrust her leaders?

Every November 9^th, we celebrate the basilica of St. John Lateran, important for the worldwide Church because it’s the cathedral of Rome, which is the spiritual heart of the Church, where not just one apostle died, but two, including the first pope, St. Peter.  While St. Peter’s basilica is more famous because the pope lives there and it’s the biggest Catholic church, St. John Lateran’s is theologically more important because it’s where the pope’s cathedra resides, this marble seat, and it’s the ancient symbol of his authority.

 

 

So, what’s our reaction when we see a church like this?  Those of us who love the Church see beautiful symbols of our faith; others among us may see ostentation or wonder what this has to do with Jesus.

We’re not going to deal with every aspect of this subject, but just focus on what St. Paul writes today: “Brothers and sisters… you are… God’s building…  No one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:9-11).  This is one of Paul’s most important images: The Church is the people who believe in Jesus and are baptized, and they now form a spiritual building built on Jesus.  One Jesus, one building, one Church—all connected.

So, here’s our proposal today: To love Jesus is to love the Church, because they’re connected.  It’s natural that if we haven’t yet placed Jesus at the center of our lives, we won’t fully trust the Church.  Imagine if someone asked, ‘Do you love the Canadian government?  Do you trust all her laws?’  Of course not.  It’s just a human institution.  So, to know that the Catholic Church is more than a mere human institution, we need to establish a connection with Jesus.

This is what St. Paul is clarifying.  He says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?  [He’s not talking to one person here; he’s talking to a group of Christians in Corinth.]  If anyone destroys God’s temple [that is, if anyone divides you Christians from each other], God will destroy that person.  For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17).  That’s really strong language, but it makes sense when we realize that this group of Christians is actually part of Christ—they’re not just a mere human organization; there’s something divine about this gathering of Christians.

What was happening at this time was that the Corinthian Christians were dividing into factions: Some were following Paul, some were following other apostles.  So Paul was saying: All of you are built on Christ; and if you cause division in the Church, God will destroy you—that’s how serious an offense it is, because Christians are connected to Christ.  Paul doesn’t see the Church as a mere human institution but as Jesus’ Body.

This is part of why our Examination of Conscience asks: Did I refuse to believe any official teachings of the Church?  This question recognizes that Jesus founded the Church and protects her from teaching error.  Sometimes, when people read this question, they ask, ‘What are the official teachings?’  That’s a good question, but the question in the Examination is getting at more foundational questions: Do you believe Jesus is God?  Do you believe He’s perfectly loving?  Do you believe that He founded the Church?  And would it be a most loving thing to protect her from teaching error, so that we’ll always know what He taught?  If we do, we don’t pick and choose which of her teachings we follow.  Once we establish the link between Jesus and the Church (which is what Paul did), then we extend that trust of Jesus to trust in her official teachings.

In 2014, Pope Francis used this analogy, “If the first name is ‘I am Christian,’ the last name is ‘I belong to the Church’”.  He said that we don’t become Christians by ourselves, but through other people; we all came to know and love Jesus through the Church.

Here now is a video from two of our brothers and sisters about their journey to Jesus and to the Church.

In two weeks, we have our fifth annual Christ the King Challenge.  This is the Relationship Diagram, where we see three fundamental ways we can relate to Jesus: He can be outside of our life, a part of it, or the center:

To place Him at the center requires a decision.  After we put up our hands, we’ll write down our decision on this card.

For me, He’s the center, so I would circle ‘Yes’.  Since I made the decision for the first time long ago, I wouldn’t check mark Question Two.  But, let’s say I’m Deacon Andrew, I would circle ‘No,’ because Deacon doesn’t love Jesus, but, at the bottom, I would circle ‘Yes,’ I want Him to be the center of my life.

When we love Jesus, the sins of individual Catholics no longer affect our love for the Church, because she’s still His body.  Since we’re celebrating the basilica of St. John Lateran, let’s talk about the scandal involving this Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Côte d’Ivoire.  It’s one of the biggest churches in the world , but received so much criticism because it was obvious that the president who led its construction, in 1985, was doing it, not for God, but for himself.

He was so vain that he put himself in a stained glass window!  And St. John Paul II only agreed to bless it if the president built a hospital nearby.  The point is: Though this church was built with the wrong intention, it still gives people Jesus.  And, even if JPII hadn’t done the right thing, it wouldn’t change the fact that Jesus still protects the Church even when her leaders act immorally.

We’ve mentioned for the past two weeks that Matthew Leonard is coming on December 7 and 8, 2025.  Here’s an invitation from him.  220 people have already registered, so please register by tomorrow, because, if we don’t pack the church ourselves, we’ll start opening it up to people from other parishes.

One of the stories he’s going to share is how he became Catholic.  He was already Christian and had jumped around from church to church to church, picking and choosing what he thought was best.  But he wanted to know what Jesus really teaches, which led him to the Catholic Church.  It took a lot of time, and he even started accepting teachings that he previously thought were wrong only because he now trusted the Church.

Jesus loves us perfectly and desires that one day we’ll respond in love and place Him at the center of our lives.  Hopefully, whether immediately or over time, our relationship to the Church He founded will also be one of love and trust.  To love Jesus is to love the Church.