Catholics believe in the authority of the Church because the Church's authority was given to her by Jesus Christ, who said to her, "He who hears you hears me" (Luke 10:16). Before ascending to heaven, He declared to the Apostles: "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20). The Church, then, received from the Lord the Great Commission to teach and to bless His people. In the Acts of the Apostles, we see them carrying out this two-fold mission. The first believers, we are told, "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (2:42). They revered the Apostles' teaching, and entrusted them to lead their communal worship, receiving from them the Holy Eucharist, "the breaking of bread and the prayers." Christ established His Church to proclaim His truth to the world. The Church gave us the Sacred Scriptures; and it is only by her authority that we are able to interpret them without error. The Bible, in fact, calls the Church "the pillar and bulwark of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15).
Discovering the What & Why of the Catholic Faith
Discovering the What & Why of the Catholic Faith