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Sacred Scripture
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The Destruction of the Temple
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A Deep Dive into this weeks Gospel
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Sacred Tradition - The Four Marks of the CHurch
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One • Holy • Catholic • Apostolic
What Does It Mean to Be One?
To be One means, as you might think, there can be only one Church.
But what about the 39,000-plus branches of Christianity?An image I like to use is that of the great Mississippi River. Her pure headwaters lie at one source—Jesus Himself. From that source, all grace flows to the world. Along the way, the river widens, gains strength, and meanders through the land with the express purpose of reaching the sea.
We have used this water to transport ourselves, irrigate our crops, fish for sustenance, and study her currents to understand the source and the goal—much like the Church. Yet at times we have also modified her flow, built dikes and dams, and sought to control her power. While these other channels may still draw from the same source, they are shaped and divided by human hands.
These other branches share with us a real, though imperfect, communion through the waters of Baptism, but lack one or more of the Four Pillars that make the Church complete.
What Does It Mean to Be Holy?
Returning to that both/and tension I mentioned earlier:
The Church is holy because He is holy.The Church is the Bride of Christ, and He loves His Bride. It is this love that makes her holy.
Think of the relationship between the sun and the moon. The early Church Fathers described the Church as the moon and Christ as the sun. The moon has no light of her own, but she reflects the light of the sun—casting it into the darkness for all to see.
So it is with the Church. Her holiness is not her own; it is the radiant reflection of Christ’s holiness shining through her.
What Does Catholic Actually Mean?
The word Catholic comes from the Greek katholikos, meaning “universal.”
She truly is for all men. When the twelve tribes of Israel disbanded, the Jewish people were scattered to the four winds. They did not vanish but were dispersed among the nations—separated from the covenant of God’s chosen people.
Through the coming of Jesus Christ, the destruction of the old temple, and the new covenant established in the Paschal Mystery, God calls all men back to Himself. The Church, therefore, is not limited to one nation or race but is truly universal—gathering together all who will respond to His call.
What Does It Mean to Be Apostolic?
There is an old saying that a cord of three strands is not easily broken.
When defining the Catholic Church, there is a primary cord through which the other two are entwined. According to Hans Urs von Balthasar, the three cords are:
The Word Proclaimed (Scripture)
The Word Celebrated (Sacraments)
The Office of Unity (Petrine Authority)
Of these three, unity is primary. Without apostolic succession and the Chair of Peter, we lose sight of the meaning and grace of the other two. We lose confidence and become fractured, as seen in the many denominations that have let go of this unifying thread.
Jesus clearly establishes order within His Church and delegates authority to Peter. This is evident in John’s Gospel: though John runs faster to the tomb, he waits for Peter to enter first. It is also affirmed throughout history in the lives of the saints—like St. Francis, who, though given a vision to rebuild the Church, still sought the bishop’s permission before acting.
We are not a subjective religion, but one of objective truth. Christ founded a Church, gave it a mission, and appointed men to carry it out.
It is this line of Sacred Tradition—upheld through apostolic succession—that binds these cords together, ensuring the harmony of Scripture, Sacrament, and Unity, all pointing the way to heaven.
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A note before reading Tyler's Reflection
Attached below is a PDF download of a paper I wrote during a spring semester at Franciscan University.
In keeping with the theme of the river, I lean into my own place within it — reflecting on what it means to belong to the Church and to live within her current of grace.
If you choose to read it, know that these words are my own thoughts and reflections — what the Church is to me, and how I’ve come to find my place within her.
While most of what we share here comes from larger websites and trusted sources, this one is found only here — and it may be a little flawed. But hey, it’s Jesus who makes us holy, not ourselves, right?
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LUmen Gentium - How the Church Describes herself
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Catholic Life - Praying for the Dead
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It is a Noble thought to pray for the Dead
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What is the point of a funeral?
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