A Homily for Thursday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Thursday, August 7, 2025
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
Numbers 20:1-13; Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9; Matthew 16:13-23
Audio Recording
“You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church… I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.”
Today’s gospel reading reveals the moment that Christ established the visible and lasting authority on God’s revealed Truth — the Church — founded on Peter. In a world full of conflicting religious voices, Jesus provides the definitive answer as to who has the authority to tell us the truth about Him. That authority continues today in the person of the Pope and the bishops in union with him — the Magisterium of the Church.
Our Protestant brothers and sisters insist that all truth is revealed explicitly and exclusively in Scripture. But the Bible itself never claims to be the sole rule of faith. In fact, it affirms that the Church is “the pillar and foundation of truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).
The problem with the “sola scriptura” understanding of divine revelation is that Jesus did not write a book; He founded a Church, a single holy catholic and apostolic Church. The Bible, while divinely inspired, is not a textbook. It’s a collection of poetry, prophecy, letters, and narratives written in different styles over centuries. Its language is often symbolic or ambiguous.
Would a loving God really make His eternal truths available only through personal interpretation of Scripture, accessible only to those with theological training or those given an alleged private revelation? Of course not. That’s why He gave us the Church — not just to preserve the Scriptures, but to interpret them authentically.
While Catholics reject the “Bible alone” belief, some appeal to Tradition as the final word. But even our Sacred Tradition needs interpretation. Our Tradition is vast and context-dependent, and faithful Catholics often disagree on its meaning.
We see this disagreement playing out in the Church today between so-called “Traditionalists” — those who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass from the 1962 missal — and those who are faithful to Vatican II, who accept and prefer its reforms, such as the use of the vernacular language in the Mass (English, Spanish, etc) and the inclusion of laity in liturgical roles such as lectors and extraordinary ministers, not to mention opportunities to serve for girls and women that were never available previously.
Some claim that Vatican II introduced error or novelty, rejecting its teachings and even the authority of the post-conciliar popes. This is tragic because when ratified by the Pope, the teachings of such a council are authoritative and binding for the universal Church. Those who reject the teachings of Vatican II are rejecting the teaching of the Church.
Others may accept the validity of the Council and the Pope, but they criticize him when he doesn’t share their liturgical preferences or their interpretation of how Sacred Tradition should be understood and practiced in today’s world.
The problem with this is that if a given Catholic or group of Catholics get to decide which parts of Sacred Tradition are binding based on their preferences or understanding, then Catholicism becomes just another one of the 45,000 Christian denominations, fractured by personal judgment and opinion.
And this is EXACTLY what Christ sought to prevent by establishing a living teaching authority in Peter and his successors. To be Catholic is to trust the living Magisterium — not just the past, but the PRESENT voice of the Church. THIS is true orthodoxy.
God’s revelation is a living word and it requires a living voice. That voice is the Magisterium of the Church — the Pope and the bishops in union with him — entrusted by Christ to teach, interpret, and preserve the faith without error.
When Jesus gave Peter the keys, He gave him real authority. And He promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. That promise did not expire with Peter. It continues through every one of the successors of Peter to this very day.
In a world full of spiritual confusion and competing voices, we are not left to wander. Christ gave us the one holy catholic and apostolic Church to interpret and preserve God’s revealed Truth. He also gave us the Papacy, the rock on which this Church is built. Let us faithfully stand on this rock and be guided safely to our heavenly homeland.
God bless you.