The reasoning of Gamaliel can give us confidence in the
Catholic Church today. He advised
the Sanhedrin that they should be careful about attacking the work of the
apostles. After noting other
failed movements, he explicitly said, “So
now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men,
and let them go. For
if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it
will destroy itself. But
if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you
may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
Look
at how much our Church has survived in nearly 2000 years. The early Church faced persecution,
torture and execution. A number of
heresies have threatened to break us apart, especially Gnosticism (in the
second and third centuries in which Jesus’ humanness was rejected), Arianism
(in the fourth century in which Jesus’ divinity was rejected and which
Athanasius condemned), beliefs that Mary was not the Mother of God (in the
eight century) and more. We have
been through the schism between east and west, Protestant Reformation,
Enlightenment and Modernism. Today
we face the tyrannies of relativism, apathy, materialism and hedonism.
Yet
the Catholic Church is still here.
How could this be, save from God?
This simple fact, that we are around 2000 years after Jesus, is (to me)
one of the greatest indicators that we are continually led by Jesus Christ.
May
we continue to pray with the Psalmist: “One
thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord…” and remain in God’s house
on earth.
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