Some people declare themselves spiritual, but not religious. They pride themselves on not belonging to any church; they resent "structure" and "organized religion". They see the sinners in the Church and are repulsed. They resent the Church's "rules and regulations" and limit their relationship to "me and Jesus."

Yet Jesus never offered that as an option. Jesus came to create His Church (Mt 16:18). Jesus, the Firm Foundation, laid the Church's foundation on Simon, Jude, and the apostles (Eph 2:20; Rv 21:14), and "no one can lay a foundation other than the one that has been laid, namely Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 3:11).

We need to make our home solid, built on the Rock, to avoid being swept away by the storms, trials, and persecutions of this life (Mt 7:24-27). Those who disdain and reject the Church have in effect chosen to be homeless, "strangers and aliens," rejecting the place they were offered in the "household of God" (Eph 2:19). According to Jesus Himself, anyone who rejects the apostles is rejecting Jesus and God the Father (Lk 10:16).

We are then fitted as "living stones" upon this foundation (1 Pt 2:5) to form the building of the Church. Yes, there are many sinners in the Church. However, the Church endures because of its solid, unshakable foundation, not because of some faulty stones. Build your life on the Rock, Jesus, and the foundation He laid upon the apostles and their teaching.

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 20, 2015

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