IHS
Ascension Thursday—30 May AD 2019
Ave Maria!
A Very Brief Observation on Today’s Gospel:
Ordinary of the Mass
Mass Text - Latin
Mass Text - English
“Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believes and is baptized shall be saved:
but he that believes not shall be condemned.”[1]
These words of our Lord are very significant in the modern day world, in which many people hold that there is no difference between one religion and another. The “gospel,” of course is the teaching of Jesus Christ—both what was written down and what has been passed down to us in sacred tradition. Jesus told His apostles to teach His teaching to everyone, everywhere without exception. And everyone, everywhere, were supposed to accept this teaching under pain of eternal condemnation. The possibility of eternal condemnation for disbelief demonstrates that all religions are not equal—only the religion of Jesus Christ can bring about salvation. And only the Catholic Church authentically teaches what Jesus taught the Apostles.
If we carefully examine this “gospel,” we can see doctrinal continuity in the Catholic Church. We have neither added to, nor subtracted from, the “Gospel.” Doctrines like the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption are not modern day additions; rather, they have their roots in the Scriptures or in the experience of the Apostles. And the Church has not backed away from any of our Lord’s teachings—not even from the hard ones like the permanence of marriage or the Real Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Even Christian denominations that have added or subtracted from Jesus’ teaching may well lead to condemnation.
We also see the historic continuity of the Catholic Church with the Church of Jesus and His Apostles. No other organization charts in the world more thoroughly chronicle the lines of leadership than those of the Catholic Church. We know where each of the Apostles established the Church. We can clearly enumerate the succession of the Popes back to Saint Peter—and ultimately to Jesus Christ. Our priests and bishops all have Sacramental Orders that trace back to Jesus Christ through the Apostles at the Last Supper.
Our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel serve to point out His only true Church. Those who lack this Apostolic Succession; and those who add to or subtract from His teaching are false shepherds of a false religion—and those who adhere to false teachers will be condemned.
Preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believes and is baptized shall be saved:
but he that believes not shall be condemned.”
