The Church of Jesus Christ is guided by the Pope!
Homily preached August 27, 2023
by Monsignor Michael Deering

If you were to ask someone on the street,

“Who’s the head of the Catholic Church on Earth?” ...

they’d probably say, “the Pope”, which is the right answer!

And there’s a good chance that quite a few people would say Pope Francis ...

correctly telling you the Pope’s name!

Now if you asked those same people on the street,

“Who’s the head of the Baptist Church on earth?”

or “Who’s the head of the Presbyterian Church on earth?”

or, “Who’s the head of the Assembly of God Church on earth?”

What would they say?

Well, I don’t think they’d respond with any title or any person’s name ...

because actually ... there is no one leader of those Churches, just as ...

there’s no one worldwide leader for any of the 1000’s Protestant denominations.

Those churches proudly claim that they operate ... autonomously,

which means that each individual church operates separately on its own rules ...

 and doesn’t answer to any central authority ...

which means that the message that you hear and the flow of the Sunday service ...

 can differ quite a bit from one individual church to the next.

For example:

the Tuscaloosa First Baptist Church, the Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church,

the Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, the Primitive Baptist Church ...

and some 13 other area Baptist churches operate independently ...

meaning they don’t answer to any central authority for uniformity or direction ...

          and many don’t even talk to one another!

That’s very different from Catholic Churches ... that are united under one central authority that motivates the Priests and Bishops ... to talk to each other regularly.

Fr. Tom, Fr. Muggaga, Fr. Victor and I communicate often to discuss how we will serve you with School Masses, Confessions, Holy Days and Activities.

We meet with another 4 Priests in our area for a lunch meeting once a quarter.

All 60 Priests of our Diocese get together for a 4-day Retreat once a year.

All 300 of our US Bishops meet together in the Spring ... and again in the Fall.

All 3,000 Bishops from around the world meet with the Pope every 5 years!  So,

we’re not autonomous (operating separately)... we’re united (operating together)!

Since the beginning of the Church ... at Pentecost ... in the year 33 AD ...

the Church has always been governed by one man at the top … the Pope …

and it has continued to operate this way for the past 2,000 years.

But along the way, groups of Christians, have broken away from the Catholic Church and run pretty much autonomously, without a single person at the head.

Allowing individual churches to operate autonomously ...

 hardly seems like the way to run a worldwide organization.

It’s definitely not the way we run worldwide businesses:

companies like Mercedes and McDonalds ... Microsoft and Coca-Cola!  

    These companies have business locations all around the world.

and their desire is to have uniformity of product and service all around the world! Now, if you want uniformity ... in your cars and in your computers ...

if you want uniformity ... in your software and in your soft drinks,

then you don’t let the various locations operate separately ... rather, you

control those things through a united team of leaders with one person at the top.

Every worldwide company has a President at the top

with the responsibility of insuring that their company’s product

is delivered the same all around the world.

A Coke in Tokyo, Japan should taste the same as a Coke in Tuscaloosa, Al.

A Big Mac in Nicaragua should taste the same as a Big Mac in Northport, Al.

        And the Gospel message proclaimed in Birmingham, England ...

should be the same as the one proclaimed in Birmingham, Alabama. 

That was Jesus’ goal … that all people, all over the world, ...

would receive the same truth ... about the One True God.

Jesus wanted a uniform message about God to be spread all around the world.

And so it makes every bit of sense,

that Jesus would have acted to insure the uniformity of His message

by establishing a team of Leaders ... and placing one person in charge!

Jesus did indeed establish a team of Leaders … His Twelve Apostles,

and He did indeed place one person at the top … namely Peter.

This is precisely what took place in our Gospel today!

So, for the times when you’re asked to explain or defend the primacy of the Pope, you need to remember our Gospel passage today, Matthew 16:16.

It’s here that Jesus establishes His Church and puts Peter in charge of everything!

Jesus says, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church” Whose Church?

Jesus’ Church!     Not Peter’s Church ... or anyone else’s church.    Jesus’ Church!

And then Jesus says something ... very important.     He says,

“I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.”

What did Jesus mean by this? Is there a Master Padlock on the Gates of Heaven?

No, there’s no lock ... but ... notice how similar Jesus’ statement sounds to ...

the way that God spoke of Eliakim in our First reading from the Prophet Isaiah.

Speaking to the unsatisfactory Leader, Shebna, God said,

“On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim … and give over to him your authority. … I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder.”

Notice the link between the Old Testament & New Testament in transfer of power!

The link is “the key” … you could say ... the key is the key!

See, in the process of bestowing the office of Prime Minister; a key was placed on a person’s shoulder … signifying that they now had full power and authority...

          that the authority as Master of the Palace ... had been given to him.  

God declares through Isaiah: “I will give over to him your authority.”

That’s a transfer of power!

And we see that process show up ... to this very day ...

whereby the handing on of keys indicates the transfer of power and authority.

For example, how do we recognize a citizen for some great deed they have done?

The Mayor ceremonially gives them the Key to the City for a whole day!

Back in 2005, when Bishop Baker chose me as the Vicar General for the Diocese,

he gave me the keys to the Diocesan Offices ... and in doing so,

he gave me the authority to act in his capacity ... in his absence.

I had access to Bishop’s office and files and I acted with his authority ...

 when he was sick or out of the Office ... (esp. during his weeks of Hospital)

That’s what the word “Vicar” means; it means … one who stands in the place of.

As Vicar General ... I stood in the place of the Bishop ... when he was away.

Now, if the Vicar General stands in the place of the Bishop and acts with his authority, then the Vicar of Christ stands in the place of Christ and acts with His authority!

This is why we refer to the Pope as  ... “the Vicar of Christ” on earth!

Jesus knew that He was going to leave this world and return to His Father in Heaven ... and that’s why He set up someone to act with His power on Earth.

Today He says to Peter, “I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Indicating  that He would eventually transfer His power and authority to Peter ...

which He did at the Sea of Galilee right before He ascended to the Father in Heaven.

Feed my Lambs ... Tend my Flock ... Lead my Sheep!

When the Leader, Shebna, went away, his power was bestowed upon Eliakim …

giving him authority over ... the whole House of Judah.

When the Leader, Jesus, went away, His power was bestowed upon Peter …

giving him authority over ... the whole Church!

Eliakim became the Prime Minister of the Jews of Jerusalem.

Peter became the Prime Minister of the Christians of the whole world!

In referring to the role of Eliakim, God says, “He shall be a father to (the people).”

It’s from this passage that we get the title Pope?            Pope means papa!

The Pope is more than our Prime Minister ...

he is our papa … our spiritual father.     We call Him ... the Holy Father!

It’s perfectly clear that Jesus gave Peter full authority over the Church ...

saying to him, “Whatever you bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

These words mirror the full authority that God had given to Eliakim ...

saying,  “When he opens, no one shall shut. When he shuts, no one shall open.”

So, who’s in charge?      The one with the keys!

Peter was given the keys ... to what?  … to the Kingdom of Heaven!

Since Jesus is no longer here in the flesh to lead us to the Kingdom of Heaven .... 

He arranged that someone would stand in His place here on earth ...

as the visible head of His Church and be empowered to act with His authority.

Peter carried and exercised the authority of Jesus … for 34 years!

And when Pope Peter died,

the power and authority of Jesus was transferred to Pope Linus.

And when Pope Linus died

the power and authority of Jesus was transferred to Pope Cletus …

And that transfer of power & authority has been going on for 2000 years ... so that today ... in the year 2023 ... the power & authority of Jesus resides with Pope Francis.

Francis is the 265^th successor of St. Peter!

And he has the Keys … the same keys given to Peter!

He is the one designated by God ... to shepherd all of us, the Catholic faithful,

safely into the Kingdom of God.

What an enormous job that is ... with 1.3 Billion Catholics worldwide!

The Pope occupies the Chair of St. Peter ... meaning that the Church today ...

is built on the same foundation that Jesus established for His church ...

from the very beginning ... one that is rock solid.

John records the immensity of this transfer of authority with Jesus changing Peter’s name!

Jesus declares:  “Blessed are you Simon” and then finishes:

“I say to you, you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church ...

.. and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

The name Peter means rock!

This is a clear and definitive description of the bestowal of Jesus’ power on Peter.

How wonderful to have the assurance from Jesus Himself ...

that our Church, which is His Church, will never be subdued.

You see, the Catholic Church is not just another human organization like Coke or Mercedes or McDonalds.  It is a divinely founded organization and as the Bride of Jesus Christ; it is being constantly guided and guarded by the Holy Spirit.

Many people down through the ages have tried to overthrow the Catholic Church. But it has never happened. Persecutions and heresies and schisms and scandals have all occurred, but the Catholic Church has persisted for some 2000 years ...

and remains the longest living human organization in the World and without an army!

Of the 40,000 different Protestant and non-denominational Christian Churches that exist today, none of them existed 500 years ago. Most didn’t exist 50 years ago.

There is only one Church that has been in existence all the way back to Peter ... 

That’s the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Through an unbroken chain of 266 Popes, the Catholic Church has persisted and grown so that today it is the largest church in America with some 64 Million members, that’s 20% of the country.

It is also the largest Church in the world ... with 1.3 Billion out of 8 Billion people!

I’m sure you’re aware of the rise in so called “non-denominational” churches  ...

there are 1000’s of them!         But the truth is:

the Catholic Church is really ... the only “non-denominational church”

Because the Catholic Church is not a denomination ...it’s the full original church!

It’s the only one written of in the Bible!

All the rest of the Christian churches took bits and pieces of the Catholic faith ... and fashioned it into their own style ... thereby becoming denominations.

All 40,000 Christian denominations ... were started by men.

While only The Catholic Church ... was started by the God-Man, Jesus Christ,

right there in the Bible ... Matthew 16:16 ...  in the year 33 AD in Jerusalem!

And throughout its 2000-year history, the Catholic Church remains ...

the one true Church ... with the Bishops as its Leaders ...

and the Pope as its visible head … just as Jesus designed it.

Jesus came to establish a worldwide household of believers ...

which is how His Church came to be called Catholic ...

                   St. Ignatius of Antioch in the year 107!

where Catholic means Worldwide ... Universal ... One!

And indeed it is!

Do you realize that today in every Catholic Church all over the world Catholics are:

• hearing the same Scripture readings ...
• praying the same prayers ... and
• receiving the same Eucharist ... that we are ... here today?

How do you accomplish that? Not with autonomy! But rather with structure and organization that comes from having one man at the top who guides the promulgation of uniform teachings through a worldwide team of Leaders.

2000 years ago, Jesus established His Church with one man at the top … the Pope.

Today, the Catholic Church remains a worldwide house of believers

with uniformity in ... its Dogma and Doctrine and Disciplines …

with uniformity in ... what it proclaims, and preaches and practices!

So, give thanks that we’re getting the fullness of the faith Jesus wanted us to have.

Today ... in Matthew 16:16 ... Jesus asks the question: “Who do you say that I am?”

Peter, confidently answers: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”

Well, if someone were to ask you, “What Church do you belong to?”

I hope you’d be able to answer: “I go to the only non-denominational church ... Holy Spirit –Tuscaloosa It’s the one and only Church that Jesus established in Scripture.

• it’s a worldwide Church with the Pope as the Vicar of Christ on earth ...

who is holding the keys ... to the Kingdom of Heaven ...

and acting with Jesus’ authority ... to bind and to loose ...

and occupying the Chair of Peter ... that is set on a rock foundation ...

                    against which the gates of hell will never prevail. 

And then invite them to come visit the one and only non-denominational Church

... the Holy Catholic Church!