Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church

Jesus did not come to earth, say some meaningful things, leave behind a book, and hope we’d sort it out. He was not vague. He was not casual. He was deliberate.

“Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

Not a loose collection of ideas. Not a rotating set of leaders. Not a handful of loosely affiliated Bible studies. Not thousands of denominations. His Church.

Christianity was never meant to be improvised. It was built intentionally, visibly, and to last.

Jesus Left Us a Church, Not Just Stories

The Gospels were never meant to float through history on their own. They are the testimony of a Church that was already alive gathering, baptizing, breaking bread, serving the poor, and proclaiming truth long before the New Testament was bound together.

Jesus didn’t just teach; He commissioned. He sent the apostles out with authority. He instituted sacraments, not suggestions. He promised His presence not just to individuals, but to a people: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

The Catechism describes the Church as “the universal sacrament of salvation” (CCC 774)—not an accessory to faith, but the means through which Christ continues His work in the world. Faith was never supposed to be a solo project.

Church History Isn’t Extra Credit—It’s the Point

For the first 1,500 years of Christianity, if you were Christian, you were Catholic. That isn’t an opinion; it’s history.

The early Church survived persecution, martyrdom, exile, and empire collapse not because it was trendy or flexible, but because it was structured, sacramental, and rooted in authority that traced itself back to Christ Himself. Apostolic succession wasn’t invented later. It was how the faith stayed intact.

The Catechism is clear that what the apostles received from Christ was handed on “by their preaching, by their example, and by the institutions they established” (CCC 76). Tradition wasn’t added to Scripture. It carried it forward.

The Bible Came From the Church

Catholics do not love Scripture less. We trust it enough to trust the Church that preserved it.

The Bible did not arrive fully formed. It was prayerfully discerned, compiled, and safeguarded by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The canon of Scripture was affirmed through councils, debate, and continuity...because truth matters.

The Catechism puts it simply: “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God” (CCC 80). One does not exist without the other.

Without the Church, there is no Bible as we know it.

A Faith That Forces You to Serve

Catholicism does not allow belief to remain theoretical. It insists that faith move outward.

The Church built hospitals before healthcare was a system. Universities before education was an industry. Charities before philanthropy had branding. Service is not a side project of Catholicism, it is part of its DNA.

Jesus didn’t tell His followers to feel compassion; He told them to feed the hungry, visit the sick, clothe the naked, and welcome the stranger.

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

To be Catholic is to be formed for service.

Why Young People Are Coming Back

Something interesting is happening. Young people are entering the Church not because it’s easy or socially convenient, but because it’s solid.

In a culture that changes its mind every five minutes, Catholicism offers something sturdy. Something ancient. Something that does not need to reinvent itself to stay relevant.

When everything feels negotiable, truth becomes magnetic.

The Church does not claim perfection in her people but she does claim faithfulness in what she has been entrusted with. In a world exhausted by relativism, there is comfort in something that stands firm.

Authority Is Not the Enemy of Love

Authority makes modern culture uncomfortable. Autonomy is our highest value. But authority, when rooted in love, is what protects truth over time.

The Catechism teaches that Christ gave authority to the apostles so the faith could be guarded and transmitted faithfully (CCC 861–865). Not controlled, not diluted, not rewritten, but preserved.

The Church exists not to replace Christ, but to remain accountable to Him.

The Rock Still Holds

The Church is old because truth lasts. She is imperfect because people are involved. And she is still standing because Christ promised she would be.

Jesus did not leave us orphaned with a book and good intentions. He left us a Church. A people. A way of life that draws us closer to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Upon this rock, He is still building.

All my love,

Neva