Saint Augustine (died 430 A.D.) recommended to young people of his time:
“It seems healthy to me to recommend this to studious, intelligent young people who are God-fearing and who seek a joyful blessed life: do not put your true happiness at risk with the excuse of looking for a merry life and do not harshly decide to venture on following any doctrine practised outside Christ’s Church.”
During the Last Supper, the last time Jesus gathered His Apostles before His Passion and Death, Jesus knew it was the time to bid them farewell and then He guaranteed them the infallibility to know and teach the Saving Truth.
Saint John describes all the events of that memorable Supper, in which the Lord gave mankind His Legacy of Priesthood and Eucharist, in his Gospel from Chapter 13 to 17. These five Chapters are of special importance because they represent “the last words and advice” that Jesus gave to His Church. It is easy to understand the sublime character of the Last Supper: at that holy night, the Lord guaranteed the infallibility of the Church at three different moments, according to Saint John’s words, who was present to the event. Jesus started by telling His Apostles that:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14, 15-18).
Jesus could not have given a greater guarantee to His Church than giving His Own Spirit to Her as a legacy, the Spirit of truth. He affirmed He would “always” be with His Church, so how could She make a mistake in those matters essential for mankind’s salvation?
It is worth noticing that Jesus promised that He would give the Holy Spirit to the Church so that the Spirit would be “always” with Her. He guaranteed that He would stay with His Church and in His Church: “it remains with you, and will be in you.”
Jesus’ Promises to His Church are infallible because Jesus is neither a pretender nor a liar. At that memorable hour before His Passion, He was not playing jokes on His Apostles and His Church. He was saying farewell to them with His last and most important promises: soon after He would suffer His most painful Passion for the Love of His Church.
Unfortunately, spiritual pride and haughtiness blind the eyes of the soul and do not allow their victims to see this truth. The Church has never lost the possession of the Truth even in face of the sins of her children.
Professor Felipe Aquino
Professor Felipe Aquino is a widower, father of five children. On TV Canção Nova he presents the program “Escola da Fé” [School of faith] and “Pergunte e Responderemos” [Ask and respond], on Radio he presents the program “in the heart of the Church”. On weekends he preaches deepening meetings throughout Brazil and abroad. He wrote 73 books of Catholic background by publishers, Loyola and Cleopas and Canção Nova. His teacher’s page:www.cleofas.com.br Twitter: @pfelipeaquino