Apostolic Succession and Imperfect Shepherds
Apostolic Succession and Imperfect Shepherds
In this powerful homily, Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, explains how Jesus gave His twelve Apostles authority over demons and diseases; both spiritual and physical. He sent them out invested with His own divine power to forgive sins and heal. That same authority continues today through Apostolic Succession in bishops and priests.
Though leaders are imperfect and some stray from apostolic teaching, Fr. Alar reminds us even Judas was among the Twelve. We must pray for our shepherds, stand firm on the faith Jesus gave 2,000 years ago, and defend the Church with truth and respect.
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Today we celebrate St. Luke the Evangelist—the physician, artist, and companion of St. Paul who gave us one of the most merciful portraits of Christ in all of Scripture. In his Gospel, we meet Jesus as the Divine Physician: healing the sick, forgiving sinners, and lifting the poor and forgotten into His Heart. From the parables of mercy—the prodigal son, the lost sheep, the good Samaritan—to Christ’s words from the Cross, “Father, forgive them,” St. Luke reveals the face of a God who is infinite in compassion.
Fr. Chris Alar addresses the recent doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis (“Mother of the Faithful of God”) released by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document discusses Marian titles such as Co-Redemptrix and Co-Mediatrix, leading many to ask whether these titles may still be used.
On this great solemnity, Fr. Chris reflects on the mystery at the heart of the Marian Fathers’ charism: the Immaculate Conception—God’s greatest act of mercy ever given to a creature. Despite the grief of losing his father just days earlier, he reminds us that Our Lady’s purity is the blueprint for our own path to holiness. Long before the dogma was defined in 1854, the Church cherished this truth in Scripture and Sacred Tradition, seen in Gabriel’s greeting, “Hail, full of grace,” revealing Mary as wholly transformed by divine life.
