The Catholic Defender: The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi* he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood* has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so 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.

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.* Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

–Saint Augustine (354-430) "Count those priests who, in a regular succession have succeeded  Saint Peter, who is the Rock, which the gates of hell will not prevail."

The four marks of the church are "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic".

Bride of Christ:

23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.

24 As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

27 that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

28 Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

29 For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church,

30 because we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

32 This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the church;

Unity of Belief:

Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear news of you, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind struggling together for the faith of the gospel

make my joy complete by being of a single mind, one in love, one in heart and one in mind.

The Church is holy

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding day of the Lamb* has come,

his bride has made herself ready. She was allowed to wear a bright, clean linen garment.”

(The linen represents the righteous deeds of the holy ones.)

"The Church ... is held, as a matter of faith, to be unfailingly holy. This is because Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is hailed as 'alone holy,' loved the Church as his Bride, giving himself up for her so as to sanctify her; he joined her to himself as his body and endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God."289 The Church, then, is "the holy People of God,"290 and her members are called "saints.

"But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle, the faithful still strive to conquer sin and increase in holiness. And so they turn their eyes to Mary":306 in her, the Church is already the "all-holy."

The Church is Catholic (Universal

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”