May 23, 2011 – Catechism 863-870

Like they've done in other sections, this section is somewhat a summary of what we've already gone over the last few weeks, so I won't spend too much time repeating the same things over and over again. What I was thinking about is the end of Paragraph 865 and the understanding that the heavenly Jerusalem was built on the foundation of the 12 apostles of a lamb. That includes Judas. It couldn't possibly mean Mathias, who replaced Judas. I think it absolutely has to mean Judas, the original 12 Apostles. And when you think about that, it is so counter intuitive that the foundation of the heavenly Church could be made of one such as Judas. But it is specifically Biblical that God uses flawed people like Judas throughout his tradition. It especially comes out in the beginning of Matthew when it is talking about the genealogy of Christ. When you go through that list you find people that were not the most moral people. You have Bathsheba, who David took from another man after he had him killed. You have to prostitutes, and rulers that were idolaters. So you have this long list that is speckled with people that are deficient, or what it least appear deficient if you're thinking of the family tree for the son of God. From that point of view having the foundation built on top of the 12 apostles, which includes Judas the betrayer, does not come across as so counter intuitive.