Christ the Cornerstone
In today’s first reading, St. Paul reminds us that, like the church in Ephesus, we “are no longer strangers and sojourners, but members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone” (Eph 2:19–20).
A cornerstone is more than just the first stone laid. It is the reference point — the stone that determines the direction, alignment, and strength of the entire structure. Every other stone finds its place in relation to it. Without a true cornerstone, the walls tilt, and the foundation shifts.
Christ is that cornerstone — steady, sure, and perfectly true. When our lives align with Him, everything holds.
When Jesus chose the Twelve from among His disciples, He began forming the living structure that would become His Church. These were not saints in shining robes, but fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot — twelve ordinary men called to an extraordinary mission. Through their obedience, the faith spread to the ends of the earth, and through their witness, the Church continues to be built.
We are not spectators of this story — we are part of it. To profess that we are one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church is to stand in that same line of faith, joined to the apostles and aligned with the Cornerstone Himself.
At the beginning of almost every Mass, we pray the Confiteor (“I confess”). When we ask, “And you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God,” we acknowledge that, like stones in a great building, we depend on one another to stay upright and true. Each act of love, each moment of prayer, each expression of humility supports the whole structure — keeping the Church aligned with its Cornerstone, built upon the apostolic foundation, and growing together in the mystical Body of Christ.
