There is a story of St. Peter touring a new soul who just entered heaven. He first showed the soul the room of the United Church of Christ. They were feasting and praising. Then they visited the room of the Reformed Church. They too were feasting and praising. Then they went to the room of the Pentecostals, then to the room of the Lutheran, and the room of the Baptists. All the same; they were feasting and praising. Finally, they went to the corner room, which was dim and quiet. St. Peter said to the new soul, “You have to be quiet and solemn. This is the room of the Catholics. They believe that they are the only ones here in heaven.”

In the Gospel today, apostles felt that they were the only followers of Christ. Hence, the rebuke of Christ, “Whoever is not against us is for us.”

Three reflections on the Catholic Church and its relationship to other Christian denominations:

1. The fullness of truth is in the Catholic Church. We are a Church founded by Christ through Peter. Twenty-one centuries of succession. If you look at the history, despite the humanity of its members, it is still standing. And yes, it becomes stronger during times of persecution.
   
2. We are all sons and daughters of God. We may be of a different race, creed, color, educational background, economic classification, or religion but in the end, we all have the same yearnings of the heart.
   
3. “Whoever is not against us is for us.” Nowadays, the issue is not anymore the denomination. The issue is there are Anti-Christian forces bent on bringing down the Church and the world. Hence, now, the call for unity is even stronger and more urgent. We are “One body, many parts.”  

In every Mass, we continue to pray, fast, and do almsgiving simply because the battle is fiercer in the realm that is not seen.