The Church

Reflecting the Light of Christ

Outline• The Church’s Origin, Foundation, and

Mission• The Mystery of the Church

– Visible and Spiritual– Universal Sacrament of Salvation

• The People of God– Priest, Prophet, and King– Body of Christ– Bride of Christ– Temple of the Holy Spirit

The word “Church”• 751 The word "Church" (Latin ecclesia,

from the Greek ek-ka-lein, to "call out of") means a convocation or an assembly. It designates the assemblies of the people, usually for a religious purpose.

• 752 In Christian usage, the word "church" designates– the liturgical assembly– the local community– the whole universal community of believers.

• These three meanings are inseparable.

THE CHURCH'S ORIGIN,

FOUNDATION AND MISSION

The Church Prepared for in the Old Covenant• 761 … The gathering together of the Church is, as

it were, God's reaction to the chaos provoked by sin. This reunification is achieved secretly in the heart of all peoples: "In every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable" to God.– Man was intended to live in harmony and community

with both God and his fellow man– The Church is this plan realized in time although

imperfectly for now

• 762 The gathering together of the People of God – Begins when he calls Abraham and promises that he

will become the father of a great people. – Continues with Israel's election as the People of God.

By this election, Israel is to be the sign of the future gathering of All nations.

– But the prophets accuse Israel of breaking the covenant and behaving like a prostitute. They announce a new and eternal covenant. "Christ instituted this New Covenant."

The Church Instituted by Christ Jesus• 763 To fulfill the Father's will, Christ ushered in the

Kingdom of heaven on earth. The Church "is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery."

• 766 The Church is born primarily of Christ's total self-giving for our salvation, anticipated in the institution of the Eucharist and fulfilled on the cross.

• "The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus.“

• The water symbolizes baptism which makes one a member of the new covenant family; the Church

• The blood symbolizes the Eucharist which helps to grow and sustain the members of the covenant family

The Church Instituted by Christ Jesus• "For it was from the side of Christ as he

slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth the 'wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.'" As Eve was formed from the sleeping Adam's side, so the Church was born from the pierced heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross.– Eve is wife of the first Adam, the church is the

“spotless bride” of the second Adam; Christ– Eve is the mother of the living, the Church is

also called a mother– Mary is the icon of the church as spouse of the

Holy Spirit and mother to all those who believe in her son

• Rev 12:17• Lk 1:35

The Church Revealed by the Holy Spirit

• 767 “… the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church."– Then "the Church was openly displayed to the

crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun."

– As the "convocation" of all men for salvation, the Church in her very nature is missionary, sent by Christ to all the nations to make disciples of them.

• 768 So that she can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit "bestows upon [the Church] varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her." "Henceforward the Church, … receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is on earth the seed and the beginning of that kingdom."

The Church Perfected in Glory

• 769 "The Church . . . will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven," at the time of Christ's glorious return.

• Until that day, "the Church progresses on her pilgrimage amidst this world's persecutions and God's consolations." Here below she knows that she is in exile far from the Lord, and longs for the full coming of the Kingdom, when she will "be united in glory with her king." The Church, and through her the world, will not be perfected in glory without great trials.

THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH

Both Visible and Spiritual• 771 "The one mediator, Christ, established

and ever sustains here on earth his holy Church, the community of faith, hope, and charity, as a visible organization through which he communicates truth and grace to all men." The Church is at the same time:– a society structured with hierarchical organs

and the mystical body of Christ;– the visible society and the spiritual community;– the earthly Church and the Church endowed

with heavenly riches

• These dimensions together constitute "one complex reality which comes together from a human and a divine element"

Both Visible and Spiritual• The Church is essentially both human and

divine, – visible but endowed with invisible realities, – zealous in action and dedicated to

contemplation,– present in the world, but as a pilgrim, – so constituted that in her the human is directed

toward and subordinated to the divine, the visible to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, the object of our quest.

The Universal Sacrament of Salvation• 774 ... Christ himself is the mystery of salvation:

"For there is no other mystery of God, except Christ." The saving work of his holy and sanctifying humanity is the sacrament of salvation, which is revealed and active in the Church's sacraments – The seven sacraments are the signs and instruments

by which the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which is his Body.

– The Church, then, both contains and communicates the invisible grace she signifies. It is in this analogical sense, that the Church is called a "sacrament.“

• 775 "The Church, in Christ, is like a sacrament - a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men." – The Church's first purpose is to be the sacrament of

the inner union of men with God. – Because men's communion with one another is

rooted in that union with God, the Church is also the sacrament of the unity of the human race.

The Universal Sacrament of Salvation

• 776 As sacrament, the Church is Christ's instrument. "She is taken up by him also as the instrument for the salvation of all," "the universal sacrament of salvation," by which Christ is "at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God's love for men."

• The Church "is the visible plan of God's love for humanity," because God desires "that the whole human race may become – one People of God, – form one Body of Christ– be built up into one temple of the Holy Spirit."

THE CHURCH

PEOPLE OF GOD

Priest, Prophet, and King• 783 Jesus Christ is the one whom the

Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and established as priest, prophet, and king.– As priest he offered himself as the sacrificial

victim that would take away the sins of the world

– As prophet he proclaimed the good news of God

– He is the new Davidic king who reigns over the people of God, who as King came to serve and not to be served

• The whole People of God participates in these three offices of Christ and bears the responsibilities for mission and service that flow from them.

A Priestly People

• 784 On entering the People of God through faith and Baptism, one receives a share in this people's unique, priestly vocation: "Christ the Lord, high priest taken from among men, has made this new people 'a kingdom of priests to God, his Father.' The baptized, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy priesthood.“

• How do we exercise our priestly role?– And what is as priestly as to dedicate a pure conscience to

the Lord and to offer the spotless offerings of devotion on the altar of the heart? (St. Leo the Great)

– Job 1:4-54 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the

house of each on his day; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did continually.

– Do penance for our sins and those of others. Offer ourselves as “a living sacrifice” to God (Rom12:1)

A Prophetic People• What does it mean to be a prophet?

– To proclaim the will of God

• 785 "The holy People of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office– when it "unfailingly adheres to this faith . . .

once for all delivered to the saints," – when it deepens its understanding and

becomes Christ's witness in the midst of this world

• We must make Christ manifest to the world through both word and deed

A Royal People• 786 Finally, the People of God shares in the royal

office of Christ. He exercises his kingship by drawing all men to himself through his death and Resurrection. Christ, King and Lord of the universe, made himself the servant of all, for he came "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

• How do we exercise our royal dignity?– For the Christian, "to reign is to serve him,"

particularly when serving "the poor and the suffering, in whom the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering founder." The People of God fulfills its royal dignity by a life in keeping with its vocation to serve with Christ.

– What, indeed, is as royal for a soul as to govern the body in obedience to God?

- St. Leo the Great

The Church is Communion with Jesus• 787 ... Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion

between him and those who would follow him:

"Abide in me, and I in you.... I am the vine, you are the branches."

And he proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours:

"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.“

• 789 The comparison of the Church with the body casts light on the intimate bond between Christ and his Church. Three aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ are to be more specifically noted:

– the unity of all her members with each other as a result of their union with Christ;

– Christ as head of the Body; – and the Church as bride of Christ.

THE CHURCH

THE BODY OF CHRIST

One Body• 790 Believers who respond to God's word and become

members of Christ's Body, become intimately united with him:

– This is especially true of Baptism, which unites us to Christ's death and Resurrection

– The Eucharist, by which "really sharing in the body of the Lord, . . . we are taken up into communion with him and with one another.“

• 791 The body's unity does not do away with the diversity of its members:

– There is only one Spirit who, according to his own richness and the needs of the ministries, gives his different gifts for the welfare of the Church.

– "From this it follows that if one member suffers anything, all the members suffer with him, and if one member is honored, all the members together rejoice."

– Finally, the unity of the Mystical Body triumphs over all human divisions: "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Christ is the Head of this Body• 792 Christ "is the head of the body, the Church."

He is the principle of creation and redemption. Raised to the Father's glory, "in everything he [is] preeminent," especially in the Church, through whom he extends his reign over all things.

• 793 Christ unites us with his Passover: all his members must strive to resemble him, "until Christ be formed" in them. "For this reason we . . . are taken up into the mysteries of his life, . . . associated with his sufferings as the body with its head, suffering with him, that with him we may be glorified."

• 794 Christ provides for our growth: to make us grow toward him, our head, he provides in his Body, the Church, the gifts and assistance by which we help one another along the way of salvation.

Christ is the Head of this Body• 795 Christ and his Church thus together

make up the "whole Christ" (Christus totus). The Church is one with Christ.– Head and members form as it were one and the

same mystical person.

• A reply of St. Joan of Arc to her judges sums up the faith of the holy doctors and the good sense of the believer: – "About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply

know they're just one thing, and we shouldn't complicate the matter."

The Church

Bride of Christ

The Church is the Bride of Christ• 796 … The Apostle speaks of the whole Church

and of each of the faithful, members of his Body, as a bride "betrothed" to Christ the Lord so as to become but one spirit with him. – The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless

Lamb. – "Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her,

that he might sanctify her.“

• …. "The two will become one flesh. This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the Church." And the Lord himself says in the Gospel: "So they are no longer two, but one flesh." – They are, in fact, two different persons, yet they are

one in the conjugal union, . . . as head, he calls himself the bridegroom, as body, he calls himself "bride."

THE CHURCH

THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Temple of the Holy Spirit• 797 "What the soul is to the human body, the Holy

Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church." … The Holy Spirit makes the Church "the temple of the living God"

• 798 The Holy Spirit is "the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the Body." He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in charity: – by God's Word – by Baptism, through which he forms Christ's Body; – by the sacraments, which give growth and healing to

Christ's members; – by "the grace of the apostles”– by the virtues, which make us act according to what

is good– by the many special graces (called "charisms"), by

which he makes the faithful "fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church."

Charisms• 799 Whether extraordinary or simple and humble,

charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly benefit the Church,– ordered as they are to her building up– to the good of men– to the needs of the world.

• 800 Charisms are to be accepted with gratitude by the person who receives them and by all members of the Church as well. They are a wonderfully rich grace for the apostolic vitality and for the holiness of the entire Body of Christ, provided – they really are genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit – are used in full conformity with authentic promptings

of this same Spirit, that is, in keeping with charity, the true measure of all charisms.

Charisms• 801 … discernment of charisms is always

necessary. No charism is exempt from being referred and submitted to the Church's shepherds.

• "Their office [is] not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good," so that all the diverse and complementary charisms work together "for the common good."

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