Who belongs to the Church?Who belongs to the Church? 1919PERUGINO, PietroChrist Handing the Keys to St Peter1481-82Fresco, 335 x 550 cmCappella Sistina, Vatican

Compendium of the Catechism

177. Who are the faithful? 871-872 The Christian faithful are those

who, inasmuch as they have been incorporated in Christ through Baptism, have been constituted as the people of God; for this reason, since they have become sharers in Christ’s priestly, prophetic and royal office in their own manner, they are called to exercise the mission which God has entrusted to the Church. There exists a true equality among them in their dignity as children of God.

Introduction

Saint Paul compares the Church –the Body of Christ– with the human body, that is, a single body with different parts all together. In the body of the Church, the

Head is Jesus Christ and the different parts, the Christians on earth, in Purgatory and in Heaven. This singular composition of the Church is called the Mystical Body of Christ.

The mission that corresponds to each one differs according to his or her function in the Church. All of them have their own responsibility.

BRAMANTINOThe Risen Christ

c. 1490Oil on panel, 109 x 75 cm

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Main ideasMain ideas

1. The Church is governed by the Pope and the Bishops

The Pope and the bishops make up the Hierarchy, which rules the People of God –helped by the priests and the deacons. We should love and obey the Hierarchy.

Its mission is: to teach the doctrine of

Jesus Christ; to sanctify with the

sacraments; to govern the Church

declaring laws that bind us in conscience, judging and punishing if necessary.

GHIRLANDAIO, DomenicoCalling of the Apostles1481Fresco, 349 x 570 cmCappella Sistina, Vatican

2. The Pope

The Roman Pontiff is the successor of Peter, the Vicar of Christ on earth and visible head of the whole Church, with supreme power over each and every shepherd and faithful.

Moreover, by divine will, the Pope is infallible and, as supreme teacher of the whole Church, cannot err when teaching about a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals.

3. The bishops By divine institution, Bishops are

the successors of the Apostles. A bishop to whom a particular

Church has been entrusted governs that Church with the authority of his own sacred power. This power is ordinary, immediate and exercised in the name of Christ, the Good Shepherd, in communion with the entire Church and under the guidance of the successor of Peter.

“they do proclaim infallibly the doctrine of Christ (…) when (…) preserving for all that amongst themselves and with Peter's successor the bond of communion, in their authoritative teaching concerning matters of faith and morals, they are in agreement that a particular teaching is to be held definitively and absolutely” (Lumen gentium 25)

UNKNOWN MASTER, CatalanChrist and the Twelve Apostlesc. 1100Wood, 103 x 130 cmMuseu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona

4. The presbiters or priests of the second order and the deacons

Priests are Christ’s ministers who, under the bishop’s authority, collaborate with him preaching the

Gospel, sanctifying the faithful and leading

Christian people to salvation, mainly through the Sacraments of

Penance and the Eucharist. Deacons have received an inferior

degree of the Sacrament of the Holy Order. They are not priests. They receive ordination in order to

serve God’s People, in union with the bishop and all the priests of his diocese, in the ministry of liturgy, in preaching and in charity.

5. The laity

The greatest part of the People of God consists of the laity. Lay people are those faithful Christians –besides clergy and religious – who, incorporated to Christ by baptism, form the People of God.

They participate, in their own particular way, in the priestly, prophetic and royal functions of Christ.

They have to be witnesses of Christ wherever they live, and are called to be holy, the same as the other members of the Church.

BASSANO, JacopoAdoration of the Shepherds1544-45Oil on canvas, 139,5 x 219 cmRoyal Collection, Windsor

6. The religious

Religious are those faithful who live apart from the cares of this world in order to profess the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. Thus, they give admirable

testimony that the world can neither be transformed nor offered to God without the spirit of the beatitudes.

In this way, they contribute to the good of the entire Church and to the fulfilment of her salvific mission.

MAGNASCO, AlessandroPrayer of the Penitent Monks

Oil on canvas, 57 x 43 cmPrivate collection

Resolutions for Christian lifeResolutions for Christian life

Resolutions to move forward

Think about the task that Christ gave us of fulfilling the mission of the Church, and draw conclusions.

Pray frequently for the Pope and the bishops, especially for the bishop of your diocese. This can be done during Holy Mass.