Class VI Saturday, June 8, 2013
PART
ONE
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION TWO
THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
CHAPTER THREE
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
ARTICLE 9
"I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH"
"I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH"
Key to Understanding the Church’s discourse
about herself and everything else: the way the Church understands God as Creator,
and everything else as created. The distinction – which is called “the
Christian Distinction” is very helpful. The protagonist of the distinction is
St. Anselm (with the help of Fr. Robert Sokolowski). The God of Jesus Christ is
not the god of Aristotle or Plato. He is the Creator of the world such that if
the world did not exist, He would not “be” less. And now that the world is, He
“is” not more [Being]. Hence, everything that we say about God the Creator as
revealed in Genesis and in Jesus Christ, means something different from what we
say about the world we experience through sensation, form propositional statements
and conclusions. In fact, the same words mean different things (but not
completely). For example, we will see that the Creed below that asserts that
the Church is one, holy, universal and apostolic is different from what we mean
when we say that an army is one or the computer is now
universal.
Sokolowski’s
clarification is very simple and profound here in his exercise of
phenomenology. As John Paul II offered in his “Crossing the Threshold of Hope,”[1]
he is referring to two kinds of experience: through the senses and
abstract thought; and of the self when going out of self. He gives an excellent example in his chapter
“Pagan Divinity” of his “The God of Faith and Reason”[2]
when he shows how the all the pagan gods are connected to a sensible experience
in the world [including Aristotle and Plato], while the God of revelation is
known by the experience of going out of self that is faith. This distinction
enables the reader to understand that all the pagan gods are in the world, whereas
the God of revelation – the Creat or - is outside the world of
sensation.
Paragraph 3. The Church Is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic
811 "This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the
Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic."256 These
four characteristics, inseparably linked with each other,257 indicate
essential features of the Church and her mission. The Church does not possess them
of herself; it is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, makes his Church one,
holy, catholic, and apostolic, and it is he who calls her to realize each of
these qualities.
812 Only faith can recognize that the
Church possesses these properties from her divine source. But their historical
manifestations are signs that also speak clearly to human reason. [3]As the First Vatican
Council noted, the "Church herself,
with her marvelous propagation, eminent holiness, and inexhaustible
fruitfulness in everything good, her catholic unity and invincible stability, is a great and perpetual motive of
credibility and an irrefutable witness of her divine mission."258
1. THE CHURCH IS ONE: The dynamic at work here is
the relational architecture of the human person imaging the Divine Person of
the Son (“sons in the Son”). Jn. 17, 3: “That they be one as we are one.” Also
keep in mind that” God wills the Church, because he wills unity” (John Paul II,
“Ut Unum Sint” #9). That is, He doesn’t first will the Church and then will its
unity, but al reves.
The Church is not a grouping of individuals,
but a communion of persons [who are constitutively relational]. Therefore, we
are not “members” of the Church as individual parts, but “faithful” persons.
813 The
Church is one because of her source: "the highest exemplar and source
of this mystery is the unity, in the Trinity of Persons, of one God, the
Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit."259 The Church is one because of her founder:
for "the Word made flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all men to God
by the cross, . . . restoring the unity of all in one people and one
body."260 The Church is one because of her "soul":
"It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading
and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful communion of
the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the
principle of the Church's unity."261 Unity is of the
essence of the Church:
What an astonishing mystery! There is one
Father of the universe, one Logos of the universe, and also one Holy Spirit,
everywhere one and the same; there is also one virgin become mother, and I
should like to call her "Church."262
Diversity comes from the Christian
anthropology whereby each person (subject) masters self (the primordial
exercise of freedom) in order to get possession and governance of self so as to
make the gift of self. Sanctity is the
imaging of the Son of God in the
relation of Self-Gift to the Father. And so, we are one in that each is gift to
the other; and we are different in that each one masters self as he sees fit.
It may be
possible to say: The Church becomes “different” in order to become “one.” This
is the anthropology of true subjectivity: the “I” must subdue/master himself
(which is a unique, free act – and therefore makes one “different”), in order
to “own” oneself (govern oneself), and this to make the gift of oneself and
therefore be “one” with the others. This is the Christian anthropology of
Gaudium et spes #24 and the center piece of the Social Doctrine of the Church. And so, The Church becomes different to become one.
814 From
the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity
[self-determination] which
comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive
them. Within the unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples and
cultures is gathered together. Among the Church's members, there are different
gifts, offices, conditions, and ways of life. ‘Holding a rightful place in the
communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their
own traditions. The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the
Church’s unity. Yet sin and the burden of its consequences constantly threaten
the gift of unity. And so the Apostle has to exhort Christians to
"maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."264
815 What are these bonds of unity? Above all, charity [But
remember that “charity” is not wishing well but self-gift to death – agape
– Trinitarian Love] "binds everything together in perfect harmony."265 But
the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of communion:
- profession of one faith received from the Apostles;
-common celebration of divine worship, especially of the
sacraments;
- apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders,
maintaining the fraternal concord of God's family.266
816 "The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our
Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care,
commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it. . . .
This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists
in
(subsistit in) the Catholic Church, which is governed by the
successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him."267
The Second Vatican Council's Decree on
Ecumenism explains: "For it is through Christ's Catholic Church
alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the
means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of
which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the
blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of
Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way
to the People of God."268
* * * * * * * *
Ratzinger on “Subsistit in:” [Me: only persons “subsist.” Things
“exist.” Therefore, the Person of Jesus Christ “subsists” only in the Catholic
Church, while many means to holiness “exists” outside the Catholic Church].
”The
Second Vatican Council, with the formula of the subsistit [LG #8: “The Church constituted and organized in the world as
a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor
of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of
sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These
elements, as gifts belonging to the church of Christ, are forces impelling
toward catholic unity”] — in accord with Catholic tradition — wanted to
teach the exact opposite of "ecclesiological relativism": the Church of
Jesus Christ truly exists. He himself willed her, and the Holy Spirit has
continuously created her since Pentecost, in spite of being faced with every
human failing, and sustains her in her essential identity. The institution is
not an inevitable but theologically unimportant or even harmful
externalization, but belongs in its essential core to the concrete character of
the Incarnation. The Lord keeps his word: "The gates of hell shall not
prevail against her".
Council: 'Subsistit In'
Explains Church As Concrete Subject
At
this point it becomes necessary to investigate the word subsistit somewhat more carefully. With this expression, the
Council differs from the formula of Pius XII, who said in his Encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi: "The
Catholic Church "is" (est) the one mystical body of Christ". The
difference between subsistit
and est conceals within itself
the whole ecumenical problem. The word subsistit
derives from the ancient philosophy as later developed in Scholastic
philosophy. The Greek word hypostasis that
has a central role in Christology to describe the union of the divine and the
human nature in the Person of Christ comes from that vision. Subsistere is a special case of esse. It is being in the form of a
subject who has an autonomous existence. Here it is a question precisely of
this. The Council wants to tell us that the Church of Jesus Christ as a
concrete subject in this world can be found in the Catholic Church. This can
take place only once, and the idea that the subsistit could be multiplied fails to grasp precisely the
notion that is being intended. With the word subsistit, the Council wished to explain the unicity of the
Catholic Church and the fact of her inability to be multiplied: the Church
exists as a subject in historical reality.
The
difference between subsistit
and est however contains the
tragedy of ecclesial division. Although the Church is only one and
"subsists" in a unique subject, there are also ecclesial realities
beyond this subject — true local Churches and different ecclesial communities.
Because sin is a contradiction, this difference between SUBSISTITt and EST cannot be fully resolved from the logical viewpoint. The
paradox of the difference between the unique and concrete character of the
Church, on the one hand, and, on the other, the existence of an ecclesial
reality beyond the one subject, reflects the contradictory nature of human sin
and division.[4]
* * * * * * *
Wounds to unity
817 In
fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the
Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large communities became separated from
full communion with the Catholic Church - for which, often enough, men of
both sides were to blame."269 The ruptures that wound the
unity of Christ's Body - here we must distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism270 -
do not occur without human sin:
Where there are sins, there are also
divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where there is virtue, however,
there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul
of all believers.271
818 "However, one
cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into
these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought
up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect
and affection as brothers . . . . All who have been justified by
faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to
be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord
by the children of the Catholic Church."272
819 "Furthermore, many elements of
sanctification and of truth"273 are found outside the
visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the
life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the
Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements."274 Christ's
Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation,
whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has
entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead
to him,275 and are in themselves calls to "Catholic
unity."276
820 "Christ
bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists
in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope
that it will continue to increase until the end of time."277 Christ
always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and
work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her.
This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease
praying to his Father, for the unity of his disciples: "That they may all
be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us,
. . . so that the world may know that you have sent me."278 The
desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of
the Holy Spirit.279
- a permanent renewal[s1] of the Church in greater fidelity to her
vocation; such renewal is the
driving-force of the movement toward unity;280
- conversion of
heart as the faithful "try to live holier lives according to the
Gospel";281 for it is the unfaithfulness of the
members to Christ's gift which causes divisions;
- prayer in
common, because "change of heart and holiness of life, along with
public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as
the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name 'spiritual
ecumenism;"'282
- fraternal knowledge of each other;283
- ecumenical formation of the faithful and
especially of priests;284
- dialogue among theologians and meetings among
Christians of the different churches and communities;285
- collaboration among Christians in various
areas of service to mankind.286 "Human service" is
the idiomatic phrase.
822 Concern for achieving unity "involves the whole
Church, faithful and clergy alike."287 But we must realize
"that this holy objective - the reconciliation of all Christians in the
unity of the one and only Church of Christ - transcends human powers and
gifts." That is why we place all our hope "in the prayer of Christ for
the Church, in the love of the Father for us, and in the power of the Holy
Spirit."288
823 "The Church . . . is held, as a matter of
faith, to be unfailingly holy. This is because Christ, the Son of God, who with the
Father and the Spirit is hailed as 'alone holy,' loved the Church as his Bride,
giving himself up for her so as to sanctify her; he joined her to himself as
his body and endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of
God."289 The Church, then, is "the holy People of
God,"290 and her members are called "saints."291
824 United with Christ,
the Church is sanctified by him; through him and with him she becomes sanctifying.
"All the activities of the Church
are directed, as toward their end, to the sanctification of men in Christ and
the glorification of God."292 It is in the Church that "the fullness of the means of
salvation"293 has
been deposited. It is in her that "by the grace of God we acquire
holiness."294
825 "The Church on
earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real though imperfect."295 In
her members perfect holiness is something yet to be acquired:
"Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the
faithful, whatever their condition or state - though each in his own way - are
called by the Lord to that perfection of sanctity by which the Father himself
is perfect."296
826 Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are
called: it "governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of
sanctification."297
If
the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn't lack the
noblest of all; it must have a Heart, and a Heart BURNING WITH LOVE.
And I realized that this love alone was the true motive force
which enabled the other members of the Church to act; if it ceased to function,
the Apostles would forget to preach the gospel, the Martyrs would refuse to
shed their blood. LOVE, IN FACT, IS THE VOCATION WHICH INCLUDES ALL OTHERS;
IT'S A UNIVERSE OF ITS OWN, COMPRISING ALL TIME AND SPACE - IT'S ETERNAL! 298
(St. Therese of Lisieux – “Autobiography
of a Saint…)
827 "Christ, 'holy, innocent, and undefiled,' knew
nothing of sin, but came only to expiate the sins of the people. The Church,
however, clasping sinners to her bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification,
follows constantly the path of penance and renewal."299 All
members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are
sinners.300 In everyone, the weeds of sin will still be mixed
with the good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time.301 Hence
the Church gathers sinners already caught up in Christ's salvation but still on
the way to holiness:
The Church is therefore holy, though having
sinners in her midst, because she herself has no other life but the life of
grace. If they live her life, her members are sanctified; if they move away
from her life, they fall into sins and disorders that prevent the radiation of
her sanctity. This is why she suffers and does penance for those offenses, of
which she has the power to free her children through the blood of Christ and
the gift of the Holy Spirit.302
828 By canonizing some of the faithful, i.e.,
by solemnly proclaiming that they practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity
to God's grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness
within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them
as models and intercessors.303 "The saints have always
been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the
Church's history."304 Indeed, "holiness is the hidden
source and infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary
zeal."305
829 "But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has
already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle, the
faithful still strive to conquer sin and increase in holiness. And so they turn
their eyes to Mary":306 in her, the Church is already the
"all-holy."
830 The
word "catholic" means "universal," in the sense of
"according to the totality" or "in keeping with the whole."
The Church is catholic in a double sense:
First, the Church is catholic because Christ is present in her.
"Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church."307 In her subsists the fullness of Christ's
body united with its head; this implies that she receives from him "the
fullness of the means of salvation"308 which he has
willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and
ordained ministry in apostolic succession. The Church was, in this fundamental
sense, catholic on the day of Pentecost309 and will always be so
until the day of the Parousia.
831 Secondly, the Church is catholic because she has been sent
out by Christ on a mission to the whole of the human race:310
All men are called to belong to the new People
of God. This People, therefore, while remaining one and only one, is to be
spread throughout the whole world and to all ages in order that the design of
God's will may be fulfilled: he made human nature one in the beginning and has
decreed that all his children who were scattered should be finally gathered
together as one. . . . The character of universality which adorns the
People of God is a gift from the Lord himself whereby the Catholic Church
ceaselessly and efficaciously seeks for the return of all humanity and all its
goods, under Christ the Head in the unity of his Spirit.311
* * * * * * *
John Henry Newman: Catholic
Fullness in Catholicism: “Christ and the Common Destiny of Man” Ignatius (1988) 431.
“Now, the phenomenon, admitted on
all hands, is this: that great portion of what is generally received as
Christian truth is in its rudiments or in its separate parts to be found in
heathen philosophies and religions. For instance, the doctrine of a Trinity is
found both in the East and in the West; so is the ceremony of washing; so is
the rite of sacrifice. The doctrine of the Divine Word is Platonic; the
doctrine of the Incarnation is Indian; of a divine kingdom is Judaic; of Angels
and demons is Magian; the connection of sin with the body is Gnostic; celibacy
is known to Bonze and Talapoin; a sacerdotal order is Egyptian; the idea of a
new birth is Chinese and Eleusinian; belief in sacramental virtue is
Pythagorean; and honors to the dead are a polytheism. Such is the general
nature of the fact before us; Mr. Milman argues from it – ‘These things are in
heathenism, therefore they are not Christian:” we, on the contrary, prefer to
say, “These things are in Christianity, therefore they are not heathen.” That
is, we prefer to say, and we think that Scripture bears us out in saying, that
from the beginning the Moral Governor of the world has scattered the seeds
of truth [spermatikoi] (my underline and parenthesis) far and wide
over its extent; That these have variously taken root, and grown up as in the
wilderness, wild plants indeed but living; and hence that, as the inferior
animals have tokens of an immaterial principle in them, yet have not souls, so
the philosophies and religions of men have their life in certain true ideas,
though they are not directly divine. What man is amid the brute creation, such
is the Church among the schools of the world; and as Adam gave names to the
animals about him, so has the Church from the first looked round upon the earth,
noting and visiting the doctrines she found there. She began in Chaldea, and
then sojourned among the Canaanites, and went down into Egypt, and thence
passed into Arabia, till she rested in her own land. Next she encountered the
merchants of Tyre, and the wisdom of the East county, and the luxury of Sheba.
Then she was carried away to Babylon, and wandered to the schools of Greece.
And wherever she went, in trouble or in triumph, still she was a living spirit,
the mind and voice of the Most High; “sitting in midst of the doctors, both
hearing them and asking them questions;” claiming to herself what they said
rightly, correcting their errors, supplying their defects, completing their
beginnings, expanding their surmises, and thus gradually by means of them enlarging
the range and refining the sense of her own teaching. So far then from her
creed being of doubtful credit because it resembles foreign theologies, we even
hold that one special way in which Providence has imparted divine knowledge to
us has been by enabling her to draw and collect it together out of the world,
and, in this sense, as in others, to “such the mild of the Gentiles and to such
the breast of kings.”
How
far in fact this process has gone is a question of history; and we believe it
has before now been grossly exaggerated and misrepresented by those who, like
Mr. Milman, have thought that it existence told against Catholic doctrine; but
so little antecedent difficulty have we in the matter, that we could readily
grant, unless it were a question of fact not of theory, that Balaam was an
Eastern Mahol, or Moses was a scholar of the Egyptian hierophants. We are not
distressed to be told that the doctrine of the angelic host came nor that the
vision of a Mediator is in Philo, if in very deed he died for us on Calvary.
Nor are we afraid to allow, that, even after his coming, the Church has been a
treasure-house, giving forth things old and new, casting the gold of fresh
tributaries into her refiner’s fire, or
stamping upon her own, as time required it, a a deeper impress of her Master’s
image.
The
distinction between these two theories is broad and obvious. The advocates of
the one imply that Revelation was a single, entire, solitary act, or nearly so,
introducing a certain message; whereas we, who maintain the other, consider
that Divine teaching has been in fact, what the analogy of nature would lead us
to expect, “at sundry times and in divers manners,” various, complex,
progressive, and supplemental of itself. We consider the Christian doctrine,
when analyzed, to appear, like the human frame, “fearfully and wonderfully
made;” but they think it some one tenet or certain principles given out at one
time in their fullness, without gradual accretion before Christ’s coming or
elucidation afterward. They cast off all that they also find in Pharisee or
heathen; we conceive that the Church, like Aaron’s rod, devours the serpents of
the magicians. They are ever hunting for a fabulous primitive simplicity; we
repose in Catholic fullness.”[5]
* * * *
* * * *
The whole is not the sum of the parts. The whole is not greater
than the sum of the parts. The whole is each of the parts, since we are made in
the image and likeness of the Second Person with the ontological dynamic of being
Him. Go back to Sokolowski and the
Christian Distinction to understand that we are working in a different
experience and epistemological horizon.
Each particular Church is "catholic" (because each Church
is not merely part of a whole as state of a “federation,” but each Church is
Christ as the whole is Christ. The Whole is in each part (which, therefore, is
not “part.” This is why the proper way to refer to persons in the Church is
“faithful”[6]
and not “members”).
832 "The
Church of Christ is really present in all legitimately organized local groups
of the faithful, which, in so far as they are united to their pastors, are also
quite appropriately called Churches in the New Testament. . . . In
them the faithful are gathered together through the preaching of the Gospel of
Christ, and the mystery of the Lord's Supper is celebrated. . . . In
these communities, though they may often be small and poor, or existing in the diaspora,
Christ is present, through whose power and influence the One, Holy, Catholic,
and Apostolic Church is constituted."312
833 The phrase "particular Church," which is first
of all the diocese (or eparchy), refers to a community of the Christian
faithful in communion of faith and sacraments with their bishop ordained in
apostolic succession.313 These particular Churches "are
constituted after the model of the universal Church; it is in these and formed
out of them that the one and unique Catholic Church exists."314
834 Particular Churches are fully catholic through their
communion with one of them, the Church of Rome "which presides in
charity."315 "For with this church, by reason of its
pre-eminence, the whole Church, that is the faithful everywhere, must
necessarily be in accord."316 Indeed, "from the
incarnate Word's descent to us, all Christian churches everywhere have held and
hold the great Church that is here [at Rome] to be their only basis and
foundation since, according to the Savior's promise, the gates of hell have
never prevailed against her."317
835 "Let us be very careful not to conceive of the universal Church as the
simple sum, or . . . the more or less anomalous federation of
essentially different particular churches. In the mind of the Lord the Church is universal by vocation
and mission, but when she put down her
roots in a variety of cultural, social, and human terrains, she takes on
different external expressions and appearances in each part of the world."318 The
rich variety of ecclesiastical disciplines, liturgical rites, and theological
and spiritual heritages proper to the local churches "unified in a common
effort, shows all the more resplendently the catholicity of the undivided
Church."319
836 "All
men are called to this catholic unity of the People of God. . . . And
to it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic faithful, others
who believe in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God's grace to
salvation."320
837 "Fully
incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the
Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church
together with her entire organization, and who - by the bonds constituted by
the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and
communion - are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who
rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. Even though incorporated
into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He
remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but 'in body' not 'in heart.'"321
838 "The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name
of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not
preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter."322 Those
"who believe in Christ and have
been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with
the Catholic Church."323 With the Orthodox Churches,
this communion is so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness
that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist."324
The Church and non-Christians
839 "Those
who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in
various ways."325
The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the
Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the
Jewish People,326 "the first to hear the Word of
God."327 The Jewish
faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the
glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to
them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the
Christ",328 "for the gifts and the call of God are
irrevocable."329
840 And when one considers the future, God's People of the Old
Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of
the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But
one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is
recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah,
whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is
accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.
841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those
who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the
Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they
adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."330
842 The Church's bond with non-Christian religions is
in the first place the common origin and end of the human race:
All nations form but one community. This is so
because all stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire
earth, and also because all share a common destiny, namely God. His providence,
evident goodness, and saving designs extend to all against the day when the
elect are gathered together in the holy city. . .331
843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that
search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he
gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the
Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a
preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they
may at length have life."332
844 In their religious behavior, however, men also display the
limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them:
Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have
become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie,
and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in
this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair.333
845 To reunite all his
children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole
of humanity together into his Son's Church. The Church is the place where
humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world
reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's
cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world."
According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by
Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood.334
846 How
are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated
positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the
Church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the
Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for
salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is
present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted
the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the
necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door.
Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded
as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to
remain in it.336
“Master, we saw a man who was not one of our
followers casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him,’ but Jesus said,
‘Do not forbid him, because there is no one who shall work a miracle in my
name, and forthwith be able to speak ill of me. For he who is not against you
is for you. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because
you are Christ’s, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward’” (Lk. 9, 37-40).
Pope Francis 5/22/13: Having
blasted a self-centered Catholic Church, Pope Francis on Wednesday, May 22,
criticized “intolerant” believers who think, “If he is not one of us, he cannot
do good. “The Pope said all human beings, whom God created, “have this
commandment at heart: do good and do not do evil.” He stressed this applies to
“all of us.” “'But Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.' Yes, he
can. He must. Not can: must! Because he has this commandment within him,”
Francis said in Wednesday's homily at the Domus Santae Martae, his modest papal
residence.The Pope, who has consistently urged the Church to “come out of
herself,” said intolerance will do the Church no good. “Instead, this 'closing
off' that imagines that those outside, everyone, cannot do good is a wall that
leads to war and also to what some people throughout history have conceived of:
killing in the name of God. And that, simply, is blasphemy. To say that you can
kill in the name of God is blasphemy.” 'Let's
meet' Despite differences between believers and non-believers, he said
their common denominator is
doing good. He said the commandment to uphold goodness is a “beautiful path
towards peace.” “If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we
meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will
make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another
doing good,” Francis said.He continued, with an atheist's possible response in
mind: “'But I don't believe, Father, I am an atheist!' But do good: we will
meet one another there.”
Benedict
XVI (2011 at Assisi): “Therefore I
have consciously invited delegates of this third group (i.e., agnostics) to our meeting in Assisi, which does not
simply bring together representatives of religious institutions. Rather it is a
case of being together on a journey towards truth, a case of taking a decisive
stand for human dignity and a case of common engagement for peace against every
form of destructive force.”
847 This affirmation
is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ
and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do
not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with
a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as
they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve
eternal salvation.337
848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those
who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith
without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the
obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."338
Mission - a requirement of the Church's catholicity: Christ is
the meaning of man [Gaudium et spes #22]. Therefore, the mission is universal
(catholic). And the imaging of the divine Person of the Son as total self-gift
to the Father means that Christian anthropology is always a going out of self
on mission to the others. Hence, Pope Francis on the Visitation on5/31/13: “Last: action. ‘Mary set out on the road
in a hurry . . . . Last Sunday, I pointed
out how Mary, despite difficulties and criticism for her decision did not stop
at anything. She left 'in a hurry'. But when she was praying, before God
who was talking, and reflecting and meditating on the facts of her life, Mary
was not in a hurry; she did not go with the flow and did not let herself be
carried away by events. When it was clear what God was asking of her, telling
her what she had to do, she did not linger, nor slow down, but went
quickly." The key to the mind of
Francis, like Benedict and John Paul II, is relation as self-gift. Get out of
self. The contrary clericalism is a
“sinful abetment,”
"Mary's
action is a consequence of her obedience to the Angel's words, together with
her charity. She visited Elizabeth to help out. By stepping out of her home,
and of herself, for love, she carried what was most precious to her, Jesus: she
carried her Son."
"Sometimes,
we also stop to listen, and reflect on what we should do. Perhaps, we already
know what decision we must take, but fail to act. We especially do challenge
ourselves by moving quickly towards others to help them, show them
understanding, and charity, so that we too might uphold, like Mary, the most
precious thing we received, i.e. Jesus and his Gospel, in words and, above all,
concrete deeds."
849 The
missionary mandate. "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she
might be 'the universal sacrament of salvation,' the Church, in obedience to
the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential
universality, strives to preach the Gospel to all men":339"Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you; and Lo, I am with you always, until the close of the
age."340
850 The origin and purpose of mission. The Lord's
missionary mandate is ultimately grounded in the eternal love of the Most Holy
Trinity: "The Church on earth is by her nature missionary since, according
to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the
Holy Spirit."341 The ultimate purpose of mission is none
other than to make men share in the communion between the Father and the Son in
their Spirit of love.342
851 Missionary motivation. It is from God's love for
all men that the Church in every age receives both the obligation and the vigor
of her missionary dynamism, "for the love of Christ urges us
on."343 Indeed, God "desires all men to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth";344 that
is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth.
Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the prompting of the Spirit of
truth are already on the way of salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth
has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the
truth. Because she believes in God's universal plan of salvation, the Church
must be missionary.
852 Missionary paths. The Holy Spirit is the protagonist,
"the principal agent of the whole of the Church's mission."345 It
is he who leads the Church on her missionary paths. "This mission
continues and, in the course of history, unfolds the mission of Christ, who was
sent to evangelize the poor; so the Church, urged on by the Spirit of Christ,
must walk the road Christ himself walked, a way of poverty and obedience, of
service and self-sacrifice even to death, a death from which he emerged
victorious by his resurrection."346 So it is that
"the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians."347
853 On her pilgrimage, the Church has also experienced the
"discrepancy existing between the message she proclaims and the human
weakness of those to whom the Gospel has been entrusted."348 Only
by taking the "way of penance and renewal," the "narrow way of
the cross," can the People of God extend Christ's reign.349 For
"just as Christ carried out the work of redemption in poverty and
oppression, so the Church is called to follow the same path if she is to
communicate the fruits of salvation to men."350
854 By her very mission, "the Church . . .
travels the same journey as all humanity and shares the same earthly lot with
the world: she is to be a leaven and, as it were, the soul of human society in
its renewal by Christ and transformation into the family of God."351 Missionary
endeavor requires patience. It begins with the proclamation of the Gospel to
peoples and groups who do not yet believe in Christ,352 continues
with the establishment of Christian communities that are "a sign of God's
presence in the world,"353 and leads to the foundation of
local churches.354 It must involve a process of inculturation
if the Gospel is to take flesh in each people's culture.355 There
will be times of defeat. "With regard to individuals, groups, and peoples
it is only by degrees that [the Church] touches and penetrates them and so
receives them into a fullness which is Catholic."356
855 The Church's mission stimulates efforts towards
Christian unity.357 Indeed, "divisions among
Christians prevent the Church from realizing in practice the fullness of
catholicity proper to her in those of her sons who, though joined to her by
Baptism, are yet separated from full communion with her. Furthermore, the
Church herself finds it more difficult to express in actual life her full
catholicity in all its aspects."358
856 The missionary task implies a respectful dialogue with
those who do not yet accept the Gospel.359 Believers can profit
from this dialogue by learning to appreciate better "those elements of
truth and grace which are found among peoples, and which are, as it were, a
secret presence of God."360 They proclaim the Good News to
those who do not know it, in order to consolidate, complete, and raise up the
truth and the goodness that God has distributed among men and nations, and to
purify them from error and evil "for the glory of God, the confusion of
the demon, and the happiness of man."361
- she was and remains built on "the foundation of the
Apostles,"362 the witnesses chosen and sent on mission by
Christ himself;363
- with the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps
and hands on the teaching,364 the "good deposit," the
salutary words she has heard from the apostles;365
- she continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the
apostles until Christ's return, through their successors in pastoral office:
the college of bishops, "assisted by priests, in union with the successor
of Peter, the Church's supreme pastor":366
You are the eternal Shepherd
who never leaves his flock untended.
Through the apostles
you watch over us and protect us always.
You made them shepherds of the flock
to share in the work of your Son. . . .367
who never leaves his flock untended.
Through the apostles
you watch over us and protect us always.
You made them shepherds of the flock
to share in the work of your Son. . . .367
858 …
In them, Christ continues his own mission: "As the Father has sent me, even so I
send you."369 The apostles' ministry is the
continuation of his mission; Jesus said to the Twelve: "he who receives you
receives me."370
859 Jesus unites them to the mission he received from the
Father. As "the Son can do nothing of his own accord," but receives
everything from the Father who sent him, so those whom Jesus sends can do
nothing apart from him,371 from whom they received both the
mandate for their mission and the power to carry it out.
860 In
the office of the apostles there is one aspect that cannot be transmitted: to
be the chosen witnesses of the Lord's Resurrection and so the foundation stones
of the Church. But their office also has a permanent aspect. Christ promised to
remain with them always. The divine mission entrusted by Jesus to them
"will continue to the end of time, since the Gospel they handed on is the
lasting source of all life for the Church. Therefore, . . . the
apostles took care to appoint successors."373
861 "In
order that the mission entrusted to them might be continued after their death,
[the apostles] consigned, by will and testament, as it were, to their immediate
collaborators the duty of completing and consolidating the work they had begun,
urging them to tend to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit had appointed
them to shepherd the Church of God. They accordingly designated such men and
then made the ruling that likewise on their death other proven men should take
over their ministry."374
862 "Just as the office which the Lord confided to Peter
alone, as first of the apostles, destined to be transmitted to his successors,
is a permanent one, so also endures the office, which the apostles received, of
shepherding the Church, a charge destined to be exercised without interruption
by the sacred order of bishops."375 Hence the Church
teaches that "the bishops have by divine institution taken the place of
the apostles as pastors of the Church, in such wise that whoever listens to
them is listening to Christ and whoever despises them despises Christ and him
who sent Christ."376
863 The
whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of St.
Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin:
and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world. All members of
the Church share in this mission, though in various ways. "The Christian
vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well." Indeed,
we call an apostolate "every activity of the Mystical Body" that aims
"to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth."377
Baptism: There is a radical
equality in the Church in that all are baptized into being Christ. All share
ontologically (and therefore have “character”) in the priesthood of Christ. Each
one is called to be “Alter Christus” and is sent: “As the Father has sent me, I
sent you.”
864 "Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the
Church's whole apostolate"; thus the fruitfulness of apostolate for
ordained ministers as well as for lay people clearly depends on their vital
union with Christ.378 In keeping with their vocations, the
demands of the times and the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostolate
assumes the most varied forms. But charity, drawn from the Eucharist above all,
is always "as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate."379
865 The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, and
apostolic in her deepest and ultimate identity, because it is in her
that "the Kingdom of heaven," the "Reign of God,"380 already
exists and will be fulfilled at the end of time. The kingdom has come in the
person of Christ and grows mysteriously in the hearts of those incorporated
into him, until its full eschatological manifestation. Then all those he has
redeemed and made "holy and blameless before him in love,"381 will
be gathered together as the one People of God, the "Bride of the
Lamb,"382 "the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of
heaven from God, having the glory of God."383 For
"the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."384
866 The Church is one: she acknowledges one
Lord, confesses one faith, is born of one Baptism, forms only one Body, is
given life by the one Spirit, for the sake of one hope (cf. Eph 4:3-5), at whose fulfillment
all divisions will be overcome.
867 The Church is holy: the Most Holy God is
her author; Christ, her bridegroom, gave himself up to make her holy; the
Spirit of holiness gives her life. Since she still includes sinners, she is
"the sinless one made up of sinners." Her holiness shines in the
saints; in Mary she is already all-holy.
868 The Church is catholic: she proclaims
the fullness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers the totality of
the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She speaks to all men.
She encompasses all times. She is "missionary of her very nature" (AG 2).
869 The Church is apostolic. She is built on
a lasting foundation: "the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev 21:14). She is
indestructible (cf. Mt16:18).
She is upheld infallibly in the truth: Christ governs her through Peter and the
other apostles, who are present in their successors, the Pope and the college
of bishops.
870 "The sole Church of Christ which in
the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, . . .
subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter
and by the bishops in communion with him. Nevertheless, many elements of
sanctification and of truth are found outside its visible confines"(LG 8).
Lumen Gentium accounted for the Mystery of the Church not as a hierarchical pyramid, but as “The People of God” whose radical equality is their being “Faithful [relational as self-gift],” i.e. “Other Christs.” This radical equality has within it a functional diversity as: Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life
871 "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 to fulfill in the world, in accord with the
condition proper to each one."385
872 "In virtue
of their rebirth in Christ there exists among all the Christian faithful a true
equality with regard to dignity and the activity whereby all cooperate in the
building up of the Body of Christ in accord with each one's own condition and
function."386
873 The very
differences which the Lord has willed to put between the members of his body
serve its unity and mission. For "in the Church there is diversity of
ministry but unity of mission. To the apostles and their successors Christ has
entrusted the office of teaching, sanctifying and governing in his name and by
his power. But the laity are made to share in the priestly, prophetical, and
kingly office of Christ; they have therefore, in the Church and in the world,
their own assignment in the mission of the whole People of God."387 Finally,
"from both groups [hierarchy and laity] there exist Christian faithful who
are consecrated to God in their own special manner and serve the
salvific mission of the Church through the profession of the evangelical
counsels."388
I. THE HIERARCHICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH
874 Christ
is himself the source of ministry in the Church. He instituted the Church. He
gave her authority and mission, orientation and goal:
In order to shepherd the People of God and to
increase its numbers without cease, Christ the Lord set up in his Church a
variety of offices which aim at the good of the whole body. The holders of
office, who are invested with a sacred power, are, in fact, dedicated to
promoting the interests of their brethren, so that all who belong to the People
of God . . . may attain to salvation.389
875 "How are they to believe in him of whom they have
never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men
preach unless they are sent?"390 No one - no individual
and no community - can proclaim the Gospel to himself: "Faith comes from
what is heard."391 No one can give himself the mandate and
the mission to proclaim the Gospel. The one sent by the Lord does not speak and
act on his own authority, but by virtue of Christ's authority; not as a member
of the community, but speaking to it in the name of Christ. No one can bestow
grace on himself; it must be given and offered. This fact presupposes ministers
of grace, authorized and empowered by Christ. From him, bishops and priests
receive the mission and faculty ("the sacred power") to act in
persona Christi Capitis; deacons receive the strength to serve the people
of God in the diaconia of liturgy, word and charity, in
communion with the bishop and his presbyterate. The ministry in which Christ's
emissaries do and give by God's grace what they cannot do and give by their own
powers, is called a "sacrament" by the Church's tradition. Indeed,
the ministry of the Church is conferred by a special sacrament.
876 Intrinsically linked to the sacramental nature of
ecclesial ministry is its character
as service.
878 Finally, it belongs to the sacramental nature of ecclesial
ministry that it have a personal character. Although Christ's
ministers act in communion with one another, they also always act in a personal
way. Each one is called personally: "You, follow me"397 in
order to be a personal witness within the common mission, to bear personal
responsibility before him who gives the mission, acting "in his
person" and for other persons: "I baptize you in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . ."; "I
absolve you . . . ."
The episcopal college and its head, the Pope
880 When
Christ instituted the Twelve, "he constituted [them] in the form of a
college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen
from among them."398
881 The
Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church.
He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole
flock.400 "The office of binding and loosing which was
given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its
head."401This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles
belongs to the Church's very foundation and is continued by the bishops under
the primacy of the Pope.
882 The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's
successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the
unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful."402 "For
the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of
the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church,
a power which he can always exercise unhindered…"403
884 "The
college of bishops exercises power over the universal Church in a solemn manner
in an ecumenical council."405 But "there never is an
ecumenical council which is not confirmed or at least recognized as such by
Peter's successor."406
885 "This college, in so far as it is composed of many
members, is the expression of the variety and universality of the People of
God; and of the unity of the flock of Christ, in so far as it is assembled
under one head…."407
886 "The individual bishops are the
visible source and foundation of unity in their own particular Churches…./408
888 Bishops,
with priests as co-workers, have as their first task "to preach the Gospel
of God to all men"…
890 The mission of the Magisterium: is aimed at seeing to it
that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates. To fulfill this
service, Christ endowed the Church's shepherds with the charism of infallibility
in matters of faith and morals. The exercise of this charism takes several
forms:
891 "The Roman Pontiff, head of the college
of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme
pastor and teacher of all the faithful - who confirms his brethren in the faith
he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals.
. . . The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the
body of bishops when, together with Peter's successor, they exercise the
supreme Magisterium," above all in an Ecumenical Council.418 When
the Church through its supreme Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief
as being divinely revealed,"419 and as the teaching of
Christ, the definitions "must be adhered to with the obedience of
faith."420 This infallibility extends as far as the
deposit of divine Revelation itself.421
892 Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the
apostles, teaching in communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a
particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when,
without arriving at an infallible definition and without pronouncing in a
"definitive manner," they propose in the exercise of the ordinary
Magisterium a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in
matters of faith and morals. To this ordinary teaching the faithful "are
to adhere to it with religious assent"422 which, though
distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an extension of it.
893 The
bishop is "the steward of the grace of the supreme priesthood,"423 especially
in the Eucharist which he offers personally or whose offering he assures
through the priests, his co-workers….
The governing office
894 "The
bishops… govern the particular Churches assigned to them…
895 "The
power which they exercise personally in the name of Christ, is proper, ordinary,
and immediate, although its exercise is ultimately controlled by the supreme
authority of the Church."427 But the bishops should not be
thought of as vicars of the Pope. His ordinary and immediate authority over the
whole Church does not annul, but on the contrary confirms and defends that of
the bishops.
II. THE LAY FAITHFUL
897 "The term 'laity' is here understood to mean all the
faithful except those in Holy Orders and those who belong to a religious
state approved by the Church. That is, the faithful, who by Baptism are
incorporated into Christ and integrated into the People of God, are made
sharers in their particular way in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office
of Christ, and have their own part to play in the mission of the whole
Christian people in the Church and in the World."430
898 "By reason of their special
vocation it belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in
temporal affairs and directing them according to God's will. . . . It
pertains to them in a special way so to illuminate and order all temporal
things with which they are closely associated that these may always be effected
and grow according to Christ and maybe to the glory of the Creator and
Redeemer."431
899 The initiative of lay Christians is necessary especially
when the matter involves discovering or inventing the means for permeating
social, political, and economic realities with the demands of Christian
doctrine and life. This initiative is a normal element of the life of the
Church:
Lay believers are in the front line of Church
life; for them the Church is the animating principle of human society.
Therefore, they in particular ought to have an ever-clearer consciousness not
only of belonging to the Church, but of being the Church, that is to say, the
community of the faithful on earth under the leadership of the Pope, the common
Head, and of the bishops in communion with him. They are the Church.432
900 Since, like all the faithful, lay Christians are entrusted
by God with the apostolate by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation, they
have the right and duty, individually or grouped in associations, to work so
that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all men
throughout the earth…
The participation of lay people in Christ's priestly office
(My comment): As Baptized into the unique priesthood of
Jesus Christ [which is His gift of Himself to the Father for us – see Hebrews 9 where Christ does not enter
the Holy of Holies with the blood of bulls and goats, but with His own Blood],
the baptized lay man lives the priesthood of Christ by making the gift of
himself to God for others in the exercise of mastering himself in secular work
and family life and there making the gift.
901
“Hence the laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy
Spirit, are marvelously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the
Spirit may be produced in them. For all their works, prayers, and apostolic
undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body,
if they are accomplished in the Spirit - indeed even the hardships of life if
patiently born - all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ. In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most
fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. And so,
worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world
itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their
lives."434
902 In a very special way, parents share in the office of
sanctifying "by leading a conjugal life in the Christian spirit and by
seeing to the Christian education of their children."435
903 (My comment: This point is out of place
and wrongheaded here. It is an unwarranted clericalism regarding the
ministerial priesthood). Lay
people who possess the required qualities can be admitted permanently to the
ministries of lector and acolyte.436 When the necessity of the
Church warrants it and when ministers are lacking, lay persons, even if they
are not lectors or acolytes, can also supply for certain of their offices,
namely, to exercise the ministry of the word, to preside over liturgical
prayers, to confer Baptism, and to distribute Holy Communion in accord with the
prescriptions of law."437
How
do you see the laity in Argentina?
“As
I have said before, there is a problem: the temptation to clericalism. We
priests tend to clericalize the laity. We do not realize it, but it is as if we
infect them with our own thing. And the laity – not all but many – ask us on
their knees to clericalize them, because it is more comfortable to be an
altar boy than the protagonist of a lay path. We must not enter into that
trap, it is a sinful complicity (my underlining).
Neither clericalize nor ask to be clericalized. The layman is a layman and has
to live as a layman with the strength of his baptism, which enables him to be a
leaven of the love of God in society itself, to create and sow hope, to
proclaim the faith, not from a pulpit but from his everyday life. And by
carrying his daily cross as all of us do. And this is the cross of the layman,
not that of the priest. Let the priest carry the cross of the priest, since God
gave him a broad enough shoulder for this” (30 Days Magazine of
Communione e Liberazione).
Participation in Christ's prophetic office
904 "Christ
. . . fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy
. . . but also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them as
witnesses and provides them with the sense of the faith [sensus fidei]
and the grace of the word"438
To teach in order to lead others to faith is
the task of every preacher and of each believer.439
905 Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by
evangelization, "that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the
testimony of life." For lay people, "this evangelization
. . . acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it
is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world."440
This witness of life, however, is not the sole
element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of
announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the
faithful.441
906 Lay people who are capable and trained may also
collaborate in catechetical formation, in teaching the sacred sciences, and in
use of the communications media.442
907 "In accord with the knowledge, competence, and
preeminence which they possess, [lay people] have the right and even at times a
duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain
to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to
the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and
morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration for the
common good and the dignity of persons."443
“(T)he
Second Vatican Council highlighted, among other characteristics of the
Christian vocation, the one that can be described as "kingly"… This
dignity is expressed in readiness to serve, in keeping with the example of
Christ, who "came not to be served but to serve"181. If, in the light of this attitude of
Christ's, "being a king" is truly possible only by "being a
servant" then "being a servant" also demands so much spiritual
maturity that it must really be de- scribed as "being a king". In
order to be able to serve others worthily and effectively we must be able to
master ourselves, possess the virtues that make this mastery possible. Our
sharing in Christ's kingly mission-his "kingly function" (munus) is closely linked with
every sphere of both Christian and human morality.”[7]
908 By
his obedience unto death,444 Christ communicated to his
disciples the gift of royal freedom, so that they might "by the
self-abnegation of a holy life, overcome the reign of sin in themselves":445
That man is rightly called a king who makes
his own body an obedient subject and, by governing himself with suitable rigor,
refuses to let his passions breed rebellion in his soul, for he exercises a
kind of royal power over himself. And because he knows how to rule his own
person as king, so too does he sit as its judge. He will not let himself be
imprisoned by sin, or thrown headlong into wickedness.446
912 The faithful should "distinguish
carefully between the rights and the duties which they have as belonging to the
Church and those which fall to them as members of the human society. They will
strive to unite the two harmoniously, remembering that in every temporal affair
they are to be guided by a Christian conscience, since no human activity, even
of the temporal order, can be withdrawn from God's dominion."451
Keep
in mind that the dignity of the human person and human rights are a Christian
consciousness that comes from the experience of self-transcendence in believing
Jesus Christ. That is, democratic citizenry proceeds directly from Christian
life-experience.
913 "Thus,
every person, through these gifts given to him, is at once the witness and the
living instrument of the mission of the Church itself 'according to the measure
of Christ's bestowal."'452
III. THE CONSECRATED LIFE
914 "The state of life which is constituted by the
profession of the evangelical counsels, while not entering into the
hierarchical structure of the Church, belongs undeniably to her life and
holiness."453
915 Christ
proposes the evangelical counsels, in their great variety, to every disciple.
The perfection of charity, to which all the faithful are called, entails for
those who freely follow the call to consecrated life the obligation of
practicing chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and
obedience. It is the profession of these counsels, within a permanent state of
life recognized by the Church that characterizes the life consecrated to God.454
I propose that #916 (below) gives a
clericalized emphasis to the teaching of Vatican II and Lumen Gentium. Contrast
the “more nearly” below with LG#31 that states that: “the
laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal
affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the
world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations.
They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which
the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God that by
exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may
work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way
they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent
in faith, hope and charity.”
916 The
state of consecrated life is thus one way (my emphasis) of
experiencing a "more intimate" consecration, rooted in Baptism and
dedicated totally to God.455 In the consecrated life, Christ's
faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to
give themselves to God who is loved above all and, pursuing the perfection of
charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the Church
the glory of the world to come.456
917 "From
the God-given seed of the counsels a wonderful and wide-spreading tree has
grown up in the field of the Lord, branching out into various forms of the
religious life lived in solitude or in community. Different religious families
have come into existence in which spiritual resources are multiplied for the
progress in holiness of their members and for the good of the entire Body of
Christ."457
918 From the very beginning of the Church there were men and
women who set out to follow Christ with greater liberty, and to imitate him
more closely, by practicing the evangelical counsels. They led lives dedicated
to God, each in his own way. Many of them, under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, became hermits or founded religious families. These the Church, by
virtue of her authority, gladly accepted and approved.458
919 Bishops will always strive to discern new gifts of consecrated
life granted to the Church by the Holy Spirit; the approval of new forms of
consecrated life is reserved to the Apostolic See.459
920 Without always
professing the three evangelical counsels publicly, hermits "devote their
life to the praise of God and salvation of the world through a stricter
separation from the world, the silence of solitude and assiduous prayer and
penance."460
921 They manifest to everyone the interior aspect of the
mystery of the Church, that is, personal intimacy with Christ. Hidden from the
eyes of men, the life of the hermit is a silent preaching of the Lord, to whom
he has surrendered his life simply because he is everything to him. Here is a
particular call to find in the desert, in the thick of spiritual battle, the
glory of the Crucified One.
922 From
apostolic times Christian virgins461 and widows,462 called
by the Lord to cling only to him with greater freedom of heart, body, and
spirit, have decided with the Church's approval to live in the respective
status of virginity or perpetual chastity "for the sake of the Kingdom of
heaven."463
923 "Virgins who, committed to the holy plan of following
Christ more closely, are consecrated to God by the diocesan bishop according to
the approved liturgical rite, are betrothed mystically to Christ, the Son of
God, and are dedicated to the service of the Church."464 By
this solemn rite (Consecratio virginum), the virgin is "constituted
. . . a sacred person, a transcendent sign of the Church's love for
Christ, and an eschatological image of this heavenly Bride of Christ and of the
life to come."465
924 "As with other forms of consecrated life," the
order of virgins establishes the woman living in the world (or the nun) in
prayer, penance, service of her brethren, and apostolic activity, according to
the state of life and spiritual gifts given to her.466 Consecrated
virgins can form themselves into associations to observe their commitment more
faithfully.467
925 Religious
life was born in the East during the first centuries of Christianity. Lived
within institutes canonically erected by the Church, it is distinguished from
other forms of consecrated life by its liturgical character, public profession
of the evangelical counsels, fraternal life led in common, and witness given to
the union of Christ with the Church.468
926 Religious life derives from the mystery of the Church. It
is a gift she has received from her Lord, a gift she offers as a stable way of
life to the faithful called by God to profess the counsels. Thus, the Church
can both show forth Christ and acknowledge herself to be the Savior's bride.
Religious life in its various forms is called to signify the very charity of
God in the language of our time.
927 All religious, whether exempt or not, take their place
among the collaborators of the diocesan bishop in his pastoral duty.469 From
the outset of the work of evangelization, the missionary "planting" and
expansion of the Church require the presence of the religious life in all its
forms.470 "History witnesses to the outstanding service
rendered by religious families in the propagation of the faith and in the
formation of new Churches: from the ancient monastic institutions to the
medieval orders, all the way to the more recent congregations."471
928 "A secular
institute is an institute of consecrated life in which the Christian faithful
living in the world strive for the perfection of charity and work for the
sanctification of the world especially from within."472
929 By a "life perfectly and entirely consecrated to
[such] sanctification," the members of these institutes share in the Church's
task of evangelization, "in the world and from within the world,"
where their presence acts as "leaven in the world."473 "Their
witness of a Christian life" aims "to order temporal things according
to God and inform the world with the power of the gospel." They commit
themselves to the evangelical counsels by sacred bonds and observe among
themselves the communion and fellowship appropriate to their "particular
secular way of life."474
Note that members of
Secular Institutes “commit themselves to” poverty, chastity and obedience “by
sacred bonds.” This means that they aim at achieving intimacy with Christ
through these bonds, and not in the exercise of work and family life. It is
achieving sanctity outside the world in order to penetrate it to sanctify it
“from within.” Opus Dei is other than this.
Societies of apostolic life
930 Alongside the
different forms of consecrated life are "societies of apostolic life whose
members without religious vows pursue the particular apostolic purpose of their
society, and lead a life as brothers or sisters in common according to a
particular manner of life, strive for the perfection of charity through the
observance of the constitutions. Among these there are societies in which the
members embrace the evangelical counsels" according to their
constitutions.475
Consecration and mission: proclaiming the King
who is coming (My comment: The
laity give witness to the King Who is already here. The Kingdom of God is
already here in the Person of Christ, and all those who, in the world, are
“other Christs.” We are not in a so-called age of the Spirit awaiting the
Parousia as the Eschaton [as the theology of the street that has been formed
on the eschatological consciousness of Joachim of Fiore]. We are always in the age of the Son, Jesus Christ, since the Ascension.
The end has already come, and is in full development, until it “ends” at the
Second Coming and Final Judgment). The Redemption has been achieved, but is
still in the process of development. We are co-redeeming with Jesus Christ by
becoming Christ in the development of ordinary life of work and family. Christ
lives! The Kingdom of God is not to take place after the end of history. It is
a secular reality now with the presence of Christ in each person made in the
image of God and baptized with the power of becoming the likeness – “another
Christ.”
931 Already
dedicated to him through Baptism, the person who surrenders himself to the God
he loves above all else thereby consecrates himself more intimately to God's
service and to the good of the Church. By this state of life consecrated to
God, the Church manifests Christ and shows us how the Holy Spirit acts so
wonderfully in her. And so the first mission of those who profess the
evangelical counsels is to live out their consecration. Moreover, "since
members of institutes of consecrated life dedicate themselves through their
consecration to the service of the Church they are obliged in a special manner
to engage in missionary work, in accord with the character of the
institute."476
932 In
the Church, which is like the sacrament- the sign and instrument - of God's own
life, the consecrated life is seen as a special sign of the mystery of
redemption. To follow and imitate Christ more nearly and to manifest more
clearly his self- emptying is to be more deeply present to one's
contemporaries, in the heart of Christ. For those who are on this
"narrower" path encourage their brethren by their example, and bear
striking witness "that the world cannot be transfigured and offered to God
without the spirit of the beatitudes."477
933 Whether their witness is public, as in the religious
state, or less public, or even secret, Christ's coming remains for all those
consecrated both the origin and rising sun of their life:
For the People of God has here no lasting
city, . . . [and this state] reveals more clearly to all believers
the heavenly goods which are already present in this age, witnessing to the new
and eternal life which we have acquired through the redemptive work of Christ
and preluding our future resurrection and the glory of the heavenly kingdom.478
IN BRIEF
934 "Among the Christian faithful by divine institution
there exist in the Church sacred ministers, who are also called clerics in law,
and other Christian faithful who are also called laity." In both groups
there are those Christian faithful who, professing the evangelical counsels,
are consecrated to God and so serve the Church's saving mission (cf. CIC, can.
207 § 1, 2).
935 To proclaim the faith and to plant his reign, Christ sends
his apostles and their successors. He gives them a share in his own mission.
From him they receive the power to act in his person.
936 The Lord made St. Peter the visible foundation of his
Church. He entrusted the keys of the Church to him. The bishop of the Church of
Rome, successor to St. Peter, is "head of the college of bishops, the
Vicar of Christ and Pastor of the universal Church on earth" (CIC, can.
331).
937 The Pope enjoys, by divine institution, "supreme,
full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls" (CD 2).
938 The Bishops, established by the Holy Spirit, succeed the
apostles. They are "the visible source and foundation of unity in their
own particular Churches" (LG 23).
939 Helped by the priests, their co-workers, and by the
deacons, the bishops have the duty of authentically teaching the faith,
celebrating divine worship, above all the Eucharist, and guiding their Churches
as true pastors. Their responsibility also includes concern for all the
Churches, with and under the Pope.
940 "The characteristic of the lay state being a life led
in the midst of the world and of secular affairs, lay people are called by God
to make of their apostolate, through the vigor of their Christian spirit, a
leaven in the world" (AA 2 § 2).
941 Lay people share in Christ's priesthood: ever more united
with him, they exhibit the grace of Baptism and Confirmation in all dimensions
of their personal family, social and ecclesial lives, and so fulfill the call
to holiness addressed to all the baptized.
942 By virtue of their prophetic mission, lay people "are
called . . . to be witnesses to Christ in all circumstances and at
the very heart of the community of mankind" (GS 43 § 4).
943 By virtue of their kingly mission, lay people have the
power to uproot the rule of sin within themselves and in the world, by their
self-denial and holiness of life (cf. LG 36).
944 The life consecrated to God is characterized by the public
profession of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, in
a stable state of life recognized by the Church.
945 Already destined for him through Baptism, the person who
surrenders himself to the God he loves above all else thereby consecrates
himself more intimately to God's service and to the good of the whole Church.
Paragraph 5. The Communion of Saints
946 After confessing "the holy catholic Church," the
Apostles' Creed adds "the communion of saints." In a certain sense
this article is a further explanation of the preceding: "What is the
Church if not the assembly of all the saints?"479 The
communion of saints is the Church.
947 "Since all the faithful form one body, the good of
each is communicated to the others. . . . We must therefore believe
that there exists a communion of goods in the Church. But the most important
member is Christ, since he is the head. . . . Therefore, the riches
of Christ are communicated to all the members, through the sacraments."480 "As
this Church is governed by one and the same Spirit, all the goods she has
received necessarily become a common fund."481
948 The term "communion of saints" therefore has two
closely linked meanings: communion in holy things (sancta)" and
"among holy persons (sancti)."
Sancta sanctis! ("God's holy gifts for God's holy
people") is proclaimed by the celebrant in most Eastern liturgies during
the elevation of the holy Gifts before the distribution of communion. The
faithful (sancti) are fed by Christ's holy body and blood (sancta)
to grow in the communion of the Holy Spirit (koinonia) and to
communicate it to the world.
I. COMMUNION IN SPIRITUAL GOODS
949 In the primitive community of Jerusalem, the disciples
"devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the
breaking of the bread and the prayers."482
Communion in the faith. The faith of the faithful is the faith of the Church, received
from the apostles. Faith is a treasure of life which is enriched by being
shared.
950 Communion of the sacraments. "The fruit of all
the sacraments belongs to all the faithful. All the sacraments are sacred links
uniting the faithful with one another and binding them to Jesus Christ, and
above all Baptism, the gate by which we enter into the Church. The communion of
saints must be understood as the communion of the sacraments. . . .
The name 'communion' can be applied to all of them, for they unite us to God.
. . . But this name is better suited to the Eucharist than to any
other, because it is primarily the Eucharist that brings this communion
about."483
951 Communion of charisms. Within the communion of the
Church, the Holy Spirit "distributes special graces among the faithful of
every rank" for the building up of the Church.484 Now,
"to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common
good."485
952 "They had everything in common."486 "Everything
the true Christian has is to be regarded as a good possessed in common with
everyone else. All Christians should be ready and eager to come to the help of
the needy . . . and of their neighbors in want."487 A
Christian is a steward of the Lord's goods.488
953 Communion in charity. In the sanctorum communio,
"None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself."489 "If
one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice
together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."490 "Charity
does not insist on its own way."491 In this solidarity
with all men, living or dead, which is founded on the communion of saints, the
least of our acts done in charity redounds to the profit of all. Every sin
harms this communion.
II. THE COMMUNION OF THE CHURCH OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
954 The three states of the Church. "When the Lord
comes in glory, and all his angels with him, death will be no more and all
things will be subject to him. But at the present time some of his disciples
are pilgrims on earth. Others have died and are being purified, while still
others are in glory, contemplating 'in full light, God himself triune and one,
exactly as he is"':492
All of us, however, in varying degrees and in
different ways share in the same charity towards God and our neighbors, and we
all sing the one hymn of glory to our God. All, indeed, who are of Christ and
who have his Spirit form one Church and in Christ cleave together.493
955 "So it is that the union of the wayfarers with the
brethren who sleep in the peace of Christ is in no way interrupted, but on the
contrary, according to the constant faith of the Church, this union is
reinforced by an exchange of spiritual goods."494
956 The intercession of the saints. "Being more
closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more
firmly in holiness. . . . They do not cease to intercede with the
Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through
the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus . . . . So by
their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped."495
Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you
after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life.496
I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.497
957 Communion with the saints. "It is not merely
by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven; we seek,
rather, that by this devotion to the exercise of fraternal charity the union of
the whole Church in the Spirit may be strengthened. Exactly as Christian
communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our
communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain
and head issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself"498:
We worship Christ as God's Son; we love the
martyrs as the Lord's disciples and imitators, and rightly so because of their
matchless devotion towards their king and master. May we also be their
companions and fellow disciples!499
958 Communion with the dead. "In full
consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the
Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian
religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and 'because
it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be
loosed from their sins' she offers her suffrages for them."500 Our
prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their
intercession for us effective.
959 In the one family of God. "For if we continue
to love one another and to join in praising the Most Holy Trinity - all of us
who are sons of God and form one family in Christ - we will be faithful to the
deepest vocation of the Church."501
IN BRIEF
960 The Church is a "communion of
saints": this expression refers first to the "holy things" (sancta), above all the Eucharist, by
which "the unity of believers, who form one body in Christ, is both
represented and brought about" (LG 3).
961 The term "communion of saints" refers also
to the communion of "holy persons" (sancti) in Christ who "died for all," so that what
each one does or suffers in and for Christ bears fruit for all.
962 "We believe in the communion of all the faithful of
Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and
the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and
we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is
always [attentive] to our prayers" (Paul VI, CPG § 30).
Paragraph 6. Mary - Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church
963 Since the Virgin Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and
the Spirit has been treated, it is fitting now to consider her place in the
mystery of the Church. "The Virgin Mary . . . is acknowledged
and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer.
. . . She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ'
. . . since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth
of believers in the Church, who are members of its head."502 "Mary,
Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church."503
I. MARY'S MOTHERHOOD WITH REGARD TO THE CHURCH
964 Mary's
role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly
from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is
made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his
death";504 it is made manifest above all at the hour of
his Passion:
Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her
pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto
the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her
only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice
in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this
victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross,
as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your
son."505
965 After her Son's Ascension, Mary "aided the beginnings
of the Church by her prayers."506 In her association with
the apostles and several women, "we also see Mary by her prayers imploring
the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the
Annunciation."507
966 "Finally
the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the
course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into
heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she
might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror
of sin and death."508 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of
the resurrection of other Christians:
In giving birth you kept your virginity; in
your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to
the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will
deliver our souls from death.509
967 By her complete adherence to the
Father's will, to his Son's redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy
Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church's model of faith and charity. Thus she is
a "preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of the
Church"; indeed, she is the "exemplary realization" (typus)510 of the
Church.
968 Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity
goes still further. "In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her
obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior's work of restoring
supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order
of grace."511
969 "This motherhood of Mary in the order
of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at
the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross,
until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not
lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to
bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . . Therefore the Blessed
Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper,
Benefactress, and Mediatrix."512
970 "Mary's function as mother of men in no
way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows
its power. But the Blessed Virgin's salutary influence on men . . .
flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his
mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it."513 "No
creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but
just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his
ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in
different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the
Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which
is but a sharing in this one source."514
II. DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN
971 "All generations will call me blessed":
"The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian
worship."515 The Church rightly honors "the Blessed
Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin
has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the
faithful fly in all their dangers and needs. . . . This very special
devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given
to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and
greatly fosters this adoration."516 The liturgical feasts
dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an
"epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin
Mary.517
III. MARY - ESCHATOLOGICAL ICON OF THE CHURCH
972 After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, and
destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her
we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own
"pilgrimage of faith," and what she will be in the homeland at the
end of her journey. There, "in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided
Trinity," "in the communion of all the saints,"518 the
Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own
mother.
In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the
glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and
beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise
she shines forth on earth until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of
certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God.519
IN BRIEF
973 By pronouncing her "fiat" at
the Annunciation and giving her consent to the Incarnation, Mary was already
collaborating with the whole work her Son was to accomplish. She is mother
wherever he is Savior and head of the Mystical Body.
974 The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the
course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the
glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son's
Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.
975 "We believe that the Holy Mother of
God, the new Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven to exercise her
maternal role on behalf of the members of Christ" (Paul VI, CPG § 15).
[1] John Paul II,
“Crossing the Threshold of Hope,” Knopf (1994) 34-34.
[3]
As noted above, these two levels of experience,
although yielding different meanings to the same words, they are experiences of
the same person. As Pope Francis remarked on May 22, 2013: performing "good
works" is not the exclusive domain of
people of faith, but rather a place where they and atheists could and should
meet. In a private homily, Francis described doing good not as a
matter of faith, but of "duty, it is an identity
card that our Father has given to all of us,
because he has made us in his image and likeness." In his book “On Heaven
and Earth” with Abraham Skorka, [Image
(2013) 12-13], Francis remarks in ch. 2 “On Atheists:” “When I speak with atheists, I will sometimes discuss social concerns,
but I do not propose the problem of God as a starting point, except in the case
that they propose it to me. If this occurs, I tell them why I believe. But that which is human
is so rich to share and to work at that very easily we can mutually complement
our richness. As I am a believer, I know that these riches are a gift from God.
I also know that the other person, the atheist, does not know that. I do not
approach the relationship in order to proselytize, or conver the atheist; I
respect him and I show myself as I am. Where there is knowledge, there begins
to appear esteem, affection, and friendship. I do not have any type of reluctance, nor would I say that his life is condemned, because I am
convinced that IP do not have the right to make a judgment about the honesty of
that person… At any rate, I know more agnostic people than atheists…” On May 22 last, he finished saying: “if we do good to others, if we
meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will
make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another
doing good."
[4] By Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, The
Ecclesiology of The Constitution On The Church, Vatican II, 'Lumen Gentium.'
[5] John Henry
Newman, “Essays Critical and
Historical,” XI: Milman’s View of Christianity (1871), vol. 2, 232-233.
[6] “When we penetrate by means of the
continually and rapidly increasing experience of the human family into the
mystery of Jesus Christ, we understand with greater clarity that there is at
the basis of all these ways that the Church of our time must follow, in
accordance with the wisdom of Pope Paul VI86, one single way: it is the way that has stood
the test of centuries and it is also the way of the future. Christ the Lord
indicated this way especially, when, as the Council teaches, "by his
Incarnation, he, the Son of God, in a certain way united himself with each man"87. The
Church therefore sees its fundamental task in enabling that union to be brought
about and renewed continually. The Church wishes to serve this single end: that
each person may be able to find Christ, in order that Christ may walk with each
person the path of life, with the power of the truth about man and the world
that is contained in the mystery of the Incarnation and the Redemption and with
the power of the love that is radiated by that truth. Against a background of
the ever increasing historical processes, which seem at the present time to
have results especially within the spheres of various systems, ideological
concepts of the world and regimes, Jesus Christ becomes, in a way, newly
present, in spite of all his apparent absences, in spite of all the limitations
of the presence and of the institutional activity of the Church. Jesus Christ
becomes present with the power of the truth and the love that are expressed in
him with unique unrepeatable fullness in spite of the shortness of his life on
earth and the even greater shortness of his public activity.
Jesus
Christ is the chief way for the Church. He himself is our way "to the Father's
house"88 and
is the way to each man. On this way leading from Christ to man, on this way on
which Christ unites himself with each man, nobody can halt the Church. This is
an exigency of man's temporal welfare and of his eternal welfare. Out of regard
for Christ and in view of the mystery that constitutes the Church's own life,
the Church cannot remain insensible to whatever serves man's true welfare, any
more than she can remain indifferent to what threatens it. In various passages
in its documents the Second Vatican Council has expressed the Church's
fundamental solicitude that life in "the world should conform more to
man's surpassing dignity"89 in
all its aspects, so as to make that life "ever more human"90. This is the solicitude of Christ himself, the
good Shepherd of all men. In the name of this solicitude, as we read in the Council's
Pastoral Constitution, "the Church must in no way be confused with the
political community, nor bound to any political system. She is at once a sign
and a safeguard of the transcendence of the human person"91.
Accordingly,
what is in question here is man in all his truth, in his full magnitude. We are
not dealing with the "abstract" man, but the real, "concrete",
"historical" man. We are dealing with "each" man, for each
one is included in the mystery of the Redemption and with each one Christ has
united himself for ever through this mystery. Every man comes into the world
through being conceived in his mother's womb and being born of his mother, and
precisely on account of the mystery of the Redemption is entrusted to the
solicitude of the Church. Her solicitude is about the whole man and is focussed
on him in an altogether special manner. The object of her care is man in his
unique unrepeatable human reality, which keeps intact the image and likeness of
God himself92. The Council points out this very fact when,
speaking of that likeness, it recalls that "man is the only creature on
earth that God willed for itself"93. Man as "willed" by God, as
"chosen" by him from eternity and called, destined for grace and
glory-this is "each" man, "the most concrete" man,
"the most real"; this is man in all the fullness of the mystery in
which he has become a sharer in Jesus Christ, the mystery in which each one of
the four thousand million human beings living on our planet has become a sharer
from the moment he is conceived beneath the heart of his mother;” John Paul II,
Redemptor Hominis, #13.
[s1]Like
a surfer on a moving wave, the Church has to change, and often, in order to be
faithful to the ever fuller experience of Jesus Christ (Revelation).
No comments:
Post a Comment