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Chapter Four - The Church

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Opening Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful andenkindle in them the fire of Your love.V. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created.

R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray. O God, by the light of the Holy Spirit, Youhave taught the hearts of Your faithful. In the same

Spirit help us to know what is truly right and always torejoice in Your consolation. We ask this throughChrist, our Lord. Amen.

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The Fourth Luminous MysteryThe Transfiguration

And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James,and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a highmountain apart: And he was transfigured before them.

And his face did shine as the sun: and his garmentsbecame white as snow. And behold there appeared tothem Moses and Elias talking with him.

And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my

beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.Mt 17:1-3, 5

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He said to them, But who do you say that I am?

Simon Peter said, You are the Christ, the Son of theLiving God. And Jesus answered him, Blessed areyou, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has notrevealed this to you, but my Father who is inheaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this

rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hellshall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys ofthe kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind onearth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you

loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 16:15-19

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We Live in Between-time

Our current age is the between-time, a period between the shadowytypology that prefigured Christ in the Old Testament and the time ofultimate reality [at the end of time] when God is all in all and theworld is completely transformed and fully divinized. This between-timeis the time of the image, an already-but-not-yet period in which wehave real, genuine access to things of heaven but in the mode ofsacrament. The heavenly realities are ours motivated through materialthings in the liturgy of the Church. The heavenly future becomes thesubject of our present day participation in images. In liturgical time,we make present the events of the past and anticipate the realities ofthe future. So the term image used in this context really means

sacrament, a participation in invisible spiritual realities, through themedium of earthly matter. Today, our contact with God comes throughthe sacramental veil in the time of the image, the time betweenPentecost and the Second Coming.

Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the LiturgyDr. Denis R. McNamara

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The Church as Sacrament

The pattern of visibility and invisibility is repeated. The SecondVatican Council called the Church the universal sacrament ofsalvation.

Just as we receive invisible, salvific graces through the physical,visible matter used in the seven sacraments, so too does Christcommunicate spiritual Truth to all through His Body, the Church.

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The Four Marks

We believe in unam sanctum catholicum et apostolicum ecclesium.

The Church is one because of her founder. There is only one God,one Savior, one Truth, one Baptism, and there is only Church. OurLord died that we might be incorporated into His Body. Just as therewas only one Savior, Jesus, so too there is but one Mystical Body.

So too, the Church is one because of her soul, the Holy Spirit. Just asa human being is one with body and soul, so too the Church is body(Christ) and soul (Holy Spirit).

Yet, there is legitimate diversity in unity. A variety of different peoplesand cultures is gathered together within the Church

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The Ties that Bind

What is it that binds us together, specifically?

First, we profess the same faith. There is one faith handed down bythe apostles!

Secondly, we are bound by sacramental practice. Although there maybe some variation in form, the seven sacraments are the same nomatter which Catholic Church you enter, anywhere on earth.

Finally, we are bound together through apostolic succession. TheHoly Father is the great visible unifier of the Church.

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Body Blows

Over time, there have been certain rifts and wounds to the unity of theChurch. Often, men on both sides were to blame. Reformation of theChurch starts with greater fidelity to doctrine, not scrapping orchanging doctrine. Reformation must happen one heart at a time!

Despite the grave seriousness of disunity, we do not indict with the sinof separation those who are at present born into Protestantcommunities.

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We are Called to Work for Unity

But as Catholics, we are called to make disciples and work to restoreunity. Authentic ecumenism does not entail watering down what youbelieve or compromising a difficult truth!

We should be so full of Love that others want what we have. Thisrestored Charity will only come through striving to be a holier peoplewith greater fidelity.

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The Church is Catholic

The Church is catholic in a double sense.

The first sense is that of totality. The fullness of Christs Body subsistsin the Catholic Church. We have received and adhered to thecomplete fullness of the faith. We have the totality of faith.

Secondly, the Church is catholic in the sense of being everywhere.Through the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20), the Church has beensent on a mission to the whole human race.

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Who is in the Catholic Church?

All people are called to catholic unity, but there are different ways ofbeing ordered to it. First, those who are fully incorporated into theChurch. Secondly, those who are baptized Christians but do notprofess the fullness of the Catholic faith. Thirdly, those who have notyet received the Gospel are related to the Church in various ways.

What about the Jewish?

What about the Muslims?

What about other non-Christians?

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Who can Achieve Salvation?

The Church has taught consistently that outside the Church there is nosalvation. (CCC #846) Lets restate it in a slightly different way: Allsalvation comes from Jesus Christ, the Head, through His Church, theBody. The Church in its fullness is the Catholic Church, but as wevealready seen there are ways of belonging to it, even imperfectly.

This teaching is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own,do not know Christ or His Church. It is a further elaboration on thetotality and universality of the Church.

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The Church is Apostolic

The Church is apostolic, because she is founded on the apostles inthree ways:

1) The Church is built on the foundation of the apostles.

2) The Church keeps, guards, and hands on the faith.

3) The Church continues to be taught by the apostles successors.

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Questions?