781
"At all times and in every race, anyone who fears God and does what is
right has been acceptable to him. He has, however, willed to make men holy and
save them, not as individuals without any bond or link between them, but rather
to make them into a people who might acknowledge him and serve him in holiness.
He, therefore, chose the Israelite race to be his own people and established a
covenant with it. He gradually instructed these people... All these things,
however, happened as a preparation for and figure of that new and perfect
covenant which was to be ratified in Christ . . . the New Covenant in his
blood; he called together a race made up of Jews and Gentiles which would be
one, not according to the flesh, but in the Spirit."201 (LG 9; Cf. ⇒ Acts 10:35; ⇒ 1 Cor 11:25.)
Characteristics
of the People of God
782
The People of God is marked by characteristics that clearly distinguish it from
all other religious, ethnic, political, or cultural groups found in history:
-
It is the People of God: God is not the property of anyone person. But he
acquired a people for himself from those who previously were not a people:
"a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation."202
-
One becomes a member of this people not by physical birth, but by being
"born anew," a birth "of water and the Spirit,"203 ( Jn 3:3-5. ) that is,
by faith in Christ, and Baptism.
-
This People has for its Head Jesus the Christ (the anointed, the Messiah).
Because the same anointing, the Holy Spirit, flows from the head into the body,
this is "the messianic people."
-
"The status of this people is that of the dignity and freedom of the sons
of God, in whose hearts the Holy Spirit dwells as in a temple."
-
"Its law is the new commandment to love as Christ loved us."204 (Cf. ⇒ Jn 13 34 ) This
is the "new" law of the Holy Spirit.205 (Rom 8:2; ⇒ Gal 5:25. )
-
Its mission is to be salt of the earth and light of the world.206 (Cf. ⇒ Mt 5:13-16.) This people
is "the surest seed of unity, hope, and salvation for the whole human
race."
-Its
destiny, finally, "is the Kingdom of God which has been begun by God
himself on earth and which must be further extended until it has been brought
to perfection by him at the end of time."207
A
priestly, prophetic, and royal people
783
Jesus Christ is the one whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and
established as priest, prophet, and king. the whole People of God participates
in these three offices of Christ and bears the responsibilities for mission and
service that flow from them.208
784
On entering the People of God through faith and Baptism, one receives a share
in this people's unique, priestly vocation: "Christ the Lord, high priest
taken from among men, has made these new people 'a kingdom of priests to God,
his Father.' the baptized, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy priesthood."209
785
"The holy People of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office,"
above all in the supernatural sense of faith that belongs to the whole People,
lay and clergy, when it "unfailingly adheres to this faith . . . once for
all delivered to the saints,"210 (LG 12; Cf. Jude 3.) and when it deepens its understanding and
becomes Christ's witness in the midst of this world.
786
Finally, the People of God shares in the royal office of Christ. He exercises
his kingship by drawing all men to himself through his death and
Resurrection.211 (Cf. ⇒ Jn 12:32.) Christ, King, and Lord of the universe, made himself the
servant of all, for he came "not to be served but to serve, and to give
his life as a ransom for many."212 (Mt 20:28.) For the Christian, "to reign is to
serve him," particularly when serving "the poor and the suffering, in
whom the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering
founder."213 ( LG 8; Cf. 36.) The People of God fulfills its royal dignity by a life in
keeping with its vocation to serve with Christ.
The
sign of the cross makes kings of all those reborn in Christ and the anointing
of the Holy Spirit consecrates them as priests, so that, apart from the
particular service of our ministry, all spiritual and rational Christians are
recognized as members of this royal race and sharers in Christ's priestly
office. What, indeed, is as royal for a soul as to govern the body in obedience
to God? and what is as priestly as to dedicate a pure conscience to the Lord
and to offer the spotless offerings of devotion on the altar of the heart? 214
II.
THE CHURCH - BODY OF CHRIST
The
Church is communion with Jesus
787
From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed
the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy,
and sufferings.215 (Cf. ⇒ Mk 1:16-20; ⇒ 3:13-19; ⇒ Mt 13:10-17; ⇒ Lk 10:17-20; ⇒ 22:28-30. ) Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him
and those who would follow him: "Abide in me, and I in you... I am the
vine, you are the branches."216 (Jn 15:4-5.) and he proclaimed a mysterious and real
communion between his own body and ours: "He who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood abides in me, and I in him."217 (Jn 6:56. )
788
When his visible presence was taken from them, Jesus did not leave his
disciples orphans. He promised to remain with them until the end of time; he
sent them his Spirit.218 (Cf. ⇒ Jn 14:18; ⇒ 20:22; ⇒ Mt 28:20; ⇒ Acts 2:33.) As a result communion with Jesus has become, in a way,
more intense: "By communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes
as his body those brothers of his who are called together from every
nation."219
789
The comparison of the Church with the body casts light on the intimate bond
between Christ and his Church. Not only is she gathered around him; she is
united in him, in his body. Three aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ
are to be more specifically noted: the unity of all her members with each other
as a result of their union with Christ; Christ as head of the Body; and the Church
as the bride of Christ.
"One
Body"
790
Believers who respond to God's word and become members of Christ's Body become
intimately united with him: "In that body, the life of Christ is
communicated to those who believe, and who, through the sacraments, are united
in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and glorification."220 (LG 7. ) This is especially true of Baptism, which unites us to Christ's death and
Resurrection, and the Eucharist, by which "really sharing in the body of
the Lord, . . . we are taken up into communion with Him and with one
another."221
791
The body's unity does not do away with the diversity of its members: "In
the building up of Christ's Body there is engaged a diversity of members and
functions. There is only one Spirit who, according to his own richness and the
needs of the ministries, gives his different gifts for the welfare of the
Church."222 (LG 7 # 3.) The unity of the Mystical Body produces and stimulates charity
among the faithful: "From this it follows that if one member suffers
anything, all the members suffer with him, and if one member is honored, all
the members together rejoice."223 (LG 7 # 3; cf. ⇒ 1 Cor 12:26.) Finally, the unity of the Mystical Body
triumphs over all human divisions: "For as many of you as were baptized
into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one
in Christ Jesus."224
"Christ
is the Head of this Body"
792
Christ "is the head of the body, the Church."225 (Col 1:18. ) He is the principle
of creation and redemption. Raised to the Father's glory, "in everything
he (is) preeminent, "226 (Col 1:18. ) especially in the Church, through whom he extends
his reign over all things.
793
Christ unites us with his Passover: all his members must strive to resemble
him, "until Christ be formed" in them.227 (Gal 4:19.) "For this reason, we are taken up into the mysteries of his life, associated with his
sufferings as the body with its head, suffering with him, that with him we may
be glorified."228 (LG 7 # 4; cf. ⇒ Phil 3:21; ⇒ Rom 8:17. )
794
Christ provides for our growth: to make us grow toward him, our head,229 (Cf. ⇒ Col 2:19; ⇒ Eph 4:11-16. ) he
provides in his Body, the Church, the gifts and assistance by which we help one
another along the way of salvation.
795
Christ and his Church thus together make up the "whole Christ"
(Christus totus). the Church is one with Christ. the saints are acutely aware
of this unity:
Let
us rejoice then and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but
Christ himself. Do you understand and grasp, brethren, God's grace toward us?
Marvel and rejoice: we have become Christ. For if he is the head, we are the
members; he and we together are the whole man.... the fullness of Christ then
is the head and the members. But what does "head and members" mean?
Christ and the Church.230
Our
redeemer has shown himself to be one person with the holy Church whom he has
taken to himself.231
Head
and members form as it were one and the same mystical person.232
A
reply of St. Joan of Arc to her judges sums up the faith of the holy doctors
and the good sense of the believer: "About Jesus Christ and the Church, I
simply know they're just one thing, and we shouldn't complicate the
matter."233
The
Church is the Bride of Christ
796
The unity of Christ and the Church, head, and members of one Body, also implies
the distinction of the two within a personal relationship. This aspect is often
expressed by the image of the bridegroom and bride. the theme of Christ as The bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John
the Baptist.234 (Jn 3:29.) The Lord referred to himself as the "bridegroom."235 (Mk 2:19.) The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each of the faithful, members of
his Body, as a bride "betrothed" to Christ the Lord so as to become
but one spirit with him.236 (Cf. ⇒ Mt 22:1-14; ⇒ 25:1-13; ⇒ 1 Cor 6:15-17; ⇒ 2 Cor 11:2.) The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless
Lamb.237 (Cf. ⇒ Rev 22:17; ⇒ Eph 1:4. ⇒ 5:27. ) "Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he
might sanctify her."238 (Eph 5:25-26.) He has joined her with himself in an everlasting
covenant and never stops caring for her as for his own body:239 (Cf. ⇒ Eph 5:29. )
This
is the whole Christ, head and body, one formed from many . . . whether the head
or members speak, it is Christ who speaks. He speaks in his role as the head
(ex persona capitis) and in his role as body (ex persona corporis). What does
this mean? "The two will become one flesh. This is a great mystery, and I
am applying it to Christ and the Church."240 (Eph 5:31-32.) and the Lord himself says in
the Gospel: "So they are no longer two, but one flesh."241 (Mt 19:6.) They are,
in fact, two different persons, yet they are one in the conjugal union, . . .
as head, he calls himself the bridegroom, as a body, he calls himself
"bride."242
III.
THE CHURCH IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
797
"What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of
Christ, which is the Church."243 (St. Augustine, Sermo 267, 4: PL 38, 1231D.) "To this Spirit of Christ, as the invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact that all the parts of the body
are joined one with the other and with their exalted Head; for the whole Spirit
of Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit
is in each of the members."244 (Pius XII, encyclical, Mystici Corporis: DS 3808.) The Holy Spirit makes the Church "the
temple of the living God":245
Indeed,
it is to the Church herself that the "Gift of God" has been entrusted...
In it is in her that communion with Christ has been deposited, that is to say:
the Holy Spirit, the pledge of incorruptibility, the strengthening of our faith
and the ladder of our ascent to God... For where the Church is, there also is
God's Spirit; where God's Spirit is, there is the Church and every grace.246
798
The Holy Spirit is "the principle of every vital and truly saving action
in each part of the Body."247 (Pius XII, encyclical, Mystici Corporis: DS 3808.) He works in many ways to build up the whole
Body in charity:248 (Cf. ⇒ Eph 4:16.) by God's Word "which is able to build you up";249 (Acts 20:32.) by Baptism, through which he forms Christ's Body;250 (Cf. ⇒ 1 Cor 12:13. ) by the sacraments, which
give growth and healing to Christ's members; by "the grace of the
apostles, which holds first place among his gifts";251 (LG 7 # 2.) by the virtues,
which make us act according to what is good; finally, by the many special
graces (called "charisms"), by which he makes the faithful "fit
and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building
up of the Church."252 (LG 12 # 2; cf. AA 3.)
Charisms
799
Whether extraordinary or simple and humble, charisms are graces of the Holy
Spirit which directly or indirectly benefits the Church, ordered as they are to
her building up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world.
800
Charisms are to be accepted with gratitude by the person who receives them and
by all members of the Church as well. They are a wonderfully rich grace for the
apostolic vitality and for the holiness of the entire Body of Christ, provided
they really are genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit and are used in full
conformity with authentic promptings of this same Spirit, that is, in keeping
with charity, the true measure of all charisms.253
801
It is in this sense that the discernment of charisms is always necessary. No
charism is exempt from being referred and submitted to the Church's shepherds.
"Their office (is) not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all
things and hold fast to what is good,"254 (LG 12; cf. 30; ⇒ 1 Thess 5:12, ⇒ 19-21; John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 24.) so that all the diverse and
complementary charisms work together "for the common good."255
IN
BRIEF
802
Christ Jesus "gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to
purify for himself a people of his own" (⇒ Titus 2:14).
803
"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own
people" (⇒
1 Pet 2:9).
804
One enters into the People of God by faith and Baptism. "All men are
called to belong to the new People of God" (LG 13), so that, in Christ,
"men may form one family and one People of God" (AG 1).
805
The Church is the Body of Christ. Through the Spirit and his action in the
sacraments, above all the Eucharist, Christ, who once was dead and is now
risen, establishes the community of believers as his own Body.
806
In the unity of this Body, there is a diversity of members and functions. All
members are linked to one another, especially to those who are suffering, to
the poor and persecuted.
807
The Church is this Body of which Christ is the head: she lives from him, in
him, and for him; he lives with her and in her.
808
The Church is the Bride of Christ: he loved her and handed himself over for
her. He has purified her by his blood and made her the fruitful mother of all
God's children.
809
The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. the Spirit is the soul, as it
were, of the Mystical Body, the source of its life, of its unity in diversity,
and of the riches of its gifts and charisms.
810
"Hence the universal Church is seen to be 'a people brought into unity
from the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit'" (LG 4 citing
St. Cyprian, De Dom. orat. 23: PL 4, 553).
GO TO:
ARTICLE 9
PARAGRAPH 1 THE CHURCH IN GOD'S PLAN
PARAGRAPH 2.THE CHURCH - PEOPLE OF GOD, BODY OF CHRIST, TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
PARAGRAPH 3.THE CHURCH IS ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, AND APOSTOLIC
PARAGRAPH 6.MARY - MOTHER OF CHRIST, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
ARTICLE 9
PARAGRAPH 1 THE CHURCH IN GOD'S PLAN
PARAGRAPH 2.THE CHURCH - PEOPLE OF GOD, BODY OF CHRIST, TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
PARAGRAPH 3.THE CHURCH IS ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, AND APOSTOLIC
PARAGRAPH 6.MARY - MOTHER OF CHRIST, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
SECTION TWO: CREEDS
CHAPTER THREE:
CHAPTER THREE:
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