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. (cf. Mark 1:16-20; 3:13-19; Matthew 13:10-17; Luke 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. (John 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. (John 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. (cf. John 14:18; 20:22; Matthew 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." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 7)
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
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." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 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." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 7; cf. Romans 6:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:13)
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." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 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." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 7 § 3; cf. 1 Corinthians 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." (Galatians 3:27-28)
Christ is the Head of this
Body
792 Christ "is the head of
the body, the Church." (Colossians 1:18) He
is the principle of creation and
redemption. Raised to the Father's
glory, "in everything he
[is] preeminent," (Colossians 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. (Galatians 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." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 7 § 4; cf. Philippians 3:21; Romans 8:17)
794 Christ provides for our growth:
to make us grow toward him, our
head, (cf. Colossians 2:19; Ephesians 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.
(St. Augustine, In Jo. ev. 21,8:PL 35,1568)
Our redeemer has shown himself
to be one person with the holy
Church whom he has taken to himself.
(Pope St. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job, præf., 14:PL 75,525A)
Head and members form as it were
one and the same mystical person.
(St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III,48,2)
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."
(Acts of the Trial of Joan of Arc)
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 bridegroom and
bride. The theme of Christ as
Bridegroom of the Church was prepared
for by the prophets and announced
by John the Baptist. (John 3:29) The Lord
referred to himself as the "bridegroom." (Mark 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. (cf. Matthew 22:1-14; 25:1-13; 1 Corinthians 6:15-17; 2 Corinthians 11:2) The Church
is the spotless bride of the spotless
Lamb. (cf. Revelation 22:17; Ephesians 1:4; 5:27) "Christ loved the Church
and gave himself up for her, that
he might sanctify her." (Ephesians 5:25-26) He
has joined her with himself in
an everlasting covenant and never
stops caring for her as for his
own body: (cf. Ephesians 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." (Ephesians 5:31-32) And
the Lord himself says in the Gospel: "So
they are no longer two, but one
flesh." (Matthew 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 body, he calls
himself "bride."
(St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 74:4:PL 36,948-949)
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." (St. Augustine, Sermo 267,4:PL 38,1231D) "To
this Spirit of Christ, as an 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." (Pius XII, encyclical, Mystici Corporis:DS 3808) The
Holy Spirit makes the Church "the
temple of the living God": (2 Corinthians 6:16; cf. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:21)
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.
(St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3,24,1:PG 7/1,966)
798 The Holy Spirit is "the
principle of every vital and truly
saving action in each part of
the Body." (Pius XII, encyclical, Mystici Corporis:DS 3808) He works in many
ways to build up the whole Body
in charity: (cf. Ephesians 4:16) by God's Word "which
is able to build you up"; (Acts 20:32)
by Baptism, through which he forms
Christ's Body; (cf. 1 Corinthians 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"; (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 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." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 12 § 2; cf. Apostolicam Actositatem 3)
Charisms
799 Whether extraordinary or simple
and humble, charisms are graces
of the Holy Spirit which directly
or indirectly benefit the Church,
ordered as they are to her building
up, to the good of men, 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. (cf. 1 Corinthians 13)
801 It is in this sense that 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," (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 12; cf. 30; 1 Thessalonians 5:12, 19-21; John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 24) so
that all the diverse and complementary
charisms work together "for
the common good." (1 Corinthians 12:7) |