Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi
Title of Series: "What Catholics Believe: The Faith Professed"

Part 8: "The Church and Her Mother Mary"

May 3rd, 2007
First Thursday

I love the Church. I really do. I love the Catholic Church and everything about it -- uniquely the incense,
the May processions and Corpus Christi processions, the coffee and donuts, the friendship with similarly minded people, the many forms of social outreach to those in need, just to name a few things that come to mind.

My love affair began at Baptism 59 years ago at Sacred Heart Church on 16th Street in Washington, D.C. when I was incorporated into a living and diverse community. It has been the most important affiliation and commitment of my life. Being a member of the Catholic Church continues daily to change and transform my very being and the way I view the world. It is the Church where I also receive the Eucharist every day, where I regularly receive the healing sacrament of Penance, where I received the fullness of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation, where I was privileged to be ordained a priest in the sacrament of Holy Orders at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle 22 years ago next month and it is the Church where I hope to receive the Sacrament of the Sick when my time comes and so be prepared to meet the Lord Jesus forever in heaven, the new and eternal Jerusalem.

You must feel the same way. I know you do. Your presence here in great numbers this year, a year devoted to studying the first pillar of the catechism, the section about our Catholic faith, the faith handed down from Jesus and the apostles in and through the Church is firm evidence of that love.

The Church is, moreover, the object of our faith. It is the ninth article (of twelve) of the Apostles' Creed, that section of the Creed we study this First Thursday -- "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church" or the version we say each Sunday in the Nicene Creed -- "We believe in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." I have entitled this May meditation: “The Church and Her Mother Mary.” May is, after all, the month dedicated to our Blessed Lady.

Benedict XVI, in the recent apostolic letter on the Eucharist, reminds us that Mary “was given by... Christ Jesus, dying on the Cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: ‘Woman, behold your Son.’” (Jn 19:27) (SC 33) From the cross, Mary thus becomes the Mother of the Church. “In her we find realized most perfectly the essence of the Church.” (SC 96)

Why do we love the Church? Why should we love the Church? What is the basis of our belief in the Church? Despite the human wounds, foibles, disappointments, the Church is importantly also divine. It is Christ's Church, after all. He shines out visibly from the Church. It is His living body. It is Jesus, in the power of His Holy Spirit, which continues to entice and pull each one of us to His Church. We are His people. How else could this institution, this world-wide community, have remained so faithful and continued throughout the last 2000 years if it were merely a human institution? No human explanation can begin to explain the longevity of the Church. Think of the empires and countries and corporations that have arisen and disappeared from the face of the map in a much shorter time. I am reminded of a text from the Acts of the Apostles that we heard a few weeks again, speaking of the work of the apostles, when the lawyer Gamaliel said: “For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 34: 38-39) The Church is of God.

The catechism teaches that the "Church is both visible and spiritual, a hierarchical society and the Mystical Body of Christ. She is one, yet formed of two components, human and divine. That is her mystery, which only faith can accept.” CC 779

This "mystery" we call Church, from the Hebrew word qahal, the Greek word ekklesia and the Latin ecclesia (meaning gathering of people or community) is Trinitarian in nature. It has been progressively
revealed in history and prepared for over the centuries.

The church was born in the Father's heart, foreshadowed in the designs of creation, prepared for by the election of the Hebrew people as God's chosen people. It was the Father’s plan for sharing divine life with all people. The Church was finally instituted by Christ as He hung dying on the cross "in the fullness of time," symbolized by the blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of Christ. And the Holy Spirit was sent, as the permanent gift of Easter, to sanctify the Church continually, to give us
life. This life we share is the life of the Risen Lord, His Spirit. “So forceful is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the early Church that the New Testament narrative of Church’s early growth, the Acts of the Apostles, is often called the ‘Gospel of the Holy Spirit.’” USCCA 114

The Church will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven. Until that day, the Church -- in the words of St. Augustine -- "progresses on her pilgrimage amidst this world's persecutions and God's consolations." And there is not a one of us who has not experienced persecution even in our day for being Catholic. Hopefully, each one of us has had our share of consolations as well.

Most important to remember -- the Church exists fundamentally for our holiness here and for our eternal salvation. There is a horizontal and vertical dimension to the Church's mission. The primary purpose of the Church is to make us holy, to bring us each day into communion, union with God especially through the sacraments, which are instruments of holiness and the very instruments of our salvation.

In that latest document of Benedict XVI, Sacramentum caritatis, the pope underscores the relationship
between the Eucharist and the Church. As the church was born from the pierced side of Christ, water and blood coming from that side, blood representing the blood of Christ in the Eucharist. “Since the Eucharist makes present Christ’s redeeming sacrifice, we must start by acknowledging that ‘there is a causal influence of the Eucharist at the Church’s very origin.’ The Eucharist is Christ who gives himself to us and continually builds up his body. Hence, there is a striking interplay between the Eucharist which builds up the Church, and the Church herself which ‘makes’ the Eucharist...The Church’s ability to ‘make’ the Eucharist is completely rooted in Christ’s self-gift to her.” SC 14

The catechism sets forth three very rich images to help us capture and begin to understand the inexhaustible mystery that is the Church. No one image can suffice. First, the Church is the People of God (which was the paramount image of the Church from the Second Vatican Council). Second, the Church is the Body of Christ. Finally, the Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. I will focus in this reflection on Church as the People of God. Please read again the sections on Church as Body of Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit in the catechism.

People of God -- The Church

By baptism and faith, we become members of God's holy people, the church. Like the Israelites of old, we too are chosen as God's holy people. This image links us with our Jewish roots, this sense of being a chosen people.

There are certain characteristics of church as God’s People -- a.) God is not the property of any one people. He acquired a people “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.” 1 Pet 2:9; b.) One becomes a member not by physical birth but by faith and baptism; c.) Jesus Christ is the head; d.) The Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of this people as in a temple; e.) The law is the new commandment of love, the new “law” of the Holy Spirit; f.) Its mission is to be salt of the earth and light of the world; and g.) Its destiny is the Kingdom of God that has already begun and will be brought to perfection by Him at the end of time. CCC 782

Three Offices of Christ

Now what kind of people are we by virtue of our baptism? We share in three offices of Christ, in the very mission of Jesus in our day. As laity and clergy, we share -- although in different ways -- in the mission of Jesus as priest, prophet and king, for we are priestly, prophetic and kingly people. There is a
dignity and equality in the eyes of God which each of us -- laity and clergy -- shares precisely because of our baptisms.

As baptized members of the laity, you too share in the "priesthood" of Jesus Christ. It is referred to as the “common priesthood of all the faithful.” USCCA 117 The "spiritual sacrifice" offered at Mass is at the heart of the ordained priesthood, or “ministerial priesthood,” the priesthood I share. “The ministerial
priesthood differs in essence from the common priesthood of the faithful because it confers a sacred power for the service of the faithful.” CCC 1592

You, as laity, however, share in the priestly mission of Jesus when you offer spiritual sacrifices each day to the Father -- your works, prayers, apostolic endeavors, 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" and a share in the mission of Christ as priest. CCC 901

As laity, you also share in the "prophetic" mission of Jesus by concrete works of evangelization. This means teaching and witnessing God’s holy Word in this secular world of ours. “St. Francis of Assisi once said, ‘Preach always. Sometimes use words.’” USCCA 117 This is possible first when you, when each of us, falls in love with God's holy word -- a word which transforms us and makes it possible for us see the world through Christian eyeglasses and ultimately to act in the ways of Jesus.

You also share in the "kingly" mission of Jesus every time you edge the world, your secular world, in loving service in the direction of peace, justice and joy. Christ the King is a servant king, a lamb led to the slaughter. When we serve, especially the least among us, we share in the mission today of Jesus as king.

Four Characteristics of the Church

At the heart of this section of the catechism on the Church is the teaching on the four characteristics of the Church. They are inseparably linked among themselves and indicate essential features of the Church and her mission. Confessed in the ancient Nicene Creed, we believe that the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. “Because of the sinfulness of the Church’s members, these marks are not always lived out fully, so we need to view them as both a reality and yet a challenge.” USCCA 127

These are not simply adjectives that describe the Church. They are gifts of God that mark the Church and importantly they describe tasks and duties for each generation of believers to assume. What the Church is defines what the Church is supposed to do. The Church's very nature is realized in its mission.

The Church is One. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:28) Unity is at the essence of the Church. It reflects the unity of the Trinity. The Church comes from one source -- God the Father; was founded by one Lord Jesus Christ and lives by one soul, the Holy Spirit -- the same Spirit "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." CCC 813

What are the bonds of unity? Above all, it is charity but also a common faith, common worship (especially the sacraments) and a common life under the successors of the apostles. Unity does not mean uniformity. From the beginning, the church has been marked by a genuine diversity. One need only be in St. Peter's Square at Rome on any Sunday to witness the variety of cultures or at any downtown parish in this archdiocese. But there is a unity of the essentials.

The Second Vatican Council taught that the the Church of Christ "subsists in the Catholic Church" (lives on in). CCC 816 It is only in the Catholic Church where the "fullness of means of salvation can be obtained" although many of the elements of holiness and truth that constitute it and give it life exist outside its visible boundaries. CCC 816, 819 Christ gives the Church the gift of unity.

Tragically, throughout the centuries divisions have developed among Christians. But where there is division, the Church must pray and work to maintain, reinforce and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her. Hence Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper: "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." CCC 820 The Catholic Church has always been committed, through the ecumenical movement, to the restoration of unity among Christians.

“Ecumenism includes efforts to pray together, joint study of the Scripture and of one another’s traditions, common action for social justice, and dialogue in which the leaders and theologians of the different churches and communities discuss in depth their doctrinal and theological positions for greater mutual understanding, and ‘to work for unity in truth.’” USCCA 128

The Church is Holy. The church is, as a matter of faith, held to be "unfailingly holy." Why? 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" i.e. to make her holy. CCC 823 He died to make us holy. Thus since the origin of the Church is in the Trinity, that is also the source of her holiness. Holiness, which means to be set apart, belongs to God alone. But in Baptism, each of us no longer stands "outside," but each of us comes to share in the very holiness of God -- albeit imperfectly realized in the life of the Church. Each of us is called to be holy, yet there exists that continual struggle with the forces of evil. We must not look beyond the tips of our noises to understand this. The Church is, however, essentially holy and a consecrated community but also a community in constant need of reform and renewal.

"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." CCC 828 The church continues to add new witnesses to the litany of saints in the Americas and around the world.

As Catholics, we believe in the "communion of saints." That includes all the faithful of Christ, those who are still pilgrims on earth, you and me, (for example), the dead who are being purified in purgatory and the blessed in heaven. All together, they -- and we -- form one Church, one communion of saints. It is this communion which helps make the church holy -- the power, the miracle of prayer -- each of us praying for one another. I think of the memorial cards that fill my breviary of those classmates ordained priests, of those loved ones gone to the Lord -- what a sense of communion. There is no article in the creed that resonates more with the experience and practice of faithful Christians -- those deep links in the communion of saints -- evidence of holiness in the church.

The Church is Catholic. The word "catholic" means "universal" in the sense of "having the character of totality or wholeness." The catechism gives two reasons why the church is "catholic." First, the church is catholic because Christ is present in her. CCC 830 Second, she is catholic because Christ has given her the mission to the whole human race. God wills the salvation of everyone. By her very nature, the church is missionary. The church exists to evangelize. It is a requirement of the Church's catholicity. CCC 831 She proclaims the fullness of the faith. The church exists in every country of the world, visibly there -- even in minority status, or under persecution, in some countries.

No one is excluded from the call to evangelize. Each of us in the Church has our own area of mission. That is our continual challenge. That is the continual challenge to be catholic. There is place in the church for a variety of charisms: hermits, virgins, men and women members of religious orders, secular institutes, societies of apostolic life, the laity, priests, deacons, bishops and the pope. What a beautiful tapestry of Christian life coming together as one and reaching out to all!

Who belongs to the Catholic Church? The catechism is clear that those are "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." CCC 837 In contrast, those who "do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter...[but] who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church." CCC 838 The catechism speaks also of Jews, Muslims, other non-Christian religions and explains how each is related to to the People of God in various ways. CCC 839-843

The Church is Apostolic. She is built on a lasting foundation: "the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev. 21:14). She was founded on the apostles -- the witnesses chosen and sent on mission by Christ Himself. With the help of the Holy Spirit dwelling within her, the Church keeps and hands on the teaching, the "deposit of faith" received and handed down from the apostles. Finally, the church is preserved formally, officially by the bishops -- successors of the apostles -- in an unbroken chain from Peter until our day. They continue to teach, sanctify and govern the church "assisted by priests, in union with the successor of Peter, the Church's supreme pastor." CCC 857

Christ governs the church through Peter and the other apostles, who are present in their successors, the Pope and the college of bishops. "This 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." CCC 881 The Bishop of Rome, the Pope, enjoys by divine institution "full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered." CCC 882 The individual bishop is the visible source and foundation of unity in his own particular church or diocese. "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." CCC 939

To preserve God's people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error, "Christ endowed the Church's shepherds with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals." CCC 890 The catechism explains clearly how this exercise takes place. CCC 891-892 The doctrine of infallibility is often misunderstood. The pope can err when it comes to predicting the weather or the stock market. But under certain specific conditions he
cannot err: when he is speaking authoritatively as pope, as the successor of Peter; when he is speaking to the entire church; and when he is explicitly defining a doctrine of faith or morals. When these circumstances are in place, the pope cannot err. The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops when, together with Peter's successor, they exercise their supreme teaching authority, above all in an Ecumencial Council. Such pronoucements "'must be adhered to with the obedience of faith.' This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself. CCC 891

Even with regards non-infallible matters, that of the “ordinary Magisterium,” ( a teaching which leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals), the church teaches that “the faithful ‘are to adhere to it with religious assent’ which, though distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an extension of it.” CCC 892

Mary, Mother of the Church

Finally and appropriately, in this month of May, a month traditionally dedicated to the Blessed Mother, the catechism speaks of Mary -- Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church. “She is the first and greatest of all the disciples of Christ.” USCCA 143 “What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ.” CCC 487

"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...a wholly unique member of the Church'; indeed, she is the ‘exemplary realization’ (typus) of the Church." CCC 967 "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 and 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.'" CCC 968

It was Paul VI, at the beginning of the third session of the Second Vatican Council, that he announced that Mary would be honored under the title “Mother of the Church.” USCCA 146

“Like Mary, the Church has a maternal role, giving birth to people in Christ. The Church can never cease to look at Mary, who gave birth to Jesus Christ.” USCCA 146 We need only think of the Easter Vigil around the world and the number of new Catholics who came into full communion with the Catholic Church that night. It is one of the best kept secrets.

One last point! Contrary to false information, we do not worship Mary or place her on equal footing with her Son. At the same time, from the beginning of the Church, Christians have sought Mary’s prays and assistance. She is a powerful intercessor. Remember Cana -- “Do whatever He tells you!” Mary always leads us to her Son.

So on this May day, we draw consolation and certain hope from Mary. We believe that Mary, the Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, continues in heaven to exercise her maternal and intercessory role on our behalf.

And together, we pray:

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.