51. The Origin of the Church
1. The Church: A Mystery of Faith
The Church is a complex reality. She is not merely a human society, but a supernatural one. She is a supernatural mystery. Thus, mankind needs faith to understand the nature of the Church.
The Church is present in the world and transcending it at the same time. She is a mystery of God’s love that only divine revelation can clarify. “Proceeding from the love of the eternal Father, the Church was founded by Christ in time and gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.”1
On the day of Pentecost, Christ the Lord sent the Holy Spirit. The missions of Christ and the Holy Spirit comprise one joint, inseparable mission. It is accomplished in the Church, which is the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Through this joint mission, Christ associates the faithful in his communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit prepares people to receive Christ, manifests to them the risen Christ, and makes the mystery of Christ present—especially in the Eucharist—to lead them to communion with God, so that they may bear “much fruit” (Jn 15:5). Thus, the Holy Spirit builds, gives life, and sanctifies the Church. The mission of the Church is not added to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit—it is its sacrament. The Church is the sacrament of the communion of the Blessed Trinity with mankind.2
These statements sum up the explanation of the Church’s nature offered by the sources of revelation (Sacred Scripture and Tradition):
· The Church is the new people of God.
· The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ enlivened by the Holy Spirit.
· The Church is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
· Primarily and fundamentally, the Church is a living community, a mystery of communion “in Christ,” between God and mankind. Christ is brought to humanity through the Holy Spirit. Traditionally, this mystery of the union of mankind and God in Jesus Christ has been expressed not by one, but by several terms.
· The Church on earth is also the instrument, or sacrament, of the union between mankind and God. She is the means of salvation established by God.
Depending on which aspect we want to emphasize, we say that the Church is at the same time visible and invisible, interior and exterior, or mystical and institutional.
When we emphasize the institutional aspect, we say that the Church is an organic and hierarchical society, structured and governed by the pope and the bishops under the supreme authority of the Roman pontiff, who is head of the episcopal college. All her members, without exception, have an active role to play.
When we refer to the mystical aspect, we say that the Church is a Trinitarian mystery. Being the mystery of Christ, she enables us to share in his divine life as God’s Son, “for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph 2:18). In the Church, we can see (though in a veiled way) the mystery of the divine life of the Blessed Trinity, a mystery that one must accept on faith.
So that we never forget, we need to meditate frequently on the fact that the Church is a deep, great mystery. We cannot fully understand the Church on this earth. If men, using only their reason, were to analyze her, they would see only a group of people who abide by certain precepts and think in a similar way; but that would not be the Church.3
2. Preparation of the Church in the History of Salvation
God did not reveal the Church as an abstract notion; he revealed the Church concretely by progressively building her and bringing her to completion.
The most important document of the Second Vatican Council on the Church describes the history of salvation thus:
The eternal Father, in accordance with the utterly gratuitous and mysterious design of his wisdom and goodness, created the whole universe.4
In the first chapters of Genesis, mankind appears to have a certain community of life with God; thus, creation is a preparation for the Church.5
… And [God] chose to raise up men to share in his own divine life …6
Grace, which makes us children of God, is the “sharing of divine life.” Mankind was created in the state of original justice, a likeness of the salvation brought by the Church. Thus, this period is also a prophetic anticipation of the Church.
… And when all men had fallen in Adam, God did not abandon them, but at all times held out to them the means of salvation, bestowed in consideration of Christ, the Redeemer …7
Adam’s sin severed his special connection with God. The consequences of sin were as follows:
· Mankind was cut off from God (cf. Gn 3:8).
· Mankind was cut off from itself (cf. Gn 3:19).
· Mankind was cut off from his fellowman (cf. Gn 2:18; 3:16).
· Mankind was cut off from the material universe (cf. Gn 3:18).
· Mankind would suffer death (cf. Gn 3:19).
God’s compassion for his people—the first promise of salvation—appears immediately after the narration of the first sin. From then on, there is a new relationship between mankind and God. After Adam’s sin, the mystery of the Church—the instrument of the salvation of mankind—is present in the expectation of the Redeemer.
The Latin word ecclesia (ekklesia in Greek, from ek-kalein—”to call out”) means “assembly.” This term is frequently used in the Greek text of the Old Testament to designate the assembly of the chosen people (cf. Ex 19). The first community of those who believed in Christ called itself “ecclesia,” recognizing itself as the heir of that assembly. In this “Ecclesia,” God “calls” his people from the entire world. The English term Church is derived from the Greek Kiriaké (a word related to Kyrios); it means “those who belong to the Lord.”
3. The Covenants of God with Humanity
3a) The Old Covenant
In history, God prepared for the coming of the Messiah and the foundation of the Church by singling out the people of Israel as his chosen people.
The Church of Christ acknowledges that in God’s plan of salvation, the beginning of her faith and election is to be found in the patriarchs, Moses, and the prophets.8
In the time of the patriarchs, God established a special covenant with the Hebrews. Beginning with Abraham, God entered into the history of mankind, progressively and gratuitously forging an alliance or covenant. This alliance was the seed of a new and deeper relationship between the whole of humanity and God. All generations of people on earth would be blessed through Abraham.
During the time of Moses, the Messianic orientation of the covenant is clear in the formal and solemn agreement on Sinai. God underlined the religious nature of his kingdom and its fulfillment in the Messiah through the prophets—especially Isaiah.
God demanded absolute faith from the Israelites, the people of the promise. Thus, Israel also became a people of believers (cf. Gn 12:1), the people of God--Qahal Yahweh. This first covenant of God with his people was an anticipation of the Church. The holy city (Jerusalem) and the dwelling of Yahweh (the temple) also prefigured the Church.
The Israelites broke the first covenant (cf. Jer 31:31ff; Ez 36:25ff). Thus, there was suffering, yet also hope among them. God announced that he would create a new alliance with the few who would remain faithful, the remnant of Israel (cf. Is 4:2–3). The New Covenant would be different from the Old Covenant in that:
· it would be more interior (cf. Ez 36:27);
· it would be definitive and eternal (cf. Jer 31:31);
· it would have a more personal character (cf. Ez 14:11);
· there would be forgiveness of sins (cf. Ez 36:25; Jer 31:34).
Thus, the Jews were waiting for the New Covenant to be established through the Messiah.
3b) The New Covenant in the Church
In fulfillment of the Father’s eternal decree and with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). He reconciled heaven and earth by carrying out the work of humanity’s redemption and sanctification. He forgave sins, taught the doctrine of life, and gave himself up out of love for us. Still, since he had to return to his Father after the glorification of his humanity, he founded the Church so that the fruits of the Redemption would be applied in every time and place.
The documents of the Second Vatican Council summarize the origin of the Church by saying:
The eternal Father … determined to call together in a holy Church those who should believe in Christ. Already present in figure at the beginning of the world; this Church was prepared in marvelous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the old Alliance.9
The Church founded by Christ is a historical reality. She is continuous with the former people of God in the Old Testament. However, what was a promise, a prefiguration, or a preparation in the people of Israel became a reality, a fulfillment, and a completion in the Church of Christ.
To redeem us, Christ used his human nature, acquired through the Most Blessed Virgin. To sanctify us, he uses the Church, which he has endowed with the necessary means for all souls to reach holiness.
The Church was established in this last age of the world, and made manifest in the outpouring of the Spirit. She will be brought to glorious completion at the end of time.10
4. Christ Founded the Church
4a) The Kingdom of God in the Gospel
We read in the Gospel that Jesus began his preaching by announcing the arrival of the Kingdom of God. He said that he came to proclaim the inauguration of the Kingdom: “I was sent for this purpose” (Lk 4:43). The images that he used point to a certain imminence, a presence of that Kingdom.
Christ himself unfolds the Kingdom before humanity in his words, deeds, and very presence. To embrace Jesus’ word is to embrace the Kingdom. The humanity of Christ makes the Kingdom of God present, and the Kingdom of God is mysteriously present in the Church.
The Church receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God; she is, on earth, the seed and the beginning of that Kingdom. While she slowly grows to maturity, the Church longs for the completed kingdom. With all her strength, hopes and desires to be united in glory with her king.11
There are three distinct stages in the foundation of the Kingdom:
i) The first stage encompasses the whole of Christ’s public life, during which he began the Kingdom by proclaiming the good news given by God (cf. Mk 1:14–15). At the same time, he organized this Kingdom into a visible Church, his Church (cf. Mt 16:18).
ii) The second stage, in which the foundation becomes active, began when Christ sealed the New Covenant between God and mankind with his sacrifice.
iii) The third and last stage—the public manifestation and mission of the Church, “the era of the Church”—was inaugurated by the visible coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The Acts of the Apostles describes the beginning of this stage.
It is a dogma of faith that Christ founded the Church.
Sacred Scripture gives an eloquent description of Christ’s intention to found the Church. Our Lord spoke in parables to the crowds, explaining the new order of things: “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field” (Mt 13:31). On other occasions, he spoke of the church as a net, yeast fermenting the mass of dough, a hidden treasure, or a valuable pearl.
Both the Church’s living Tradition and her Magisterium have continuously professed the divine origin of the Church as a truth of faith. The two most recent ecumenical councils have offered summaries of this teaching. The Second Vatican Council stated:
To carry out the will of the Father, Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth and revealed to us his mystery; by his obedience he brought about our redemption. The Church—that is, the kingdom of Christ—already present in mystery, grows visibly through the power of God in the world.12
The First Vatican Council taught:
To render the saving work of redemption lasting, the eternal Shepherd and Guardian of souls decided to establish his holy Church. In her, as in the house of the living God, all the faithful will be held together by the bond of one faith and one love.13
4b) Announcement of the Features of the Church
The manner of the preaching of the Kingdom of God announced the features of the Church. Jesus did not merely preach the coming of a Kingdom of faith and love; he also made it clear that this Kingdom was to be a visible institution with a hierarchical structure. Thus, he prayed to the Father, “and called to him those whom he desired.… And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach” (Mk 3:13–14; cf. Mt 10:1; Lk 6:13). There were twelve apostles just as there were twelve tribes of Israel. They were the faithful remnant of the old Israel and the nucleus of the new Israel, the future people of God (cf. Mt 19:28).
The following texts reveal that Christ had decided to build his Church on the apostles, especially Peter.
· Mt 16:16–20. Peter will be the stone to found the Church and he will receive a certain power, the “keys of the kingdom.” This power is also a service, the Petrine ministry.
· Lk 22:32. This passage relates the first application of this ecclesial power: Peter should sustain the faith of his brethren.
· Mt 18:18. Our Lord promised that the apostles should share the power to govern the Church: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
These texts show that Jesus wanted to entrust his Kingdom to the apostles and perpetuate his presence through them. Thus, future generations will find Christ’s salvation within the Church.
Every aspect of Christ’s life is connected to founding his Church. Still, Jesus announced that his mission could not be accomplished without the cross (cf. Mt 16:21; Mk 8:31). Thus, Tradition and Magisterium have understood that the Church was born in a special way on the cross:
The Word of God to achieve the salvation of all, not only desired to be nailed to the Cross and die on it, but to suffer the perforation of his side by a lance, after giving up his soul. On issuing from his side water and blood, the one and only Holy Mother Church was formed, immaculate and virginal, the spouse of Christ, just as the first woman Eve was formed from the side of the first man while he slept.14
The new alliance is accomplished by the blood of Christ with his death on the cross. In the Last Supper, he instituted the means to make that alliance effective, namely, the Eucharist (which makes the Church) and Holy Orders (which allows the Church to make the Eucharist).
With the Resurrection, the sacrifice of the cross appeared in proper perspective, not as a failure but as the accomplishment of God’s plans for the world. The Resurrection is the birth of the Church.
After the Resurrection, Jesus conferred the power he had promised on the apostles: “‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (Jn 20:21–23).
Shortly before his ascent to heaven, Jesus gave the apostles a mission: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). “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” (Mt 28:19–20).
Our Lord’s promise began to reach fulfillment at Pentecost, when “the Holy Spirit was sent … in order that he might continually sanctify the Church.”15 Pentecost is the manifestation and promulgation of the Church: She will reach her perfection in heaven as the assembly of all the redeemed (cf. Rv 14:4).16
5. The Immutability, Indefectibility, and Perennial Nature of the Church
As a result of her divine origin, the Church is immutably constituted, indefectible (that is, she will not perish or go wayward), and perennial. “We believe that the Church which Christ founded and for which he prayed is indefectibly one in faith and in worship, and one in the communion of a single hierarchy.”17
The Church’s indefectibility is founded on her union with Christ, the head of her body, and the Holy Spirit, her source of life.
The Church’s indefectibility means the following:
· The Church will never perish.
· The Church will never fail in her mission.
· The Church will not undergo any substantial change in her constitution, doctrine, or worship.
Since she has a divine origin, no human being can alter her essential aspects. Moreover, Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, guarantees the immutability of the Church’s constitution.
The Church can be persecuted, but she cannot perish or be destroyed. She will be present on earth until the end of time—she will attain her fullness in heaven—because Jesus Christ will be with her always, as he promised.
The prophecies of the Old Testament spoke of an eternal covenant between God and man, an eternal and indestructible kingdom. When God became man, the archangel Gabriel declared to Mary: “He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:33). Christ built his Church on a living rock and promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against her (cf. Mt 16:18). These words express the Church’s indefectibility and perennial character.
6. The Blessed Trinity and the Church
Several passages in the Gospel of St. John (cf. Jn 7:29; 15:26; 17:22–23) show that the origin of the Church is the work of the Blessed Trinity.
One should not forget the complex character of the nature of the Church: The Church is concurrently visible and invisible, interior and exterior, mystical and institutional.
When we refer to her mystical aspect, we say that the Church is a Trinitarian mystery. As we have seen, the Church originates from God the Father’s will to save all mankind in Christ.
Being the mystery of Christ, the Church enables us to share in his divine life as God’s Son, “for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph 2:18). The Church also shares Christ’s mission: “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (Jn 20:21). Thus, the Church appears as the fruit of the divine missions, namely, the mission of God the Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit. On several occasions, the Second Vatican Council refers to this Trinitarian nature of the Church.
The Spirit dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful, as in a temple (cf. 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19). In them he prays and bears witness to their adoptive sonship (cf. Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15–16, 26). Guiding the Church in the way of all truth (cf. Jn 16:13) and unifying her in communion and in the work of ministry, he bestows upon her varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her and adorns her with his fruits (cf. Eph 4:11–12; 1 Cor 12:4; Gal 5:22). Thus, the universal Church is seen to be ‘a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.’18
The role (munus) of the Church in the eternal decree of salvation is to bring people to unity, both among themselves and with God. The pattern of unity is the very unity of the Blessed Trinity: “That they may be one, even as we are one” (Jn 17:11).
There is a radical difference between the Church and all other human institutions because of the supernatural character of the Church. The Church is truly God’s family.
Footnotes:
1. GS, 40; cf. CCC, 770–771.
2. Cf. CCC, 731–741.
3. St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Supernatural Aim of the Church, p. 2.
4. LG, 2; cf. CCC, 758–769.
5. Cf. CCC, 760.
6. LG, 2.
7. Ibid.
8. NA, 4; cf. CCC, 761–762.
9. LG, 2.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid., 5.
12. Ibid., 3.
13. DS 3050; cf. CCC, 763–766.
14. DS 901.
15. LG, 4.
16. Cf. CCC, 767–769.
17. Paul VI, Creed of the People of God, 21.
18. LG, 4. St Cyprian, De Orat. Dom. 23.
The Church is a complex reality. She is not merely a human society, but a supernatural one. She is a supernatural mystery. Thus, mankind needs faith to understand the nature of the Church.
The Church is present in the world and transcending it at the same time. She is a mystery of God’s love that only divine revelation can clarify. “Proceeding from the love of the eternal Father, the Church was founded by Christ in time and gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.”1
On the day of Pentecost, Christ the Lord sent the Holy Spirit. The missions of Christ and the Holy Spirit comprise one joint, inseparable mission. It is accomplished in the Church, which is the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Through this joint mission, Christ associates the faithful in his communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit prepares people to receive Christ, manifests to them the risen Christ, and makes the mystery of Christ present—especially in the Eucharist—to lead them to communion with God, so that they may bear “much fruit” (Jn 15:5). Thus, the Holy Spirit builds, gives life, and sanctifies the Church. The mission of the Church is not added to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit—it is its sacrament. The Church is the sacrament of the communion of the Blessed Trinity with mankind.2
These statements sum up the explanation of the Church’s nature offered by the sources of revelation (Sacred Scripture and Tradition):
· The Church is the new people of God.
· The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ enlivened by the Holy Spirit.
· The Church is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
· Primarily and fundamentally, the Church is a living community, a mystery of communion “in Christ,” between God and mankind. Christ is brought to humanity through the Holy Spirit. Traditionally, this mystery of the union of mankind and God in Jesus Christ has been expressed not by one, but by several terms.
· The Church on earth is also the instrument, or sacrament, of the union between mankind and God. She is the means of salvation established by God.
Depending on which aspect we want to emphasize, we say that the Church is at the same time visible and invisible, interior and exterior, or mystical and institutional.
When we emphasize the institutional aspect, we say that the Church is an organic and hierarchical society, structured and governed by the pope and the bishops under the supreme authority of the Roman pontiff, who is head of the episcopal college. All her members, without exception, have an active role to play.
When we refer to the mystical aspect, we say that the Church is a Trinitarian mystery. Being the mystery of Christ, she enables us to share in his divine life as God’s Son, “for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph 2:18). In the Church, we can see (though in a veiled way) the mystery of the divine life of the Blessed Trinity, a mystery that one must accept on faith.
So that we never forget, we need to meditate frequently on the fact that the Church is a deep, great mystery. We cannot fully understand the Church on this earth. If men, using only their reason, were to analyze her, they would see only a group of people who abide by certain precepts and think in a similar way; but that would not be the Church.3
2. Preparation of the Church in the History of Salvation
God did not reveal the Church as an abstract notion; he revealed the Church concretely by progressively building her and bringing her to completion.
The most important document of the Second Vatican Council on the Church describes the history of salvation thus:
The eternal Father, in accordance with the utterly gratuitous and mysterious design of his wisdom and goodness, created the whole universe.4
In the first chapters of Genesis, mankind appears to have a certain community of life with God; thus, creation is a preparation for the Church.5
… And [God] chose to raise up men to share in his own divine life …6
Grace, which makes us children of God, is the “sharing of divine life.” Mankind was created in the state of original justice, a likeness of the salvation brought by the Church. Thus, this period is also a prophetic anticipation of the Church.
… And when all men had fallen in Adam, God did not abandon them, but at all times held out to them the means of salvation, bestowed in consideration of Christ, the Redeemer …7
Adam’s sin severed his special connection with God. The consequences of sin were as follows:
· Mankind was cut off from God (cf. Gn 3:8).
· Mankind was cut off from itself (cf. Gn 3:19).
· Mankind was cut off from his fellowman (cf. Gn 2:18; 3:16).
· Mankind was cut off from the material universe (cf. Gn 3:18).
· Mankind would suffer death (cf. Gn 3:19).
God’s compassion for his people—the first promise of salvation—appears immediately after the narration of the first sin. From then on, there is a new relationship between mankind and God. After Adam’s sin, the mystery of the Church—the instrument of the salvation of mankind—is present in the expectation of the Redeemer.
The Latin word ecclesia (ekklesia in Greek, from ek-kalein—”to call out”) means “assembly.” This term is frequently used in the Greek text of the Old Testament to designate the assembly of the chosen people (cf. Ex 19). The first community of those who believed in Christ called itself “ecclesia,” recognizing itself as the heir of that assembly. In this “Ecclesia,” God “calls” his people from the entire world. The English term Church is derived from the Greek Kiriaké (a word related to Kyrios); it means “those who belong to the Lord.”
3. The Covenants of God with Humanity
3a) The Old Covenant
In history, God prepared for the coming of the Messiah and the foundation of the Church by singling out the people of Israel as his chosen people.
The Church of Christ acknowledges that in God’s plan of salvation, the beginning of her faith and election is to be found in the patriarchs, Moses, and the prophets.8
In the time of the patriarchs, God established a special covenant with the Hebrews. Beginning with Abraham, God entered into the history of mankind, progressively and gratuitously forging an alliance or covenant. This alliance was the seed of a new and deeper relationship between the whole of humanity and God. All generations of people on earth would be blessed through Abraham.
During the time of Moses, the Messianic orientation of the covenant is clear in the formal and solemn agreement on Sinai. God underlined the religious nature of his kingdom and its fulfillment in the Messiah through the prophets—especially Isaiah.
God demanded absolute faith from the Israelites, the people of the promise. Thus, Israel also became a people of believers (cf. Gn 12:1), the people of God--Qahal Yahweh. This first covenant of God with his people was an anticipation of the Church. The holy city (Jerusalem) and the dwelling of Yahweh (the temple) also prefigured the Church.
The Israelites broke the first covenant (cf. Jer 31:31ff; Ez 36:25ff). Thus, there was suffering, yet also hope among them. God announced that he would create a new alliance with the few who would remain faithful, the remnant of Israel (cf. Is 4:2–3). The New Covenant would be different from the Old Covenant in that:
· it would be more interior (cf. Ez 36:27);
· it would be definitive and eternal (cf. Jer 31:31);
· it would have a more personal character (cf. Ez 14:11);
· there would be forgiveness of sins (cf. Ez 36:25; Jer 31:34).
Thus, the Jews were waiting for the New Covenant to be established through the Messiah.
3b) The New Covenant in the Church
In fulfillment of the Father’s eternal decree and with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). He reconciled heaven and earth by carrying out the work of humanity’s redemption and sanctification. He forgave sins, taught the doctrine of life, and gave himself up out of love for us. Still, since he had to return to his Father after the glorification of his humanity, he founded the Church so that the fruits of the Redemption would be applied in every time and place.
The documents of the Second Vatican Council summarize the origin of the Church by saying:
The eternal Father … determined to call together in a holy Church those who should believe in Christ. Already present in figure at the beginning of the world; this Church was prepared in marvelous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the old Alliance.9
The Church founded by Christ is a historical reality. She is continuous with the former people of God in the Old Testament. However, what was a promise, a prefiguration, or a preparation in the people of Israel became a reality, a fulfillment, and a completion in the Church of Christ.
To redeem us, Christ used his human nature, acquired through the Most Blessed Virgin. To sanctify us, he uses the Church, which he has endowed with the necessary means for all souls to reach holiness.
The Church was established in this last age of the world, and made manifest in the outpouring of the Spirit. She will be brought to glorious completion at the end of time.10
4. Christ Founded the Church
4a) The Kingdom of God in the Gospel
We read in the Gospel that Jesus began his preaching by announcing the arrival of the Kingdom of God. He said that he came to proclaim the inauguration of the Kingdom: “I was sent for this purpose” (Lk 4:43). The images that he used point to a certain imminence, a presence of that Kingdom.
Christ himself unfolds the Kingdom before humanity in his words, deeds, and very presence. To embrace Jesus’ word is to embrace the Kingdom. The humanity of Christ makes the Kingdom of God present, and the Kingdom of God is mysteriously present in the Church.
The Church receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God; she is, on earth, the seed and the beginning of that Kingdom. While she slowly grows to maturity, the Church longs for the completed kingdom. With all her strength, hopes and desires to be united in glory with her king.11
There are three distinct stages in the foundation of the Kingdom:
i) The first stage encompasses the whole of Christ’s public life, during which he began the Kingdom by proclaiming the good news given by God (cf. Mk 1:14–15). At the same time, he organized this Kingdom into a visible Church, his Church (cf. Mt 16:18).
ii) The second stage, in which the foundation becomes active, began when Christ sealed the New Covenant between God and mankind with his sacrifice.
iii) The third and last stage—the public manifestation and mission of the Church, “the era of the Church”—was inaugurated by the visible coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The Acts of the Apostles describes the beginning of this stage.
It is a dogma of faith that Christ founded the Church.
Sacred Scripture gives an eloquent description of Christ’s intention to found the Church. Our Lord spoke in parables to the crowds, explaining the new order of things: “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field” (Mt 13:31). On other occasions, he spoke of the church as a net, yeast fermenting the mass of dough, a hidden treasure, or a valuable pearl.
Both the Church’s living Tradition and her Magisterium have continuously professed the divine origin of the Church as a truth of faith. The two most recent ecumenical councils have offered summaries of this teaching. The Second Vatican Council stated:
To carry out the will of the Father, Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth and revealed to us his mystery; by his obedience he brought about our redemption. The Church—that is, the kingdom of Christ—already present in mystery, grows visibly through the power of God in the world.12
The First Vatican Council taught:
To render the saving work of redemption lasting, the eternal Shepherd and Guardian of souls decided to establish his holy Church. In her, as in the house of the living God, all the faithful will be held together by the bond of one faith and one love.13
4b) Announcement of the Features of the Church
The manner of the preaching of the Kingdom of God announced the features of the Church. Jesus did not merely preach the coming of a Kingdom of faith and love; he also made it clear that this Kingdom was to be a visible institution with a hierarchical structure. Thus, he prayed to the Father, “and called to him those whom he desired.… And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach” (Mk 3:13–14; cf. Mt 10:1; Lk 6:13). There were twelve apostles just as there were twelve tribes of Israel. They were the faithful remnant of the old Israel and the nucleus of the new Israel, the future people of God (cf. Mt 19:28).
The following texts reveal that Christ had decided to build his Church on the apostles, especially Peter.
· Mt 16:16–20. Peter will be the stone to found the Church and he will receive a certain power, the “keys of the kingdom.” This power is also a service, the Petrine ministry.
· Lk 22:32. This passage relates the first application of this ecclesial power: Peter should sustain the faith of his brethren.
· Mt 18:18. Our Lord promised that the apostles should share the power to govern the Church: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
These texts show that Jesus wanted to entrust his Kingdom to the apostles and perpetuate his presence through them. Thus, future generations will find Christ’s salvation within the Church.
Every aspect of Christ’s life is connected to founding his Church. Still, Jesus announced that his mission could not be accomplished without the cross (cf. Mt 16:21; Mk 8:31). Thus, Tradition and Magisterium have understood that the Church was born in a special way on the cross:
The Word of God to achieve the salvation of all, not only desired to be nailed to the Cross and die on it, but to suffer the perforation of his side by a lance, after giving up his soul. On issuing from his side water and blood, the one and only Holy Mother Church was formed, immaculate and virginal, the spouse of Christ, just as the first woman Eve was formed from the side of the first man while he slept.14
The new alliance is accomplished by the blood of Christ with his death on the cross. In the Last Supper, he instituted the means to make that alliance effective, namely, the Eucharist (which makes the Church) and Holy Orders (which allows the Church to make the Eucharist).
With the Resurrection, the sacrifice of the cross appeared in proper perspective, not as a failure but as the accomplishment of God’s plans for the world. The Resurrection is the birth of the Church.
After the Resurrection, Jesus conferred the power he had promised on the apostles: “‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (Jn 20:21–23).
Shortly before his ascent to heaven, Jesus gave the apostles a mission: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). “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” (Mt 28:19–20).
Our Lord’s promise began to reach fulfillment at Pentecost, when “the Holy Spirit was sent … in order that he might continually sanctify the Church.”15 Pentecost is the manifestation and promulgation of the Church: She will reach her perfection in heaven as the assembly of all the redeemed (cf. Rv 14:4).16
5. The Immutability, Indefectibility, and Perennial Nature of the Church
As a result of her divine origin, the Church is immutably constituted, indefectible (that is, she will not perish or go wayward), and perennial. “We believe that the Church which Christ founded and for which he prayed is indefectibly one in faith and in worship, and one in the communion of a single hierarchy.”17
The Church’s indefectibility is founded on her union with Christ, the head of her body, and the Holy Spirit, her source of life.
The Church’s indefectibility means the following:
· The Church will never perish.
· The Church will never fail in her mission.
· The Church will not undergo any substantial change in her constitution, doctrine, or worship.
Since she has a divine origin, no human being can alter her essential aspects. Moreover, Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, guarantees the immutability of the Church’s constitution.
The Church can be persecuted, but she cannot perish or be destroyed. She will be present on earth until the end of time—she will attain her fullness in heaven—because Jesus Christ will be with her always, as he promised.
The prophecies of the Old Testament spoke of an eternal covenant between God and man, an eternal and indestructible kingdom. When God became man, the archangel Gabriel declared to Mary: “He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:33). Christ built his Church on a living rock and promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against her (cf. Mt 16:18). These words express the Church’s indefectibility and perennial character.
6. The Blessed Trinity and the Church
Several passages in the Gospel of St. John (cf. Jn 7:29; 15:26; 17:22–23) show that the origin of the Church is the work of the Blessed Trinity.
One should not forget the complex character of the nature of the Church: The Church is concurrently visible and invisible, interior and exterior, mystical and institutional.
When we refer to her mystical aspect, we say that the Church is a Trinitarian mystery. As we have seen, the Church originates from God the Father’s will to save all mankind in Christ.
Being the mystery of Christ, the Church enables us to share in his divine life as God’s Son, “for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph 2:18). The Church also shares Christ’s mission: “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (Jn 20:21). Thus, the Church appears as the fruit of the divine missions, namely, the mission of God the Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit. On several occasions, the Second Vatican Council refers to this Trinitarian nature of the Church.
The Spirit dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful, as in a temple (cf. 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19). In them he prays and bears witness to their adoptive sonship (cf. Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15–16, 26). Guiding the Church in the way of all truth (cf. Jn 16:13) and unifying her in communion and in the work of ministry, he bestows upon her varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her and adorns her with his fruits (cf. Eph 4:11–12; 1 Cor 12:4; Gal 5:22). Thus, the universal Church is seen to be ‘a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.’18
The role (munus) of the Church in the eternal decree of salvation is to bring people to unity, both among themselves and with God. The pattern of unity is the very unity of the Blessed Trinity: “That they may be one, even as we are one” (Jn 17:11).
There is a radical difference between the Church and all other human institutions because of the supernatural character of the Church. The Church is truly God’s family.
Footnotes:
1. GS, 40; cf. CCC, 770–771.
2. Cf. CCC, 731–741.
3. St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Supernatural Aim of the Church, p. 2.
4. LG, 2; cf. CCC, 758–769.
5. Cf. CCC, 760.
6. LG, 2.
7. Ibid.
8. NA, 4; cf. CCC, 761–762.
9. LG, 2.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid., 5.
12. Ibid., 3.
13. DS 3050; cf. CCC, 763–766.
14. DS 901.
15. LG, 4.
16. Cf. CCC, 767–769.
17. Paul VI, Creed of the People of God, 21.
18. LG, 4. St Cyprian, De Orat. Dom. 23.