NATURE OF THE CHURCH

1. THE CHURCH AS A MYSTERY

 It is a reality we can never fully grasp because there is always more to learn.
 It is a God given reality we believe in and love.
 A reality imbued with the hidden presence of God – always open to new and greater
exploration.
 It has a unique relationship to God himself – the Trinity.
To the Father who resolve to assemble all those who believe in Christ in the Holy
Spirit.
To the Son, Christ, the One Mediator, established and ceaselessly sustains here on
earth His Holy Church.
To the Holy Spirit who dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the Faithful.
The Church is a mystery by reason of:

 Its origin in the Father’s plan of Salvation.

 Its ongoing life in the Risen Christ and the Spirit.
 Its Ultimate goal in the fully achieved Kingdom of God.

2. THE CHURCH AS A SACRAMENT

According to Lumen Gentium
“The Church, in Christ, is the nature of Sacrament – a sign and instrument, that is of communion
with God and of unity among men.”
 It is a sign, which means that it is a reality that points beyond itself.
 It is a means for the representation and transmission of salvation.
 As representing sign – she is also the first fruit of the work of salvation.
 The Church is a group of men and women, celebrating their shared faith in Jesus,
striving to live and follow the example of their lord in the ways of love, charity and hope.
While sinfulness characterizes such community of faith, their vulnerability to temptation
and sin becomes both an occasion and a reason to inspire one another in their
difficulties to imbibe joy and courage in their weaknesses and to celebrate their ways of
goodness and holiness – all for God’s greater glory.
IMAGES OF THE CHURCH

1. KINGDOM OF GOD
 The major theme of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels.
 Kingdom which is already here but not yet.
 The pilgrim Church stands between the already here and not yet.
 The Church is the sign and instrument of the Kingdom of God
2. PEOPLE OF GOD
 Vat. II’s favorite image of the Church.
Distinguishing Characteristics:

a. Its cause is God

b. Its head is Christ who was handed over to death for our sins
 c. Its members are those who believe in Christ who are reborn through the Word of the
Living God, of water and the Spirit in baptism.
d. Its condition is that of the dignity and freedom of the Sons and daughters of God, in
whose hearts the Holy Spirit dwells
e. Its law is Christ’s new commandment of love and the new law of the Spirit
f. Its mission is to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world, its salvation
g. Its destiny is the final kingdom of God, brought to perfection at the end of time.
And by virtue of our baptism, we become a priestly. Prophetic and kingly people.

 Priestly: we offer spiritual worship for the glory of God and salvation of men (cf.LG 34)
 Prophetic: we give witness to Christ by our understanding of the faith [sensus fidei], and
the grace of speech (cf. Acts 2:17f) “so that the power of the Gospel may shine out in
daily family and social life” (LG 35)
 Kingly: we share in the power of Christ the king who came to serve and give his life as a
ransom for the many” (Mt. 20:28). Thus we serve others, especially the poor and the
suffering in whom we recognize the likeness of our poor and suffering Founder”( LG 8)
Such diversity of our tasks as priestly, prophetic and kingly people, with our various gifts, serves
as a means to reach out to others, to help them, to inspire them and to be one with them in our
road to the mutual pursuit for goodness and holiness so that all may be one in Christ Jesus.

3. BODY OF CHRIST
To say that the Church is the Body of Christ essentially means:
 One Body: believers who respond in God’s word and become members of Christ’s body,
become intimately connected 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
 Christ is the Head of the Body: all his members must strive to resemble like him, until
“Christ be formed” in them…and provide his Body, the Church, the gifts and assistance
by which we help one another along the way of salvation.
 The Church is the Bride of Christ: “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her,
that he might sanctify her,” He ahs joined her with himself in an everlasting covenant
and never stops caring for her as his own body.

UNITY IN DIVERSITY

Within Christ’s Body, the Church, there is a great variety of members and functions. (PCP II 94).
This means tat the unity of the Body of Christ is not uniformity. Rather. “there are different
kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries, but the same lord; there
are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone” (1 Cor 12:4-6)

4. TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in
you”
In Lumen Gentium (LG) 7, the council fathers describe the Church as the Temple of the Holy
Spirit:
In order that we might be unceasingly renewed in him, he has shared with us his Spirit
who, being one and the same in head and members, gives life to, unifies and moves the whole
body. Consequently, the Spirit’s work could be compared to the function which the soul, the
principle of life fulfils in the human body.

The work for redemption for the Church is moved, inspired and sustained by the Holy Spirit. It is
the Holy Spirit, through the gift and charisms of its members that strengthens the Church and
sustains her, especially in times of needs and adversities.
We are then reminded that our talents and abilities, our apostolates and ministries, our careers
and vocations are divine gifts from the same Holy Spirit intended in loving service to all.

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH’S LIFE

1. CHURCH AS ONE
The unity inherent in the Church is derived from its source, founder and communal life.
 From its source, the Church originated from the unity of the trinity: the Father, the
Son and the Spirit.
 The Church was instituted by Jesus Christ as its founder and further made united in
its communal life “into one body and one Spirit in the confession of one faith,
common sacramental worship, loving service to one another and loving obedience
to the vicar of Christ on earth. (CFC # 1391-1392)

 The invitation to unity is a calling, a task to be done.

 Hence we must be vigilant against the threats to unity brought about by heresy,
apostasy and schism.
 But the greatest cause of disunity is the reality of sin because where there are sins,
there are divisions, schisms, heresies and disputes.

We are then reminded that the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce
and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) enumerates the manner by which the Church
can carry out such task:
 A permanent renewal of the Church in greatere fidelity to her vocation.
 Conversion of heart as the faithful try to live holier lives according to the Gospel.
 Prayer in common should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical
movement
 Ecumenical formation of the faithful and especially of priests
 Fraternal knowledge of each other.
 Dialogue among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different
Churches and communities, and
 Collaboration among Christians in various areas of service to humankind.
Ways to foster unity

a. Ecumenism – is concerned with restoring unity of the Christian Churches… Efforts include
fair and respectful dialogue, working together on projects for the common good and even
common prayer.
b. Inter-religious dialogue – is a dialogue between the Catholic Church and the non Christian
religions, seeking common grounds of unity and holiness. It is a shared participation based
on mutual love, trust and hope between parties. Further the Catholic Church teaches: Even
non Christians who do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless
seek God with a sincere heart and moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they
know through the dictates of their conscience may achieve eternal salvation.”
(LG 16)
2. THE CHURCH AS HOLY
The book of Leviticus 19:2 reads:
Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God. Am holy.

The holiness of the Church originates from God who is holy and who calls on the Church to
follow and embody the same holiness in her on going life. Further, the CCC explains:

The Church is held as a matter of faith to be unfailingly holy, because

a. Christ, loved the Church as his bride, giving himself up for her to make her holy; he
joined her to himself as his body and endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
b. The Holy Spirit graces her with the fullness of the means of salvation and holiness.
 The sanctity of the Church has shone out in a good number of exemplars to
holiness (named and canonized saints).
 The Church also admits its own need for repentance – “the Church is in need of
being purified (LG 8), its radiance shines less brightly because of the sins of its
members,
 As a pilgrim Church, has a need of continual reformation (ecclesia semper
reformanda). The Church then “calls all in holiness” through the way of love and
charity.
 CHARITY/LOVE is the center of holiness uniting inseparably both worship of God
and service of our fellow human persons.
 Christ clearly taught this in the TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS OF LOVE.
 Vatican II confirms this: “love as the bond of perfection and fulfilment of the
law, governs, gives meaning to and perfects all the means of attaining holiness.
Hence it is the love of God and neighbor which mark the true disciple of Christ.

3. THE CHURCH AS CATHOLIC

CATHOLIC – Gk.” Katholikos” – meaning general, total or universal
It applies to the Church in two ways:
a. The Church is worldwide, sent to all peoples
 b. Being endowed with the fullness of the means for salvation, she announces the whole
true faith.
 The Church’s catholicity then is both a gift and a task which involves MISSION and
INCULTURATION.
 In its mission, the Church manifests a basic respect for local churches and cultures.
 Its Catholicity is not any monotonous uniformity but reaches out to the cultural
wealth of all peoples.
 When a Christian faith is accepted by a people, they bring their own cultural
heritage to bear. The Gospel becomes clothed in a new culture, while at the same
time, it purifies what is not authentic and strengthens the culture’s true human
values.
 This mutual interaction of the Christian message and human culture is an ongoing,
never completed process through history.
4. THE CHURCH AS APOSTOLIC
The Church is Apostolic in three basic ways
a. Jesus Christ grounded her permanently on the “foundation of the apostles”
b. She guards and transmits their teaching and witness
c. She continues to be instructed, sanctified and guided by the apostles through their
successors.
 As Apostolic, the Church is a hierarchical community, whose unity in faith and
communion are grounded in the successors of the Apostles, and especially of Peter.
 The challenge presented to the Church by its apostolic quality is commonly treated
under the term “apostolate” referring to the work of the lay faithful.
 PCP II recognizes the role of the lay faithful in various strata of society in spreading
the good news of Jesus Christ to all.

The Church: A Great Mystery and a Divine Gift

• We can only begin to understand the Church as mystery through analogy—through models.

• No matter what model—or combination of models—we choose, our models will fall short.

1. CHURCH AS INSTITUTION

The dictionary defines institution as an organization or body organized for promoting any object,
whether public or social.

When Jesus forms the Church He tells His Apostles:

“Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded
you”(Mt. 28:19-20).

a) This model emphasizes the structure and order of the Church (You are Peter and
upon this rock I will build my Church) – and in the hierarchy of the church. In the
Bible, we hear of it in the Council of Jerusalem (Acts)
 The Church, then, is an institution, the mission of which is to act as prophet, priest, and king.
These three roles are done by Jesus during His life on earth. As an institution, the Church is
obliged to live out these roles.

The Church is defined primarily in terms of its visible structures, especially the rights and powers
of its hierarchy. Church government is not democratic or representative, but hierarchical.
The Church as institution have leaders, members, have structures (HIERARCHY), policies and is
related with Rome.

Leadership Is Hierarchical

This model maintains that the Church’s leader-ship structure is part of the original Deposit of
Faith handed down by Christ’s disciples. Therefore, the authority of the ruling class is
understood as God-given, and should be accepted by the faithful unquestioningly.

Need for Order

This model reflects a need for order, unity, and consistency of teaching.

Members: All those who formally recognize themselves in relationship to an official Church
community and Church teachings.

Signs and functions:

 Popes, bishops, priests
 Catechism of the Catholic Church
 Canon Law
 Magisterium
 Diocesan directories

b) Strengths – clear roles and guidelines for living – but per Dulles this should never

be the most important model but rather strength in unity

This model lies in its visible manifestation of unity. Unlike any of the following models, all tests
of membership are clearly visible. This is the only model that must not be paramount. The
institution must serve other ends besides its own preservation.

2. CHURCH AS SACRAMENT

a) This means the Church is a visible sign of Christ still in the world today! A sign
and instrument of Grace in the world. It emphasizes the visible (human) and
invisible (Divine) nature of the church.
 In this model the Church is a sacrament, a sign and transmitter of God’s grace in the world.

Visible Sign
A sacrament is a “visible sign of an invisible grace.” The Church truly transmits grace—the
favorable presence of God.

Community
Sacraments are never merely individual transactions. Nobody baptizes, absolves, or anoints
themselves, and the Eucharist is not to be celebrated in solitude.
Here, the order of grace corresponds to the order of nature. Man comes into the world as a
member of a family, a race, a people.

b) Strengths – this connects with our Catholic way of looking at the world – our
sacra mentality – but it is hard to explain this concept.
The strength of this model is that the Church is truly a sign and an instrument of grace to its
members and to the world.

Grace
Members: All who share in the liturgical life of the Church, to be transformed by grace to be a
sign of Christ in the world.
Signs and functions:
 Liturgy
 Light and salt for the world
 Communal prayer
 Source of grace

3. CHURCH AS BODY OF CHRIST/MYSTICAL COMMUNION

Mystical Body 1) Mystical Communion

a) This model emphasizes community – but it is deeper than that – like a family that
is related by DNA, the church is a community that is related by Spirit – we are
connected to each other not just by what we say and do but by GOD! We are
united to God and to one another. We read in Acts about the followers of Jesus
being one in mind and heart.
b) Strengths – warm and welcoming - but we must remember it is more than that –
it is MYSTICAL COMMUNION, not just friendly fellowship/ Communion
The Church consists of people of faith who are united by their common participation in God’s
Spirit through Christ.
It is a communion of people, expressed by external bonds of creed, worship, and ecclesiastical
fellowship.
Furthermore, the strength of this model lies in its emphasis on the shared life of mutual
fellowship in loving community. It emphasizes sharing.

Members: All who share in the body of Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit.
 Signs and functions:
 Prayer groups
 Parishes
 Relationships

4. CHURCH AS Community/SCHOOL OF DISCIPLESHIP

The Church as a Community of the People of God.
The term community, as used in the modern Church, refers to people with a common interest
and bond of faith and love through which they individually and collectively strive for salvation.
The Church is a community called by Jesus into fellowship of life, love and truth.
As a fellowship, the Church is called on to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.
This means that through example and direct effort, the Church must help bring others to Jesus.

a) This model was the latest that Dulles added – it emphasizes that the Church is a
community of people that follow Jesus, trying to be like Jesus in everything they
do, say, pray, knowing that following Jesus may include suffering.

b) Strengths – a strong connection to Jesus, personal accountability – but with this

model we may lose sight of the universal church
It leads back to the concretely vivid model of the early Christian communities which, fired by the
love of Jesus and inspired by the word and Spirit, gathered to worship, to pray, to share and to
serve.

This model is programmatic for the task of envisioning a church that is renewed.

1. The church is a Communion – Christ wants His church to be “a communion of life, love and
truth”(LG, 9) “ a community of faith, hope and charity.”(LG,8)
The first disciples formed a community which they “devoted themselves to the teaching of the
apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers.”(Acts 2:42)
They were one “of heart and mind” and shared even the things they owned so that no one of
them was in want(Acts 4:32-35)

Unity in diversity (1Cor 12:12-30) –refers to the diversity of ministries: each part is needed by
every other part.

b) Equality in dignity – equality in Christian dignity of all members of the Church… “In virtue of
their rebirth in Christ there exists among all the Christian faithful a true equality with regard to
dignity…”(Code of Canon Law,208).

2. Participation – In the Church, nobody is so poor as to have nothing to give, and nobody is so
rich as to have nothing to receive(PCP II, 98).
In the Phils., participation largely means enabling the laity to participate more fully in the life
and mission of the Church.
 3. A Community-in-Mission – The Church is a Communion in a state of Mission… “Go, therefore,
and make disciples of all nations…And behold, I am with you always, until the end of age”(Mt.
28:19-20).
a) Our Missionary Vocation – “There is no doubt about it: the Phils. has a special missionary
vocation to
proclaim the Good News, to carry the light of Christ to the nations(Pope Paul II, Feb., 1981).
b) Inter-Religious Dialogue – is part of the Church’s Evangelizing Mission

5. CHURCH AS HERALD
In the old days the decrees of the king were announced at a public square by his messenger.
This messenger was known as herald.
Today, the Church is called a herald because it announces or proclaims the Good News of
salvation that God offers to everyone who believes in Him.
It is necessary for the Church to be herald because some people have never heard of this Good
News. Others may have heard of it partially.
So, the Church must be a herald of God’s love for us. This model of being herald is in obedience
to Jesus’ command to His Apostles. “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.” Jn. 20: 21

a) This model emphasizes the way the Church announces the Good News of the
Kingdom of God. The Church is a messenger of God’s saving love in the world,
constantly calling everyone to renewal and reform.

The herald model emphasizes faith and proclamation over interpersonal relations and mystical
communion.
The Church is a herald—one who receives an official message with the commission to pass it on.
It is the task of the Church to proclaim.

b) Strengths – calls us to look to the Gospels – but we have to be doers of the Word
too – we can’t just think about the concepts of the Gospels!

The Gospel Message: the strength of this model lies in its emphasis on the message of the
Gospel. Sometimes the spoken word eclipses the true Word of God, the Word Made Flesh. We
must not only proclaim and witness but also act.

Witness:
Members: All those who give witness to their life in Christ and see the Word of God as key.

Signs and functions:

 Bible studies
 Evangelization
 Missions
 Media
6. CHURCH AS SERVANT
Another task of the Church is known as “diakonia” or service.
Jesus illustrates this during the Last Supper when He takes off His cloak and washes the feet of
His disciples to show that to be great in the Kingdom of God, a person must serve others (Jn. 13:
1-17).
Christ entered the world to give witness to the truth, to save and not to judge, to forgive and
not to condemn, to serve and not to be served (GS3).
Thus, the Church must witness to God’s love by becoming a servant to others – by translating
God’s love into acts of charity for the poor, the lonely, the imprisoned, the sick and the suffering
and to anyone in need. (Mt. 25:31-46).

a) This model emphasizes the Church’s commitment to social justice – to doing

what Jesus did in caring for the ‘least.’ This model includes the action which
goes along with the words of the Herald.

The servant model shows that the Church is part of the total human family, sharing the same
concerns as the rest of humankind.

Ministry of Jesus
This model is based on the ministry of Jesus, the Suffering Servant of God, who was a man who
served others.
Just as Christ came into the world not to be served but to serve, so the Church, carrying on the
mission of Christ, seeks to serve the world.

b) Strengths – doing what Jesus did – we are living our faith! But – we must
remember that it is our FAITH that we are living – to balance action and faith!

Serving Others is the strength of this model lies in its emphasis on serving others, and not simply
serving the Church’s self-interests. Authentic service includes the ministry of the Word and
Sacrament. The concept of service must keep alive the distinctive mission and identity of the
Church.

Serving as Christ Did:

Members: All those who serve the needs of others as Christ did. “Whatever you did for one of
these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

Signs and functions:

 Hospitals
 Charities
 Service organizations
 Religious education classes

Name some of the servant groups of the Church:

 Deacons and priests
 Women religious
  Saint Vincent de Paul Society
 Campaign for Human Development
 Catholic Relief Services

7. CHURCH AS PILGRIM(PCP II Model)

Up to now as pilgrim Church we have been envisioning what the Church in the Philippines
should be.
While we must acknowledge the many wonderful contributions to the life of its members and to
the Philippine society, we have nevertheless pointed to avenues of renewal within the Church
itself.
The Church is not and will never be on this earth the perfect bride whom Christ presents to
himself, “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and
without blemish”(Eph. 5:27).

“Clasping sinners to her bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, she follows
constantly the path of penance and renewal”(LG,8), a path that she must walk on her paschal
pilgrimage.
Ours is an imperfect Church living amidst and ministering to a very imperfect society.
The Church makes her own the aspirations of this society for development, justice,
reconciliation and peace, its aspirations for God who alone can fulfill the longings of the human
heart.

She wants to continue accompanying the people of this land on their journey towards ideals to
which Jesus alone holds the key.
In order to be renewed as a Church, we must leave behind many ways of thinking, speaking and
acting which no longer effectively serve and perhaps even obstruct our evangelizing mission.
And so the Church, like a stranger in a foreign land, presses forward amid the persecution of the
world and the consolations of God, announcing the cross and death of the Lord until He
comes(1Cor. 11:26).

But by the power of the Risen Lord, she is given strength to overcome, in patience and in love,
her sorrow and her difficulties, both those that are from within and those that are from without,
so that she may reveal in the world, faithfully, however darkly, the mystery of Her Lord, until, in
the consummation, it shall be manifested in full light(LG,8).

Integrating the Models

Each model of Church offers helpful insights and positive contributions to understanding the
role of the Church in the world.
If the best insights are preserved from each model and integrated into one, a stronger vision of
the Church is achieved.

No Model Is Complete
In the end, none of the models is sufficient to address the fullness of God’s call to the Church.

Each model truly highlights and underscores a vital aspect of the Church.
 Institution
 Mystical Body / Communion
  Herald
 Servant
 Sacrament
 School of Discipleship
 Pilgrim

CONCLUSION:

The various images of the Church, its essential marks and models basically affirm the theological
truth that being Church is always an experience of a community and of communion among all
men and women. Salvation is a communal gift and task for all of us. To the best of our unique
gifts and charisms, we journey and labor together and inspire one another knowing that we are
heeding the same path of salvation.

Let our Church leaders set an example in their chosen vocation. As to our share, let us seek that
which brings people to communion and let us strive in every occasion to be more loving.