to the Kingdom of God by living their religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These vows are a visible sign for people on earth of the Lord they hope to meet at the end of their lives.
The clergy, by virtue of Holy Orders (see Chapter 9), share in the task of Christ in dispensing the mysteries of God, the sacraments, to fortify the pilgrim. Through teaching and preaching, they instruct the wayfarer toward the correct path to heaven.
The Mystical Body of Christ is also called the communion of saints (read more in Chapters 2 and 18). Like Paul’s body analogy, the communion of saints model of the Church indicates an organic unity of parts working together — the Church Militant, the Church Suffering, and the Church Triumphant:
Militant refers to the Church’s living members on earth who are in a daily battle against the world, flesh, and devil; the war is against evil, not other religions.
Suffering refers to the holy souls in purgatory, who died in the state of grace with no mortal sin on their souls but still had some attachments to their venial sins and to previously forgiven mortal sins. The soul realizes that it is in need of further purification before it can enter into the glories of heaven.
Triumphant refers to the angels and saints in heaven around the banquet table of God. They were victorious in the good fight against sin and evil and are now experiencing the joys of paradise.
Understanding the Four Marks of the Church
In Chapter 10, we walk you through the Nicene Creed, which is professed every Sunday and holy day. It speaks of four essential marks, or identifiers, of the Church: “I believe in one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church.” These four elements are the foundation of Catholic Christianity. They are signs to the world that the Church is the work of God and that the Church is of divine origin. Here’s what each mark means:
One (unity): As we explain in the preceding section, the Church is one body with many members, each of whom plays a vital role, and all of whom are united. The Church is an organic unity and not artificial, synthetic, or man-made. The pope is the visible head of the global Church, which has more than 1 billion members worldwide. He appoints the local bishops, who in turn assign the local pastors and parish priests and deacons. The Church has one governing authority (hierarchy) and one teaching authority (Magisterium). The Church has one body of truths she teaches (found in the Catechism) and one body of divine worship (the seven sacraments).
Holy (sanctity): The Church is holy because her founder is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and second person of the Holy Trinity. She is also the Bride of Christ and is considered the Mystical Body of Christ as well. That association and union with divinity itself makes the Church holy. But she also has been given by God Himself all the necessary divine revealed truths and all the necessary divine grace to save souls (help people get to heaven). This does not mean that members have it made and need to do nothing else except belong. It does mean that holiness is possible and promoted by the Church at the will and command of her founder, Jesus Christ. One becomes a saint through, with, and in the Church.
Catholic (universality): The word Catholic derives from the Greek katholikos, which means “universal.” The Church’s mission is universal. It is to spread the Good News about Jesus (also called the Gospel) to all men and women all over the world. The Church is not confined to any one nation or country. That’s why it’s not called the Church of Italy, the Church of Spain, the Church of America, or the Church of Europe. It is the Catholic Church, which belongs to Christ and is found everywhere around the world. Embracing all languages, continents, cultures, and races, the Church is universal and promotes universality. Human beings belong to the same human race even though they live in different parts of the world and speak different tongues.
Apostolic (continuity): The last mark refers to the fact that the Catholic Church can trace its foundations to Christ Himself and to the Twelve Apostles. Also, every deacon, priest, and bishop can trace his ordination lineage back to one of the original apostles; this is called apostolic succession. A verifiable and direct connection exists between the apostles whom Jesus handpicked and their direct successors, the bishops. Also, there is direct succession of all the popes, from Saint Peter to his 265th successor, Pope Francis.
Fulfilling Its Mission
The mission of the Church is the continuation of Christ’s mission: to proclaim the Gospel to the entire world for all generations. Christ gave the mission to His church when He said, “Go therefore and 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” (Matthew 28:19–20). Evangelization is the mission, and all baptized Christians are involved. So if you’re a member of the Church, your life’s work is intertwined with the salvific duty of the Savior: to reconcile fellow people with God.
As we explain in Chapter 19, all members of the Church are commissioned to perform the Corporal Works of Mercy, which are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, visit the sick, ransom the captive, and bury the dead. The baptized also continue the mission of Christ by exercising the Spiritual Works of Mercy, which are to instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinner, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offenses willingly, comfort the afflicted, and pray for the living and the dead.
Jesus chose the Twelve Apostles and 70 disciples to help continue His mission after He died, rose, and ascended to heaven. Before being able to evangelize, His men needed to be taught the message, sanctified so they could receive the message worthily, and organized to effectively achieve success in the mission. Christ the priest, prophet, and king therefore sanctified, taught, and shepherded His disciples and Apostles. The Church continues that process today.
The priestly office: Sanctifying through the sacraments
Jesus Christ the priest instituted the seven sacraments (see Chapters 8 and 9) in order for the faithful to become holy, to receive His divine life, and to become stronger on earth in their journey to heaven. Sanctifying grace makes the soul holy and pleasing to God; given at Baptism, this grace
