In this bulletin I will introduce you to our church, which is officially called the Roman Catholic Church and which is sometimes called Mother Church. Our church is a very old one dating all the way back to the times of Jesus and the Apostles. Yet she is also very young because she is always receiving new members into her midst, and she also seeks to daily renew her life and ways. Our church, like Jesus her founder, is both human and divine. But unlike Jesus, she is imperfect in her humanity. Finally, she seeks to adapt herself to a changing world without changing the beliefs that are essential to who she is. In this bulletin we will look briefly at each of the above characteristics of Mother Church. Catholics sometimes call church "Mother" because she is the one who bestows on us the new life of Christ in baptism, and she is the one who helps to nurture our spiritual life as we grow in our relationship with God and his people.

Roman and Catholic

Our church is called "Roman" because we recognize the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, as our leader and the focal point of unity. We also believe that St. Peter was martyred and buried in Rome. His burial tomb is under St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. From the early centuries of Christianity, the Bishop of Rome was generally accepted as the successor of St. Peter and the head of the entire church.

The term "Catholic" comes from the Greek word for "universal." It was first applied to our church in the first centuries of her history. Early on in Christianity, various groups broke with the mainstream of Christian teaching over different issues and started their own church. Church leaders who opposed these groups sometimes called themselves "Catholic Christians" or just "Catholics" as a way to emphasize that their teaching represented what the whole or universal church had always believed.

Our church is also Catholic or universal in the sense that it is an international and multicultural institution. It does not seek to identify itself with any one country, culture, political or economic system. Our church is not only European or American, it is also Asian, African and Latin. It seeks to speak the Eternal Word of God to all peoples so that each will hear it in his native tongue and in a way that is meaningful to his life. People from every race and from every social strata of society belong to our church. On any given Sunday, you have people seated beside each other receiving the same Eucharist who are poles apart politically, educationally, economically, and even theologically. One of the special gifts of Catholicism is that it is "big enough" for people who are conservative and liberal in outlook. But underneath the rich diversity of our church is an underlying UNITY. Despite our diversity, Catholics are united in their belief in the Blessed Trinity, in Jesus as our Saviour, in the Bible as the Word of God, in the Pope as the universal shepherd of our church, in the seven sacraments, in our respect for human life. In our celebration of the Eucharist Catholics, most of all, celebrate both their diversity and unity.

Once I had the honor of participating in the celebration of the Eucharist in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome which holds about 10,000 people. Around me were Catholics from all over the world, many of them clothed in their native dress, each speaking in his/her native tongue and each, I assume, having his/her own views on politics and theology. In the midst of the 10,000 people were the Pope, the visible sign of our unity as Catholics, several bishops and several hundred priests. Despite our rich diversity in background and viewpoint, we were all united together with our Holy Father, the Pope, in the celebration of the Eucharist. For me that particular celebration of the Eucharist expressed powerfully both our diversity and our unity as Catholics.

Founded by Jesus

When someone asks us, "Who founded your church?" we answer, "Jesus Christ." We trace" our roots and beginnings all the way back to Jesus and his Apostles. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says to St. Peter (the one we consider the first Pope), ". . . you are 'Rock,' and on this rock I will build my church, and the jaws of death [i.e., the forces of evil] shall not prevail against it." So the church we belong to is no mere human institution. It has a divine origin. Not only did Christ found our church but he also promised to be with it at times in history. Before Jesus returned to his Father, he said to his Apostles: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, Baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you And know that I am with you always, until the end of the world. Matthew 28: 19-20

In the above statement Jesus is commissioning his Apostles to continue his work of teaching and preaching. But not only is he sending them forth, he is promising to be with them until the end of the world. In the light of the above texts from the Gospel of Matthew we, as Catholics, believe that to view the church as human is indeed correct since the church is made up of human beings. But to view the church as merely human is a gross error since it has Jesus as its founder and sustainer. In a similar vein, we say that because the church is human it is always in need of interior renewal and external reform. But because the church is divine, it is never in need of replacement.

Intimately Linked to Jesus

When thinking and speaking about the church, it is very important for us to recognize the very intimate link that exists between Christ and the church, which he founded. Writing to a Christian community in Corinth, Paul says: "You are the body of Christ. Everyone of you is a member of it" (1 Corinthians 12:27). "Body of Christ" is one of many images used in the New Testament to describe the church. As members of the church we are as intimately linked to Jesus and to all the other members of the church as are the various parts of our physical body linked to each other. Christ is the head of the Body, and the Holy Spirit is the soul and heart of the Body. Both are constantly giving divine life and energy to the community of believers.

The "Vine and the Branches" is another New Testament image which Jesus used to speak about his intimate connection with his followers. In John 15:5, Jesus says:

I am the vine; you are the branches. He who lives in me and I in him will produce abundantly, for apart from me you can do nothing. Christ is as close to us as a vine to a branch and a branch to its vine. How awesome and beautiful!

In the early days of its history, the church underwent great persecution. One of its persecutors was a man named Saul of Tarsus, later to become St. Paul, the great Apostle to the Gentiles. One day while Saul was persecuting the early Christians, he heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Saul asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The voice answered, "I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me" (Acts of the Apostles 9:1-6). This event not only speaks to us about the intimate link between Christ and his church, but it also explicitly states that when the church is persecuted and despised, Christ is persecuted and despised. To separate oneself from the church is to separate oneself in a real way from Christ.

The Church, Christ Among Us in Visible Form

Down through the ages the Catholic Church has continued to believe that she is the Body of Christ, that she is the voice, the feet and arms of Christ in time continuing his work. In short, the church is Christ among us in visible form. The church speaks and acts in the name of Christ, and so we say when the church baptizes, it is Christ who is baptizing. When the church forgives and reconciles, it is Christ who forgives and reconciles. When the church lays her hands on the sick, it is Christ who is praying and caring. In and through his Body, the church, Jesus continues in every time and place to be visible touchable and hearable. Of course, to see Christ at work in the church, we must have the inner eye of faith just as people two thousand years ago needed to have the inner eye of faith to see that when Christ forgave, it was the invisible God who was forgiving When Christ healed, it was the invisible God who, was healing, and so on.

A Church of Sinners

Like Christ, the church is both human and divine but unlike Christ, the Church is imperfect in her humanity. You will notice that every Catholic Church has at least two confessionals or reconciliation rooms to remind us that we are a church of sinners constantly in need of God's mercy and reconciliation. None of us would have a problem with the church if every family were like the Holy Family of Nazareth, if every Pope were like the universally loved Pope John XXIII, if every priest were like St. Francis, if every sister were like Mother Teresa, and if every congregation were like those early Christians who loved each other and shared all things in common. Unfortunately, until the impossible dream for our church becomes a reality (in heaven), we have to learn to live with all kinds of limitations, imperfections and sin. The reality is that some Popes and bishops have lived scandalous lives while others were and are dictatorial. Some of us priests cheat on our flocks by being unavailable in times of crisis and pain, by throwing people stones when they are in need of spiritual food, by throwing people the rule book when they are in need of understanding and compassion. Similarly, some husbands and wives cheat on each other, and they sometimes mistreat their children. Finally, large numbers of parishioners cheat the Bride of Christ or Mother Church by their absenteeism and by withholding their gifts of time, treasure and talent.

So what are we going to do with all this sin, imperfection and scandal in the Body of Christ? We can do one of three things. We can jump ship by quitting church. We can turn a blind eye to it and hope it all goes away, or we can do something constructive like praying and working for renewal and change in the church. But all the time we must learn to accept or at least live with what remains unchanged and unrenewed. This is very difficult for many people. Often, if people have one bad experience with church, they quit. Sometimes the problem is that people want the church to change its teaching to adjust to the changing trends in society. If the church did that, she would no longer be the faithful guardian of the message entrusted to her by Christ (see 2 Timothy 1:13-14). In John 6:60-69, we hear about people who quit following Jesus because they found his message "too hard to endure." In the past many Catholics quit church because they couldn't give their assent to every teaching of the church; e.g., the church's teaching on birth control. Today people are encouraged to stay, to dialogue with church leaders and to continue to pray for the grace to embrace the entire message of Christ which is a lifelong endeavor for most of us.

Led by the Spirit of Jesus

We have seen how the church is linked to Christ as our body parts are linked to each other. We have seen how the church, unlike Christ, is rather imperfect in her humanity. Now we will briefly look at the One who is the life-principle of the church.

Catholics, like other Christian churches, teach that the church started when the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and some of the disciples of Jesus in the Upper Room on Pentecost Day (Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4). Prior to Pentecost, all we had was a bunch of very scared disciples. But after the coming of the Spirit, fear was replaced with boldness. Peter and the other Apostles went forth, filled with the Spirit. They preached, they healed, they called people to repentance, they baptized, they gathered people together in community, they shared faith and possessions, and they celebrated the Eucharist (see Acts 2:5-47). As the numbers of Christians grew, the leaders, led by the Spirit, created new ministries and structures to help them cope with the growth. To deal with special problems, they called a council of the church. [See Acts 15 for an account of the first church council- the issues and the resolutions.]

Throughout all of this the early Christians had a strong sense that the Spirit of Jesus was guiding and enlightening them. After the Council of Jerusalem, the leaders wrote a document which had a line in it that said: "It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and ours too. . . " (Acts 15:28). In writing thus they show us how much they believed in the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus had promised he would send to instruct them in everything John 14:26, 16: 13) and remind them of all he had told them.

Catholics believe that the same Holy Spirit who descended on the Apostles at Pentecost continued to be with the church down through the ages, even during the darkest hours of her history when church leaders seemed to be interested in everything but listening to the spirit of Jesus. In fact, one thing that leads Catholics to believe in the divine element of the church is the fact that she has endured for two thousand years despite many attacks from without and despite much corruption from within. During the early years of the church's existence, many people hostile to the church tried to destroy it but failed. To those who wanted to wipe out Christianity, one doctor of Jewish law, called Gamaliel, had this to say: "My advice is that you have nothing to do with these men (i.e., the Apostles). If their purpose or activity is human in its origins, it will destroy itself. If, on the other hand, it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them without fighting God himself." Acts 5:38-39

The Mission of the Church

The mission of the church is to make visible and tangible the presence and activity of Jesus who continues to live among us. The mission of the church is to be Christ - a light to the nations. The church is being faithful to her mission:

- when she preaches and teaches the Gospel of Christ by word and example;

- when she sanctifies her members in and through the celebration of the sacraments;

- when she gathers her flock together so that they can share faith and support each other in the task of proclaiming and living the Gospel;

- when she governs and shepherds the church that Christ has entrusted to her care;

- when she stands in solidarity with the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless and powerless members of society.

When we speak about the mission of the church, it is very important that we understand that the church's mission is the responsibility of every baptized person and not just the clergy. St. Paul tells us: "To each person is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:7). Later he writes: "Even those members of the body which seem less important are in fact indispensable" (12:22). Each baptized person should pray that the Holy Spirit help him/her to discover the gift the Holy Spirit has given him/her for the common good and for the upbuilding of the Body of Christ.

One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church

In many ancient creeds the Catholic church identified herself as "One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic." These terms refer to what is traditionally known as the "four marks" of the church; that is, four traits that make it possible for one to recognize the church which Christ founded.

The Church Is One

The church is one in her faith and worship. As Catholics, we have a common set of beliefs which help to define who we are and what we are about. We are also one in the sense that parishes are connected to and have communion with a local diocese. In turn, dioceses, under the leadership of a bishop, are united in their common allegiance to the bishop of Rome, the Pope, who is a visible sign and servant of church unity. The unity of the church is not to be confused with uniformity; i.e., everyone thinking

and acting in the very same way. As we saw earlier, true unity has lots of room for diversity and differences as long as we accept and embrace the basic teachings of our faith.

The unity of the church is diminished when individuals and groups separate or distance themselves from the church and her teachings. Each new separation is a new wound inflicted on the Body of Christ.

The Church Is Holy

The church is holy because Jesus is her founder and cornerstone and because he continues to be with the church at all times until the end of the world. The church is also holy in her worship and in her celebration of the sacraments. Thirdly, the church is holy in the lives of many of her people, especially in the thousands of saints and martyrs which the church has produced.

This mark or sign of the church is tarnished when we sin and turn away from the teachings of Christ. At times like that, the church conceals rather than reveals the true face of Christ to the world.

The Church Is Catholic

We have already looked at this mark or sign of the church. When we say that the church is catholic with a small "c," we mean that the church is a church for all people in all places and in all times. The church is also catholic in that it continues to teach all of what Christ taught.

The Church Is Apostolic

Our church goes back in time to the Apostles. "When we call the church 'Apostolic' we mean that the teaching of Jesus Christ, which was first preached to the world by the Apostles, and the Christian community in which that Apostolic faith was lived and grown, continue to have their existence in the Catholic Church (The Teaching of Christ, p. 199). Our church could not claim historical apostolicity if she only started yesterday or some time after the first centuries of Christianity.. Neither could she claim doctrinal apostolicity if she failed to teach the teachings of Christ and the early Apostolic church.

©Eamon Tobin