What does it mean to love the Church? In order to approach this loaded question, we should talk a few minutes about Faith, a topic important to Jesus and central to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Without Faith, we cannot have a complete understanding and love for our Church. Faith is a grace, a supernatural gift from God. That is to say that God, in His revelation of Himself, particularly in the person of Jesus Christ, initiates our relationship with Him. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we respond with love, trust and faith. We love because (God) loved us first. (1John 4:19). Faith is certain-in other words- God is trustworthy and everything he reveals is trustworthy, even when it doesn t make sense to us. This is believing in everything that God reveals, not picking and choosing which is convenient for us. Faith means giving of yourself completely-heart, mind and will-to a loving relationship with God. Faith seeks understanding - true faith means having a passion for and wanting a deeper understanding of God. The more we understand God, the deeper our faith will be, and as our faith deepens, we become more committed followers of Jesus Christ. Faith is not opposed to science-the humble and honest seeker will see the hand of God in both science and religion. Faith is necessary for salvation. Salvation means having our relationship with God restored to what He intended it to be from the beginning. The Catholic Church is that vehicle in which we can return to Him. Therefore faith and our Catholic Church are the means to salvation. Faith also means believing in and being part of the Catholic Church which teaches, witnesses and passes down the faith in community. We have faith in the Church because Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would guide the Church in a special way, revealing the full truth of the Gospel message. The Church is the human mechanism through which God s revelation-scripture and Tradition- are passed on unchanged and safeguarded. Faith is the beginning of eternal life. Through faith we deepen our relationship with God, experience love and joy being part of a community of believers and get a preview of what heaven is like. This idea of faith will be the springboard for the rest of the talk. So again, the topic is, What does it mean to love the Church? But this begs the question, what exactly is the Church? Let s start at the beginning. Word became flesh God the Father is invisible to the human eye. Throughout centuries, through the prophets of the Old Testament, God spoke a message of love and redemption. But people found it easy to disregard the message of an invisible God and they continued in their sin and rebellion. So God sent Jesus, the second person of the Trinity. Jesus is the total Message everything that God wants to communicate to man. That s why we hear, the Message became flesh, took on human form, and came to dwell among us. Part II Now for a bit of history about how the Church came about. The Catholic Church, the original church, was founded after Jesus s resurrection and ascension. Christ himself laid the spiritual foundation of the Church. Scriptural proof is in the Gospel:
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit fruit that will last and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. Jesus provided a basic structure for the church by choosing 12 apostles, training them for leadership with Peter as their head. We have proof of the papacy in Sacred Scripture: And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will b e loosed in heaven. In Matthew 28:18-20, the Apostles were given The Great Commission which continues to this day and in which we are commanded to partake in accordance to our current state in life (more on this later): Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. The Church, approximately 50 days after Easter, celebrates the Feast of Pentecost, also known as the birthday of the Church. By this time, Jesus had already ascended into heaven and the apostles and some women disciples were waiting for the Spirit that Jesus had promised. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues [a] as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2: 2-8) Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:41-42) Since Jesus s death the disciples spent time behind locked doors, afraid of persecution. Even after all that they had seen him do, they were still afraid. On this day the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the courage to preach the message of Jesus Christ and baptize those who believed. Jesus did not ask us to help him out, to do him a favor. He commissioned us to step out of fear and share Christ with the world. He gave everything for us, what we will give for him? In thinking about what it means to love the Church, let s think about how much we love Jesus. Will we allow Him into our hearts and accept the graces to invite those around us to Him? Or are we afraid of ridicule? Are we willing to be martyrs like the many female saints that have come before us? The Role of Mary in the Church: Catholics believe Mary is not only the Mother of Christ but also the Mother of the Church. This is clearly seen in Scripture in John 19:26-27. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, Woman, [a] here is your son, 27 and to the disciple, Here is your mother. From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. In this passage the beloved disciple represents all believers. Mary as mother of the Church is a huge topic which can be another session. Please see the poster to give you more information on Our Blessed Mother Mary. Part III As we mentioned, the Church is the human vehicle to guide us to heaven while in this mortal life. Thankfully, God loves us so much that, through His Church, we are given tools to help us grow in holiness. One way is the 7 sacraments through which we receive His grace to live a more virtuous life.
How do we show that we love the Church? We willingly do the sacraments-go to confession, frequent Eucharist, baptize our children, encourage our sons to listen for God s call to the priesthood and more! God loves us so much he gave us ground rules, aka Precepts of the Church, aka minimum requirements for being a Catholic. We show our love for the Church by being obedient to these Precepts because they have the authority of Jesus behind them, for He said: He who hears you, hears Me. He who rejects you, rejects me. (Luke 10:16) A list of precepts are: Attend Mass Sunday and every Holy Day of Obligation Go to confession annually at the minimum; always go when needed Study Catholic teaching to prepare for the sacrament of Confirmation, to be confirmed, continue studying our faith and help others know about it. (catechesis, believing it, practicing) Observe marriage laws of the Church, to give religious training through example and word to one s children Strengthen and support the Church: the parish and parish priests, world wide church and holy father. To do penance, including abstaining from meat and fasting on certain days To join in the missionary spirit and apostolate of the Church. This can be to our neighbor in the pew, in the supermarket, etc. Please note, obeying the rules is not mindless compliance. It involves appreciating the wisdom and value of Catholic rules and laws. So, another way of answering the question, What does it mean to love the Church? By making our yes to putting our belief into action and to practice what we believe. (there are many more tools.) Part IV Now that we know a bit more about what Catholic faith is, the history of its founding, that the reason we have the Church is to lead us closer to Christ and for our sanctification so can be saints in heaven, let s go deeper into who comprises the Church and the part we play in the living Church. As we discuss this next section, keep in mind that we believe that all humans are made in His image and that He wants us all to be His adopted sons and daughters in baptism. We will then talk about how our love, as a willful response to God s invitation to us, encourages us to serve. We call ourselves the Living Church. The Church is the people. The Church is not a building or a political ideology. We are eternally connected in all times and places through our faith and united in baptism. (insert personal story) The Church is comprised of us (the laity), the clergy and religious. The clergy consists of priests, Bishops who are successors to the Apostles and the Pope who is successor to St. Peter. The Bishops in union with the Pope is called the Magisterium. It is their responsibility to faithfully teach, interpret and preserve the Scripture and Tradition for all believers until Christ returns in glory. Religious consists of religious brothers (not ordained as priests), sisters, nuns and consecrated virgins. We are part of the Mystical Body of Christ. The three parts are the Church Triumphant, who are saints with God in heaven and are present at every sacrifice of the Mass, the Church Penitent, who are souls in purgatory who we pray for daily, and the believers on earth, the Church Militant. The Church believes that those of us still living on earth are making a pilgrimage from this land to the promised land of heaven. The Church uses the word militant because we must engage in spiritual warfare against sin and the devil. Through confirmation, we are faithful Soldiers of Christ who use weapons of grace and truth to battle sins and evil.
Sacred Scripture teaches us that our brothers and sisters in Christ are to work together and be united. We are the Body of Christ and Jesus is our head. (1 Corinthians12:12-27) Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by [a] one Spirit so as to form one body whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, I don t need you! And the head cannot say to the feet, I don t need you!.but God has put the body together,.. so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (insert personal story, encourage conversation about this) Part V As we come to the last part of this talk, the practical part of how we show our love for the Church, let s think about that the Church is both vertical and horizontal. Everything, however, stems out of the vertical relationship we have with God. Then, in Jesus s name, can we can love and serve our neighbor. How do we do that? First, we start in prayer. We listen for God s call. We discern. We access our own gifts and passion. Say we feel that God is calling us to feed the hungry. We can go to the Raleigh Food Bank or we can serve through a parish organization. But what distinguishes Catholics is that we do it with love for Jesus and invite others to Him also. People talk about the Catholic Church being one of the biggest NGOs in the world, serving more people internationally than any other organization. What is wrong with this description? How can we change this perception? Prayer is so important in discerning how to do God s will. But one thing we all have in common here is that we all made our yes to God to be wives and mothers. This is our state in life right now and therefore is our priority. As wives, one way that we love the Church is by receiving God s grace in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony and always keep in mind that our main goal of getting our husbands to heaven. i.e. pray/fast/penance/sacraments (discuss) As mothers, one way we love the Church is by passing down our rightful inheritance of our Catholic faith to our children. We are required to give a good example/obedience to God as well as religious education. (discuss add St. Monica, Prayer to Child s guardian angel, statistics of fathers going to church/kids staying Catholic, etc.) We also show love for our Church through participation in our local parish and proclaiming the Truth in our everyday lives, careers, social life,etc. (discuss) Just a few words of advice-pray, discern, allow the holy spirit to guide you, be welcoming, have a heart of love and charity (explain). Always check that everything you are doing is ordered to piety and holiness. If not, stop. (In lay terms, if you are reading facebook for the arguments and insane debates to make yourself angry instead of catching up with friends, Stop reading facebook!)
And a few words of caution-things are bound to happen that are embarrassing, emotionally painful, cringe inducing, anger provoking, etc. Remember, this is for your sanctification. God is pruning you to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Go to confession, accept God s grace and get back out there with a heart transformed and united to Christ. And if it is really absolutely humiliating, offer it up as penance. And then get back out there. Our Catholic identity is rich and beautiful. We have the most amazing thing in the world-truth and the path to Salvation. Our time needs this gift of Christ. We must have a conviction that the center of our lives as Catholics must be the quest to know to love and to follow Christ. He is our path, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. All our concerns about liturgy, all our concerns about evangelization, all our concerns about living out the compassion of Christ to those morally, spiritually and physically sick flow from and are sustained and guided by a true knowledge and commitment to Christ, lived out in this community guided and directed by His gift of the Spirit. No one can go it alone, without fidelity and loyalty to the teachings of the Church and without living a life of sacramental unity and of prayerful attentiveness. This conviction of the Truth of Christ and salvation through the one, true Catholic Church should manifest itself in the words and actions of all members of the Body of Christ, clergy, religious and lay, to wake up the indifferent, convert the sinners and raise up saints. So, now we know what faith is, that Jesus is the spiritual foundation upon which the church is built, Scriptural proof for the Papacy beginning with Peter, Pentecost and that Mary is the Mother of the Church. We have learned that the Catholic Church is the vehicle in which we achieve salvation especially through the Sacraments and by obeying the Precepts of the Church. We learned that the Church is a living body, it is not the building we go to on Sundays. We discussed the Body of Christ, to discern how God is asking us to serve Him, in our participation in parish life, career, social life. We discussed our primary vocation as wife and mother and passing down this rightful inheritance to our children. We learned that God has invited us to come home to Him and has given us the Church as the way to salvation. So what does it mean to love the Church?