The Holy Catholic Church
The soccer scouts were admiring the many talents of the young player; one who every scout knew had the potential to be a star in the professional leagues. He possessed advanced skills in dribbling the ball, he could shoot accurately with either foot; in essence, he possessed every skill required of a highly rated player. All but one that is; he was not adroit at passing the ball. Similarly, a business man, who possessed every attribute needed to lead a major company but one, is admired and thought capable of being a leader, is indeed promoted to an important leadership position. All humans, no matter their extensive capabilities, have flaws or limitations, but these flaws and limitations do not prevent them from realizing their true destinies.
A Catholic professes, “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church.” Yet Catholics recognize that the Church consists of flawed, sinful human beings. Then how can a catholic profess a belief in the “Holy Catholic Church”? The reason for this belief is simple and true. The Catholic Church is Holy because its founder, Jesus Christ, is holy; its holiness is sustained by the presence and protection of the Holy Spirit. John Hardon in his book, “The Catholic Catechism” commented, “Needless to say, the Church is holy by reason of her founder, Christ the Lord, and we should expect what he established to be holy too. Yet immediately we must recall that he was holy because he was God, whereas the Church can be holy only because of her relationship or attachment to God. Her sanctity derives from him, or leads to him, or is the effect of his divine presence in those who possess him.” (John Hardon, Catholic Catechism, Kindle location 4067-407).
Clearly, all of the members of the Church are not holy; all, including the clergy and the laity are sinners. They are seeking to attain holiness through following the actions and words of Christ in His Church and through the powerful operations of the Holy Spirit. These operations are seen in baptism, penance, and Eucharist, which are the true mode of existence and content of the Church. Joseph Ratzinger in his book, “Introduction to Christianity”, noted “the word holy does not apply in the first place to the holiness to human persons but refers to the divine gift that bestows holiness in the midst of human unholiness.” In spite of human sinfulness, God confers holiness and the power of sanctification through His Church. Jesus Christ confers holiness on his Church and through the Church on all those who are willing to cooperate with it. “It is the holiness as the holiness of Christ from the midst of the Church’s sinfulness.”
The term Catholic refers to the universal nature of the Church; the teachings of Jesus are to be announced and carried faithfully to the entire world, not to just individual ethnicities or groups. It is even more vital to understand that Catholic mean orthodox, that is, an adherence to the teachings of the Church as preached by the apostles and their successors. The Catholic Church is the guardian of the deposit of faith bequeath to it by Jesus Christ.
What other church has God (Jesus Christ) as its founder and guarantor of its fidelity to Him?
Suggested Readings:
“Credo” by Hans Urs Von Balthasar, published by Ignatius Press, Chapter IX
“Introduction to Christianity” by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, published by Ignatius Press, Chapter 2 of Part Three.
“The Catholic Catechism”, by John Hardon, S. J. Kindle edition, Part VII