Pope Paul & Siser Lucy Christ The King
THOUGHTS OF VATICAN II
ON THE CHURCH
On November 21, 1964, Pope Paul VI proclaimed
Our Lady the Mother of the Church and renewed
with all the Bishops gathered at the Council, the
world consecration to Mary. "Today we consider
it particularly opportune," he said, "to recall this
act of consecration of Pope Pius XII to the
Immaculate Heart. Bearing this in mind, we have
decided to send a special mission to Fatima in the
sanctuary of Fatima . . . In this manner we intend
to entrust to the care of this heavenly Mother the
entire human family, with its problems and anxieties,
with its legitimate aspirations and ardent hopes."
The Golden Rose was presented at Fatima, Portugal
on May 13, 1965 by Fernando Cardinal Cento, the
personal representative of Pope Paul VI.
(The above information about the Golden Rose is
taken from "Immaculata Magazine" -- August,
1967 edition, that was dedicated to "Fatima --
Hope of the World.")
In the old Testament
the revelation of the Kingdom is often conveyed by means of metaphors.
In the same way the inner nature of the Church is now made known to us
in different images taken either from tending sheep or cultivating the
land, from building or even from family life and betrothals.
The Church is
a sheepfold whose one and indispensable door is Christ. (Jn.
10:1-10.) It is a flock of which God Himself foretold He would
be the shepherd, (cf. Is. 40:11; Ex. 34:11f.) and
whose sheep, although ruled by human shepherds, are nevertheless continuously
led and nourished by Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd and the Prince of
the shepherds, (cf. Jn. 10, 11; 1 Pet. 5, 4) who gave
His life for the sheep. (cf. John 10:11-16.)
The Church is
a piece of land to be cultivated, the tillage of God. (1
Cor. 3:9.) On that land the ancient olive tree grows whose
holy roots were the Prophets and in which the reconciliation of Jews and
Gentiles has been brought about and will be brought about. (Rom.
11:13-26.) That land, like a choice vineyard, has been planted
by the heavenly Husbandman.(Matt. 21:33-43; cf. Is. 5:1 1f.)
The true vine is Christ who gives life and the power to bear abundant fruit
to the branches, that is, to us, who through the Church remain in Christ
without whom we can do nothing. (Jn. 15, 1-5.)
Often the Church
has also been called the bulding of God. (1
Cor. 3:9.) The Lord Himself compared Himself to the stone
which the builders rejected, but which was made into the cornerstone. (Matt.
21:42; cf. Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7; Ps. 117:22.) On this foundation
the Church is built by the apostles, (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11.)
and from it the Church receives durability and consolidation. This
edifice has many names to describe it: the house of God (1
Tim.. 3:15.) in which dwells His family; the
household of God in the Spirit; (Eph. 2:19-22.)
the dwelling place of God among men (Apoc. 21:3.)
and especially, the holy temple. This Temple, symbolized
in places of worship built out of stone, is praised by the Holy Fathers
and, not without reason, is compared in the Liturgy to the Holy City, the
New Jerusalem: (cf. Oirgenes, In Mt. 16:21;
PG 13, 1443 C; Tertullianus, Adv Marc. 3, 7: PL. 2, 357 C;
CSEL 47, 3 p. 386.) As living stones we here on earth are
built into it. (! Pet. 2:5.) John contemplates
this holy city coming down from heaven at the renewal of the world as a
bride made ready and adorned for her husband. (Apoc. 21:1
f.)
The Church, further,
"that Jerusalem which is above" is also called "our Mother" (Gal.
4:26; cf. Apoc. 12:17). It is described as the spotless
spouse
of
the spotless Lamb (Apoc. 19:7; 21:2, 9; 22:17), whom
Christ "loved and for whom He delivered Himself up that He might sanctify
her" (Eph. 5:26), whom He unites to Himself by an
unbreakable covenant, and whom He unceasingly "nourishes and cherishes"
(Eph. 5:29), and whom once purified, He willed
to be cleansed and joined to Himself, subject to Him in love and fidelity
(cf. Eph. 5:24), and whom, finally, He filled with
heavenly gifts for all eternity, in order that we may know the love of
God and of Christ for us, a love which surpasses all knowledge (cf.
Eph. 3:19). The Church, while on earth it journeys in a foreign
land away from the Lord (cf, 2 /cir, 5:6), is like
an exile. It seeks and experiences those things which are above,
where Christ is seated at the right-hand of God, where the life of the
Church is hidden with Christ in God until it appears in glory with its
Spouse (cf. Col. 3:-4).
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 6
The eternal
Father, by a free and hidden plan of His own wisdom and goodness, created
the whole world. His plan was to raise men to a participation of
the divine life. Fallen in Adam, God the Father did not leave men
to themselves, but ceaselessly offered helps to salvation, in view of Christ,
the Redeemer "who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every
creature" (Col. 1:15). All the elect, before
time began, the Father "foreknew and predestined to become conformed to
the image of His Son, that He should be the firstborn among many brethren"
(Rom. 8:29). He planned to assemble in the holy
Church all those who would believe in Christ. Already from the beginning
of the world the foreshadownig of the Church took place. It was prepared
in a remarkable way throughout the history of the people of Israel and
by means of the Old Covenant (cf. S. Cyrianus, Epist. 64,
4; PL. 3, 1017, CSEL (Hartel) III B, p. 720. S. Hilarius Pict. In Mt.
23,
6: PL 9, 1047. S. Augustine, passim. S. Cyrillus Alex.,
Glaph,
in Gen. 2, 10: PG 69, 110A). In the present
era of time the Church was constituted and, by the outpouring of the Spirit,
was made manifest. At the end of time it will gloriously achieve
completion, when, as is read in the Fathers, all the just, from Adam and
"from Abel, the just one, to the last of the elect" (cf.
S. Gregorius M., Hom. in Evang. 19, 1: PL 76, 1154 B. S. Augustine,
Serm,
341,
9, 11: PL 39, 1499 s. S. Io. Damascenus, Adv. Iconocl.
11: PG 96,
1358), will be gathered together with the Father in the universal
Church.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 2
As God did not
create man for life in isolation, but for the formation of social unity,
so also "it has pleased God to make men holy and save them not merely as
individuals, without bond or link between them, but by making them into
a single people, a people which acknowledges Him in truth and serves Him
in holiness." So from the beginning of salvation history he has chosen
men not just as individuals but as members of a certain community.
Revealing His mind to them, God called these chosen ones "His people" (Ex.
3:7-12), and even made a covenant with them on Sinai (cf.
Exodus 24:1-8).
This communitarian
character is developed and consummated in the work of Jesus Christ.
For the very Word made flesh willed to share in the human fellowship.
He was present at the wedding of Cana, visited the house of Zacchaeus,
ate with publicans and sinners. He revealed the love of the Father
and the sublime vocation of man in terms of the most common of social realities
and by making use of the speech and the imagery of plain everyday life.
Willingly obeying the laws of His country, He sanctified those human ties,
especially family ones, which are the source of social structures.
He chose to lead the life proper to an artisan of His time and place.
In His preaching
He clearly taught the sons of God to treat one another as brothers.
In His prayers He pleaded that all His disciples might be "one."
Indeed as the redeemer of all, He offered Hiimself for all even to the
point of death. "Greater love than this no one has, that one lay
down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).
He commanded His Apostles to preach to all peoples the Gospel's message
that the human race was to become the Family of God, in which the fullness
of the Law would be love.
As the firstborn
of many brethren and by the giving of His Spirit, He founded after His
death and resurrection a new brotherly community composed of all those
who receive Him in faith and in love. This He did through His Body,
which is the Church. There everyone, as members one of the other,
would render mutual service according to the different gifts bestowed on
each.
This solidarity
must be constantly increased until that day on which it will be brought
to perfection. Then, saved by grace, men will offer flawless glory
to God as a family beloved of God and of Christ their Brother.
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
In the Modern World, n. 32
`The mystery of
the holy Church is manifest in its very foundation. The Lord Jesus
set it on its course by preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of
the Kingdom of God, which, for centuries, had been promised in the Scriptures:
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mary
1:5; cf. Matt. 4:17). In the word, in the works, and in the
presence of Christ, this kingdom was clearly open to the view of men.
The Word of the Lord is compared to a seed which is sown in a field (Mark
4:14); those who hear the Word with faith and become part of the
little flock of Christ (Luke 12:32), have received
the Kingdom itself. Then, by its own power the seed sprouts and grows
until harvest time (cf. Mark 4:26-29), The Miracles
of Jesus also confirm that the Kingdom has already arrived on earth:
"If I cast out devils by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has
come upon you" (Luke 11:20; cf. Matt. 12:28).
Before all things, however, the Kingdom is clearly visible in the very
Person of Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man, who came "to serve
and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).
When Jesus, who
had suffered the death of the cross for mankind, had risen, He appeared
as the one constituted as Lord, Christ and eternal Priest (cf.
Acts 2:36; Heb. 5:6; 7:17-21), and He poured out on His disciples
the Spirit promised by the Father (cf. Acts 2:33).
From this source the Church, equipped with the gifts of its Founder and
faithfully guarding His precepts of charity, humility and self-sacrfice,
receives the mission to proclaim and to spread among all peoples the Kingdom
of Christ and of God and to be,on earth, the initial buddinig forth of
that kingdom. While it slowly grows, the Church strains toward the
completed Kingdom and, with all its strength, hopes and desires to be united
in glory with its King.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 5
From the very
beginning, the Lord Jesus "called to Himself those whom He wished; and
He caused twelve of them to be with Him, and to be sent out preaching"
(Mark 3:13; cf. Matt. 10:1-42). Thus the Apostles
were the first budding-forth of the New Israel, and at the same time the
beginning of the sacred hierarchy. Then, when He had by His death
and His resurrection completed once for all in Himself the mysteries of
our salvation and the renewal of all things, the Lord, having now received
all power in heaven and on earth (cf. Matt. 28:18),
before He was taken up into heaven (cf. Acts 1:11),
founded His Church as the sacrament of salvation and sent His Apostles
into all the world just as He Himself had been sent by the Father (cf.
John 20:21), commanding them: "Go, therefore, and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you" (Matt. 28:19 ff.). "Go into the whole world,
preach the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is
baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe, shall be condemned"
(Mark 16:15 ff.). Whence the duty that lies
on the Church of spreading the faith and the salvation of Christ, not only
in virtue of the express command which was inherited from the Apostles
by the order of Bishops, assisted by the Priests, together with the successor
of Peter and supreme shepherd of the Church, but also in virtue of that
life which flows from Christ into His members: "From Him the whole body,
being closely joined and knit together through every joint of the system,
according to the functioning in due measure of each single part, derives
its increase to the building up of itself in love" (Eph.
4:16). The mission of the Church, therefore, is fulfilled
by that activity which makes her, obeying the command of Christ and influenced
by the grace and love of the Holy Ghost, fully present to all men or nations,
in order that, by the example of her life and by her preaching, by the
sacraments and other means of grace, she may lead them to the faith, the
freedom and the peace of Christ; that thus there may lie open before them
a firm and free road to full participation in the mystery of Christ.
Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church, n. 5
In order to establish
this His holy Church everywhere in the world till the end of time, Christ
entrusted to the College of the Twelve the task of teaching, ruling and
sanctifying (cf. Mt. 28:18-20). Among their
number He selected Peter, and after his confession of faith determined
that on him He would build His Church. Also to Peter He promised
the keys of the kingdom of heaven (cf. Mt. 16:19, in conjunction
with Mt. 18:18), and after His profession of love, entrusted all
His sheep to him to be confirmed in faith (cf. Lk. 22:32)
and shepherded in perfect unity (cf. Jn. 21:15-18).
Christ Jesus Himself was forever to remain the chief cornerstone (cf.
Eph. 2:20) and shepherd of our souls (cf. 1 Pet. 2:25;
I Vatican Council, Sess IV [1870], the Constitution Pastor Aeternus:
Coll.
Lac. 7, 482 a).
Decree on Ecumenism, n. 2
When the work
which the Father gave the Son to do on earth (cf. Jn. 17:4)
was accomplished, the Holy Ghost was sent on the day of Pentecost in order
that He might continually sanctify the Church, and thus, all those who
believe would have access through Christ in one Spirit to the Father (cf.
Eph. 2:18). He is the Spirit of Life, a fountain of water
springing up to life eternal (cf. Jn. 4:14; 7:38-39).
To men, dead in sin, the Father gives life through Him, until, in Christ,
He brings to life their mortal bodies (cf. Rom. 8:10-11).
The Spirit dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful, as in
a temple (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19). In them He
prays on their behalf and bears witness to the fact that they are adopted
sons (cf. Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15-16, 26). The Church,
which the Spirit guides in the way of all truth (cf. Jn.
16:13) and which He unified in communion and in works of ministry.
He both equips and directs with hierarchical and charismatic gifts and
adorns with His fruits (cf. Eph. 4:11-12; 1 Cor. 12::4; Gal.
5:22). By the power of the Gospel He makes the Church keep
the freshness of youth. Uninterruptedly He renews it and leads it
to perfect union with its Spouse (cf. D. Irenaeus, Adv.
Haer. III, 24, 1: PG 7,966 B; Harvey 2, 131; ed. Sagnard, Sources
Chr., p. 398). The Spirit and the Bride both say to Jesus,
the Lord, "Come!" (cf. Apoc. 22:17)
Thus, the Church
has been seen as "a people made one with the unity of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost" (S. Cyprianus, De Orat. Dom. 23:
PL 4, 553; Hartel, III A, p. 285. S. Augustinus, Serm. 71, 20, 33:
PL 38, 463 s. S. Io. Damascenus, Adv. Iconocl. 12: PG 96, 1358 D.).
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 4
The apostolic
preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was
to be preserved by an unending succession of preachers until the end of
time. Therefore the Apostles, handing on what they themselves had
received, warn the fiathful to hold fast to the traditions which they have
learned either by word of mouth or by letter (see 2 Thess.
2:15), and to fight in defense of the faith handed on once and for
all (see Jude 1:3; cf. Second Council of Nicea;: Denzinger
303 [602]; Fourth Coundil of Constance, session X, Canon 1: Denzinger 336
[650-652]). Now what was handed on by the Apostles includes
everything which contriubutes toward the holiness of life and increase
in faith of the people of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life
and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself
is, all that she believes.
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation n, 8
By reason of the gift and role of divine maternity,
by which she is united with her Son, the Redeemer, and with His singular
graces and functions, the Blessed Virgin is also intimately united with
the Church. As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a type of
the Church in the order of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ
(S. Ambrosius, Expos. Lc. II, 7: PL 15, 1555).
For in the mystery of the Church, which is itself rightly called mother
and virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands out in eminent and singular fashion
as exemplar both of virgin and mother. By her belief and obedience,
not knowing man but overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, as the new Eve she
brought forth on earth the very Son of the Father, showing an undefiled
faith, not in the word of the ancient serpent, but in that of God's messenger.
The Son whom she brought forth is He whom God placed as the first-born
among many brethren (cf. Rom. 8:29), namely the faithful,
in whose birth and education she cooperates with a maternal love.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 63
Although by the power of the Holy Ghost the Church
will remain the faithful spouse of her Lord and will never cease to be
the sign of salvation on earth, still she is very well aware that among
her members, (cf. St. Ambrose, De virginitate, Chapter
VIII, n. 48: ML 16, 278), both clerical and lay, some have been
unfaithful to the Spirit of God during the course of many centuries;
in the present age, too, it does not escape the Church how great a distance
lies between the message she offers and the human failings of those to
whom the Gospel is entrusted. Whatever be the judgment of history
on these defects, we ought to be conscious of them, and struggle against
them energetically, lest they inflict harm on the spread of the Gospel.
The Church also realizes that in working out her relationship with the
world she always has great need of the ripening which comes with the experience
of the centuries. Led by the Holy Ghost, Mother Church unceasingly
exhorts her sons "to purify and renew themselves so that the sign of Christ
can shine more brightly on the face of the Church."
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, n. 43
Just as Christ carried out the work of redemption
in poverty and persecution, so the Church is called to follow the same
route that it might communicate the fruits of salvation to men.
Christ Jesus, "though He was by nature God . . . emptied Himself, taking
the nature of a slave" (Phil. 2:6-7), and "being rich,
became poor" (2 Cor. 8:9) for our sakes. Thus,
the Church, although it needs human resources to carry out its mission,
is not set up to seek earthly glory, but to proclaim, even by its own example,
humility and self-sacrifice. Christ was sent by the Father "to bring
good news to the poor, to heal the contrite of heart" (Luke
4:18), "to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10).
Similarly, the Church encompasses with love all who are afflicted with
human suffering and in the poor and afflicted sees the image of its poor
and suffering Founder. It does all it can to relieve their need and
in them it strives to serve Christ. While Christ, holy, innocent
and undefiled (Heb. 7:26), knew nothing of sin (2
Cor. 5:21), but came to expiate only the sins of the people (cf.
Heb. 2:17), the Church, embracing in its bosom sinners, at the same
time holy and always in need of being purified, always follows the way
of penance and renewal. The Church, "like a stranger in a foreign
land, presses forward amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations
of God" (S. Augustine, Cic. Dei, XVIII, 51, 2: PL
41, 614), announcing the cross and death of the Lord until He comes
(cf. 1 Cor. 11:26). By the power of the risen
Lord it is given strength that it might, in patience and in love, overcome
its sorrows and its challenges, both within itself and from without, and
that it might reveal to the world, faithfully though darkly, the mystery
of its Lord until, in the end, it will be manifested in full light.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 8
Christ summons the Church to continual reformation
as she sojourns here on earth. The Church is always in need of this,
insofar as she is an institution of men here on earth. Thus if, in
various times and circumstances, there have been deficiencies in moral
conduct or in church discipline, or even in the way that Church teaching
has been formulated--to be carefully distinguished from the deposit of
faith itself--these can and should be set right at the opportune moment.
Decree on Ecumenism, n. 6
While helping the world and receiving many benefits
from it, the Church has a single intention: that God's kingdom may come,
and that the salvation of the whole human race may come to pass.
For every benefit which the People of God during its earthly pilgrimage
can offer to the human family stems from the fact that the Church is "the
universal sacrament of salvation," simultaneously manifesting and exercising
the mystery of God's love for man.
For God's Word, by whom all things were made, was
Himself made flesh so that as perfect man He might save all men and sum
up all things in Himself. The Lord is the goal of human history,
the focal point of the longings of history and of civilization, the center
of the human race, the joy of every heart and the answer to all its yearnings.
He it is Whom the Father raised from the dead, lifted on high and stationed
at His right hand, making Him judge of the living and the dead. Enlivened
and united in His Spirit, we journey toward the consummation of human history,
one which fully accords with the counsel of God's love: "To reestablish
all things in Christ, both those in the heavens and those on the earth"
(Eph. 11:10).
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, n. 45
Christ, to be sure, gave His Church no proper mission
in the political, economic or social order. The purpose which He
set before her is a religious one. But out of this religious mission
itself come a function, a light and an energy which can serve to structure
and consolidate the human community according to the divine law.
As a matter of fact, when circumstances of time and place produce the need,
she can and indeed should initiate activities on behalf of all men, especially
those designed for the needy, such as the works of mercy and similar undertakings.
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, n. 42
The Church, the kingdom of Christ now present in
mystery, grows visibly through the power of God in the world. This
inauguration and this growth are both symbolized by the blood and water
which flowed from the open side of a crucified Jesus (cf.
Jn. 19:34), and are foretold in the words of the Lord referring
to His death on the Cross: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
will draw all things to Myself" (Jn 12:32).
As often as the sacrifice of the cross in which Christ our Passover was
sacrificed (1 Cor. 5:7) is celebrated on the altar,
the work of our redemption is carried on, and, in the sacrament of the
eucharistic bread, the unity of all believers who form one body in Christ
(cf. 1 Cor. 10:17) is both expressed and brought about.
All men are called to this union with Christ, who is the light of the world,
from whom we go forth, through whom we live, and toward whom our whole
life strains.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 3
They are fully incorporated in the society of the
Church who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept her entire system and
all the means of salvation given to her, and are united with her as part
of her visible bodily structure and through her with Christ, who rules
her through the Supreme Pontiff and the Bishops. The bonds which
bind men to the Church in a visible way are profession of faith, the sacraments,
and ecclesiastical government and communion. He is not saved, however,
who, though part of the body of the Church, does not persevere in charity.
He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but, as it were, only in
a "bodily" manner and not "in his heart" (cf. S. Augustinus,
Bapt.
c. Donat. V, 28, 39: PL 43, 19). "Surely it is obvious
that what is said, inside the Church and outside, is to be understood
according to the heart, and not according to the body" (cf.
ib.,
III,
19, 26: col. 152; V, 18, 24: col. 189, In lo. Tr. 61, 2: PL 35,
1800). All the Church's children should remember that their
exalted status is to be attributed not to their own merits but to the special
grace of Christ. If they fail moreover to respond to that grace in
thought, word and deed, not only shall they not be saved but they will
be the more severely judged (cf. Luke 12:48:).
"Of everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required" (cf.
also Matt. 5:19-20; 7:21-22; 25:41-46; Jas. 2:14).
Catechumens who, moved by the Holy Ghost, seek with
explicit intention to be incorporated into the Church are by that very
intention joined with her. With love and solicitude Mother Church
already embraces them as her own.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 14
The Church is believed to be indefectibly holy.
Indeed Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is praised
as "uniquely holy" (Missale Romanum, Gloria in excelsis;
cf.
Luke 1:35; Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; John 6:69; Acts 3:14; 4:27 et 30; Heb.
7:26; 1 John 2:20; Apoc. 3:7), loved the Church as His bride, delivered
Himself up for her. He did this that He might sanctify her
(cf. Eph. 5:25-26). He united her to Himself
as His own body and brought it to perfection by the gift of the Holy Ghost
for God's glory. Therefore in the Church, everyone whether belonging
to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness, according
to the saying of the Apostle: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification"
(1 Thess. 4:3; Eph. 1:4). However, this holiness
of the Church is unceasingly manifested, and must be manifested, in the
fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful; it is expressed
in many ways in individuals, who in their walk of life, tend toward the
perfection of charity, thus causing the edification of others; in a very
special way this (holiness) appears in the practice of the counsels, customarily
called "evangelical." This practice of the counsels, under the implusion
of the Holy Ghost, undertaken by many Christians, either privately or in
a Church-approved condition or state of life, gives and must give in the
world an outstanding witness and example of this same holiness.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 39
The Church was founded for the purpose of spreading
the kingdom of Christ throughout the earth for the glory of God the Father,
to enable all men to share in His saving redemption (cf.
Pius 
XI,
encyclical Rerum Ecclesiae: AAS 18 [1926] p. 65), and that
through them the whole world might enter into a relationship with
Christ. All activity of the Mystical Body directed to the attainment
of this goal is called the apostolate, which the Church carriers on in
various ways through all her members. For the Christian vocation
by its very nature is also a vocation to the apostolate. No part
of the structure of a living body is merely passive but has a share in
the functions as well as life of the body: so, too, in the body of Christ,
which is the Church, "the whole body ... in keeping with the proper activity
of each part, derives its increase from its own internal development" (Eph.
4:16).
Indeed, the organic union in this body and the structure
of the members are so compact that the member who fails to make his proper
contribution to the development of the Church must be said to be useful
neither to the Church nor to himself.
Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, n. 2
Each individual part contributes through its
special gifts to the good of the other parts and of the whole Church.
Through the common sharing of gifts and through the common effort to attain
fullness in unity, the whole and each of the parts receive increase.
Not only, then, is the people of God made up of different peoples but in
its inner structure also it is composed of various ranks. This diversity
among its members arises either by reason of their duties, as is the case
with those who exercise the sacred ministry for the good of their brethren,
or by reason of their condition and state of life, as is the case with
those many who enter the religious state and, tending toward holiness by
a narrower path, stimulate their brethren by their example. Moreover,
within the Church particular Churches hold a rightful place; these Churches
retain their own traditions, without in any way opposing the primacy of
the Chair of Peter, which presides over the whole assembly of charity (cf.
Ignatius M., As Rom., Praef.: Ed. Funk, I, p. 252), and protects
legitimate difference, while at the same time assuring that such differences
do not hinder unity but rather contribute toward it. Between all
the parts of the Church there remains a bond of close communion whereby
they share spiritual riches, apostolic workers and temporal resources.
For the members of the people of God are called to share these goods in
common, and of each of the Churches the words of the Apostle hold good:
"According to the gift that each has received, administer it to one another
as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1 Pet. 4:10).
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 13
In the Church there is a diversity of ministry but
a oneness of mission. Christ conferred on the Apostles and their
successors the duty of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling in His name and
power. But the laity likewise share in the priestly, prophetic, and
royal office of Christ and therefore have their own share in the mission
of the whole people of God in the Church and in the world.
They exercise the apostolate in fact by their activity
directed to the evangelization and sanctification of men and to the penetrating
and perfecting of the temporal order through the spirit of the Gospel.
In this way, their temporal activity openly bears witness to Christ and
promotes the salvation of men. Since the laity, in accordance with
their state of life, live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they
are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like leaven,with
the ardor of the spirit of Christ.
Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, n. 2
The Church has not been really founded, and is not
yet fully alive, nor is it a perfect sign of Christ among men, unless there
is a laity worthy of the name working along with the hierarchy. For
the Gospel cannot be deeply grounded in the abilities, life and work of
any people without the active presence of laymen. Therefore, even
at the very founding of a Church, great attention is to be paid to establishing
a mature, Christian laity.
Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church, n. 21
As God loved us with an unselfish love, so also the
faithful should in their charity care for the human person himself, loving
him with the same affection with which God sought out man. Just as
Christ, then, went about all the towns and villages, curing every kind
of disease and infirmity as a sign that the kingdom of God had come (cf.
Matt. 9:35 ff; Acts 10:38), so also the Church, through her children,
is one with men of every condition, but especially with the poor and the
afflicted. For them, she gladly spends and is spent (cf.
2 Cor. 12:15), sharing in their joys and sorrows, 
knowing
of their longings and problems, suffering with them in death's anxieties.
To those in quest of peace, she wishes to answer in fraternal dialogue,
bearing them the peace and the light of the Gospel.
Let Christians labor and collaborate with others
in rightly regulating the affairs of social and economic life. With
special care, let them devote themselves to the education of children and
young people by means of different kinds of schools, which should be considered
not only as the most excellent means of forming and developing Christian
youth, but also as a valuable public service, especially in the developing
nations, working toward the upllifting of human dignity, and
toward better living conditions. Furthermore, let them take part
in the strivings of those people who, waging war on famine, ignorance,
and disease, are struggling to better their way of life and to secure peace
in the world. In this activity, the faithful should be eager to offer
prudent aid to projects sposored by public and private organizations, by
governments, by various Christian communities, and even by non-Christian
religions.
Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church, n. 12
The intimate partnership of married life and love
has been established by the Creator and qualified by His laws, and is rooted
in the conjugal covenant of irrevocable personal consent. Hence by
that human act whereby spouses mutually bestow and accept each other a
relationship arises which by divine will and in the eyes of society too
is a lasting one. For the good of the spouses and their off-springs
as well as of society, the existence of the sacred bond no longer depends
on human decisions alone. For, God Himself is the author of matrimony,
endowed as it is with various benefits and purposes (cf.
St. Augustine, De bene coniugali PL 40, 375-376 and 394; St.
Thomas, Summa Theologica, Suppl. Quaest. 49, art 3 ad 1),
All of these have a very decisive bearing on the continuation of the human
race, on the personal development and eternal destiny of the individual
members of a family, and on the dignity, stability, peace and prosperity
of the family itself and of human society as a whole. By their very
nature, the institution of matrimony itself and conjugal love are ordained
for the procreation and education of children, and find in them their ultimate
crown. Thus a man and a woman, who by their compact of conjugal love
"are no longer two, but one flesh" (Matt. 19:6), render
mutual help and service to each other through an intimate union of their
persons and of their actions. Through this union they experience
the meaning of their oneness and attain to it with growing perfection day
by day. As a mutual gift of two persons, this intimate union and
the good of the children impose total fidelity on the spouses and argue
for an unbreakable oneness between them (cf Pius XI, Encyclical
Letter Casti Connubii AAS 22 [1930], pp. 546-547; Denz-Schoen. 3706).
Christ the Lord abundantly blessed this many-faceted
love, welling up as it does from the fountain of divine love and structured
as it is on the model of His union with His Church. For as God of
old made Himself present (cf. Osee 2; Jer. 3:6-13; Ezech.
16, 23; Is. 54) to His people through a covenant of love and fidelity,
so now the Savior of men and the Spouse (cf. Matt. 9:15;
Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:34-35; John 3:29; cf. also 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:27;
Apoc. 19:7-8; 2, 9) of the Church comes into the lives of married
Christians through the sacrament of matrimony. He abides with them
thereafter so that just as He loved the Church and handed Himself over
on her behalf (cr. Eph. 5:25), the spouses may love
each other with perpetual fidelity through mutual self-bestowal.
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, n. 48
In order to continue doing the will of His Father
in the world. Christ works unceasingly through the Church.
He operates through His ministers, and hence He remains always the source
and wellspring of the unity of their lives. Priests, then, can achieve
this co-ordination and unity of life by joining themselves with Christ
to acknowledge the will of the Father. For them this means a complete
gift of themselves to the flock committed to them (cf. 1
John 3:16). Hence, as they fulfill the role of the Good Shepherd,
in the very exercise of their pastoral charity they will discover a bond
of priestly perfection which draws their life and activity to unity and
coordination. This pastoral charity ("May it be a duty
of love to feed the Lord's flock" [St. Augustine,
"tract on John," 123, 5:PL 35, 1967]), flows out in a very special
way from the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This stands as the root and center
of the whole life of a priest. What takes place on the altar of scarifice,
the priestly heart must make his own. This cannot be done unless
priests through prayer continue to penetrate more deeply into the mystery
of Christ.
Decree on the Ministry and
LIfe of Priests, n. 14
The Church of Christ is truly present in all legitimate
local congregations of the faithful which, united with their pastors, are
themselves called churches in the New Testament (cf. Acts
8:1; 14:22-23; 20:17). For in their locality these are the
new People called by God, in the Holy Ghost and in much fullness.
In them the faithhful are gathered together by preaching of the Gospel
of Christ, and the mystery of the Lord's Supper is celebrated, that by
the food and blood of the Lord's body the whole brotherhood may be joined
together. In any community of the altar, under the sacred minisstry
of the Bishop (cf. S. Ignatius M., Smyrn. 8, 1: ed. Funk,
I, p. 282), there is exhibited a symbol of that charity and "unity
of the Mystical Body, without which there can be no salvation" (S.
Thomas, Summa Theol. III. q. 73, a. 3). In these communities,
though frequently small and poor, or living in the Diaspora, Christ is
present, and in virtue of His presence there is brought together One, Holy,
Catholic and Apostolic Church (cf. S. Augustinus, C. Faustum,
12,
20: PL 42, 265; Serm. 57, 7: PL 38, 389, etc.). For
"the partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ does nothing other than
make us be transformed into that which we consume."
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 26
As the Son was sent by the Father (cf.
Jn. 20:21), so He too sent the Apostles, saying: "Go, therefore,
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days
even to the consummatiuon of the world" (Mt. 21: 18-20).
The Church has received this solemn mandate of Christ to proclaim the saving
truth from the apostles and must carry it out to the very ends of the earth
(cf. Acts 1:8). Wherefore she makes the words
of the Apostle her own: "Woe to me, if I do not preach the Gospel" (1
Cor. 9:16), and continues unceasingly to send heralds of the Gospel
until such time as the infant churches are fully established and can themselves
continue the work of evangelizing. For the Church is compelled by
the Holy Ghost to do her part that God's plan may be fully realized, whereby
He has constituted Christ as the source of salvation for the whole world.
By the proclamation of the Gospel she prepares her hearers to receive and
profess the faith. She gives them the dispositions necessary for
Baptism, snatches them from the slavery of error and of idols and incorporates
them in Christ so that through charity they may grow up into full maturity
in Christ. Through her work, whatever good is in the minds and hearts
of men, whatever good lies latent in the religious practices and cultures
of diverse peoples, is not only saved from destruction but is also cleansed,
raised up and perfected unto the glory of God, the confusion of the devil
and the happiness of man. The obligation of spreading the faith is
imposed on every disciple of Christ according to his state (cf.
Benedictus XV, Epist. Apost. Maximum illud: AAS 11 [1919] p. 440,
especially 451 ff. Pius XI, Litt. Encycl. Rerum Ecclesiae: AAS 18
[1926] pp. 68-69. Pius XII, Litt. Encycl. Fidei Donum, 21 apr. 1957;
AAS 49 [1957] pp. 236-237). Although, however, all the faithful
can Baptize, the priest alone can complete the building up of the Body
in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Thus are fulfilled the words of God,
spoken through His propher: "From the rising of the sun until the going
down thereof my name is great among the gentiles, and in every place a
clean oblation is sacrificed and offered up in my name" (Mal.
1:11; cf. Didache, 14: ed. Funk, I, p. 32. S. Iustinus, Dial.
41:
PG 6, 564. S. Irenacus, Adv. Haer. IV, 17, 5, PG 7, 1023;
Harvey, 2, p. 199 s. Conc. Trid., Sess. 22, cap. 1; Denz 939 [1742]).
In this way the Church both prays and labors in order that the entire world
may become the People of God, the Body of the Lord and the Temple of the
Holy Ghost, and that in Christ, the Head of all, all honor and glory may
be rendered to the Creator and Father of the Universe.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 17
The Church, sent to all peoples of every time and
place, is not bound exclusively and indissolubly to any race or nation,
any particular way of life or any customary way of life recent or ancient.
Faithful to her own tradition and at the same time conscious of her universal
mission, she can enter into communion with the various civilizations, to
their enrichment and the enrichment of the Church herself.
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, n. 3
Inspired by no earthly ambition, the Church seeks
but a solitary goal: to carry forward the work of Christ under the lead
of the befriending Spirit. And Christ entered this world to give
witness to the truth, to rescue and not to sit in judgment, to serve and
not to be served (cf. John 18:37; Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45).
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, n. 3
Missionary activity is closely bound up even with
human nature itself and its aspirations. For by manifesting Christ
the Church reveals to men the real truth about their condition and their
whole calling, since Christ is the source and model of that redeemed
humanity, imbued with brotherly love, sincerity and a peaceful spirit,
to which they all aspire. Christ and the Church, which bears witness
to Him by preaching the Gospel, transcend every peculiarity of race or
nation and therefore cannot be considered foreign anywhere or to anybody.
Christ Himself is the way and the truth, which the preaching of the Gospel
opens to all in proclaiming in the hearing of all these words of Christ:
"Repent, and believe the Gospel" (Mark 1:15).
Now, since he who does not believe is already judged (cf.
John 3:18), the words of Christ are at one and the same time words
of judgment and of grace, of death and of life. For it is only by
putting to death what is old that we are able to approach the newness of
life. This is true first of all about persons, but it holds also
for the various goods of this world which bear the mark both of man's sin
and of God's blessing: "For all have sinned and have need of the
glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). No one is freed from
sin by himself and by his own power, no one is raised above himself, no
one is completely rid of his sickness, of his solitude or his servitude
(cf. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., III, 15, n. 3 [PG 7, 919]:
"Veritatis ..." "They were preachers of truth and apostles of liberty").
On the contrary, all stand in need of Christ, their model, their mentor,
their liberator, their Savior, their source of life. The Gospel has
truly been a leaven of liberty and progress in human history, even in the
temporal sphere, and always proves itself a leaven of brotherhood, of unity
and of peace. Not without cause is Christ hailed by the faithful
as "the expected of the nations, and their Savior."
Decree on the Mission Activity
of the Church, n. 8
Divinely sent to the nations of the world to be unto
them "a universal sacrament of salvation," the Church, driven by the inner
necessity of her own catholicity, and obeying the mandate of her Founder
(cf. Mark 16:16), strives ever to proclaim the Gospel
to all men. The Apostles themselves, on whom the Church was founded,
following in the footsteps of Christ, "preached the word of truth and begot
churches." It is the duty of their successors to make this task endure
"so that the word of God may run and be glorified" (2 Thess.
3:1) and the kingdom of God be proclaimed and established throughout
the world.
In the present state of affairs, out of which there
is arising a new situation for mankind, the Church, being the salt
of the earth and the light of the world (cf. Matt. 5:13-14),
is more urgently called upon to save and renew every creature, that all
things may be restored in Christ and all men may constitute one family
in Him and one people of God.
Decree on the Mission Activity
of the Church, n. 1
The remedy which must be applied to atheism is to
be sought in a proper presentation of the Church's teaching as well as
in the integral life of the Church and her members. For it is the
function of the Church, led by the Holy Ghost Who renews and purifies her
ceaselessly, to make God the Father and His Incarnate Son present and in
a sense visible. This result is achieved chiefly by the witness of
a living and mature faith, namely, one trained to see difficulties clearly
and to master them. Many martyrs have given luminous witness to this
faith and continue to do so. This faith needs to prove its fruitfulness
by penetrating the believer's entire life, including its worldly dimensions,
and by activating him toward justice and love, especially regarding the
needy. What does the most reveal God's prsence, however, is the brotherly
charity of the faithful who are united in spirit as they work together
for the faith of the Gospel (cf. Phil. 1:27) and who
prove themselves a sign of unity.
Pastoral Constitution of the Church
in the Modern World, n. 21
In order to be faithful to the divine command, "teach
all nations" (Matt. 28:19-20), the Catholic Church
must work with all urgency and concern "that the word of God be spread
abroad and glorified (2 Thess. 3:1). Hence the
Church earnestly begs of its children that, "first of all, supplications,
prayers, petitions, acts of thanksgiving be made for all men....
For this is good 
and
agreeable in the sight of God our Savior, who wills that all men be saved
and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1Tim. 2:1-4).
In the formation of their consciences, the Christian faithful ought to
attend to the sacred and certain Doctrine of the Church (cf.
Pius XII, Radio Message, March 23, 1952: AAS 44 [1952], pp. 270-278).
For the Church is, by the will of Christ, the teacher of the truth.
It is her duty to give utterance to, and authoritatively to teach, that
thruth which is Christ Himself, and also to declare and confirm by her
authority those principles of the moral order which have their origins
in human nature itself. Furthermore, let Christians walk in
wisdom in the face of those outside, "in the Holy Ghost, in unaffected
love, in the word of truth" (2 Cor. 6:6-7), and let
them be about their task of spreading the light of life with all confidence
(cf. Acts 4:29) and apostolic courage, even to the
shedding of their blood.
The disciple is bound by a grave obligation toward
Christ, his Master, ever more fully to understand the truth received from
Him, faithfully to proclaim it, and vigorously to defend it, never--be
it understood--having recourse to means that are incompatible with the
spirit of the Gospel. At the same time, the charity of Christ urges
him to love and have prudence and patience in his dealings with those who
are in error or in ignorance with regard to the faith (cf.
John XXIII, Encyclical Letter, Pacim in Terris, April 11, 1963:
AAS 55 [1963], pp. 299-300). All is to be taken into account--the
Christian duty to Christ, the life-giving word which must be proclaimed,
the rights of the human person, and the measure of grace granted by God
through Christ to men who are invited freely to accept and profess the
faith.
Declaration on Religious Freedom, n. 14
Christ's redemptive work, while essentially concerned
with the salvation of men, includes also the renewal of the whole temporal
order. Hence the mission of the Church is not only to bring
the message and grace of Christ to men but also to penetrate and perfect
the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel. In fulfilling this
mission of the Church, the Christian laity exercise their apostolate both
in the Church and in the world, in both the spiritual and temporal orders.
These orders, although distinct, are so connected in the singular plan
of God that He Himself intends to raise up the whole world again in Christ
and make it a new creation, initially on earth and completely on the last
day. In both orders the layman, being simultaneously a believer
and a citizen, should be continuously led by the same Christian conscience.
Decree on the Apostolate
of the Laity, n. 5
The Gospel of Christ constantly renews the life and
culture of fallen man; it combats and removes the errors and evils resulting
from the permanent allurment of sin. It never ceases to purify and
elevate the morality of peoples. By riches coming from above, it
makes fruitful, as it were from within, the spiritual qualities and traditions
of every people and of every age. It strengthens, perfects and restores
them in Christ (cf. Eph. 1:10). Thus the Church,
in the very fulfillment of her own function stimulates and advances human
and civic culture; by her action, also by her liturgy, she leads men toward
interior liberty.
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, n. 58
In a special way, the duty of educating belongs to
the Church, not merely because she must be recognized as a human society
capable of educating, but especially because she has the responsibility
of announcing the way of salvation to all men, of communicating the life
of Christ to those who believe, and, in her unfailing solicitude, of assisting
men to be able to come to the fullness of this life (cf.
Pius XI's Encyclical Letter, Divini Illius Magistri, I, pp. 53 ff.and
56 ff.). The Church is bound as a mother to give to those
children of hers an education by which their whole life can be imbued with
the spirit of Christ and at the same time do all she can to promote for
all peoples the complete perfection of the human person, the good of earthly
society and the building of a world that is more human.
Declaration on Christian Education, n. 3
Just as it is in the world's interest to acknowledge
the Church as an historical reality, and to recognize her good influence,
so the Church herself knows how richly she has profited by the history
and development of humanity.
The experience of past ages, the progress of the
sciences, and the treasures hidden in the various forms of human culture,
by all of which the nature of man himself is more clearly revealed and
new roads to truth are opened, these profit the Church, too. For,
from the beginning of her history she has learned to express the message
of Christ with the help of the ideas and terminology of various philosophers,
and has tried to clarify it with their wisdom, too. Her purpose has
been to adapt the Gospel to the grasp of all as well as to the needs of
the learned, insofar as such was appropriate. Indeed this accommodated
preaching of the revealed word ought to remain the law of all evangelization.
For thus the ability to express Christ's message in its own way is developed
in each nation, and at the same time there is fostered a living exchange
between the Church and the diverse cultures of people. To promote
such exchange, especially in our days, the Church requires the special
help of those who live in the world, are versed in different institutions
and specialties, and grasp their innermost significance in the eyes of
both believers and unbelievers. With the help of the Holy Ghost,
it is the task of the entire People of God, especially pastors and theologians,
to hear, distinguish and interpret the many voices of our age, and to judge
them in the light of the divine word, so that revealed truth can always
be more deeply penetrated, better understood and set forth to greater advantage.
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, n. 44
Since the Church has a visible and social structure
as a sign of her unity in Christ, she can and ought to be enriched by the
development of human social life, not that there is any lack in the constitution
given her by Christ, but that she can understand it more penetratingly,
express it better, and adjust it more successfully to our times.
Moreover, she gratefully understands that in her community life no less
than in her individual sons, she receives a variety of helps from men of
every rank and condition, for whoever promotes the human community at the
family level, culturally, in its economic, social and political dimensions,
both nationally and internationally, such a one, according to God's design,
is contributing greatly to the Church as well, to the extent that she depends
on things outside herself. Indeed, the Church admits that she has
greatly profited and still profits from the antagonism of those who oppose
or who persecute her.
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, n. 44
That the earthly and the heavenly city penetrate
each other is a fact accessible to faith alone; it remains a mystery of
human history, which sin will keep in great disarray until the splendor
of God's sons is fully revealed. Pursuing the saving purpose which
is proper to her, the Church does not only communicate divine life to men
but in some way casts the reflected light of that life over the entire
earth, most of all by its healing and elevating impact on the dignity of
the person, by the way in which it strengthens the seams of human society
and imbues the every day activity of men with a deeper meaning and importance.
Thus through her individual members and her whole community, the Church
believes she can contribute greatly toward making the family of man and
its history more huamn.
Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World, n. 40
God the Father, Son & Holy Ghost
The True Answer To
World Peace
Triumph
Of Church