ECCLESIOLOGY AND MARIOLOGY
St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican
ATTY. MARWIL N. LLASOS, OP REV. FR. WILLIAM CAJES, SThD
Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry Professor
THE MARKS OF THE CHURCH
I hold the belief that the four (4) marks of the Church were present from its very foundation by Our Lord Jesus Christ. These marks – unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity – were willed by the Founder and endowed to His Church from the very beginning. Later on the Councils (325) of Nicea and Constantinople (381) mentioned these marks in the Creed hammered in those ancient councils of the Church to be believed by all the faithful as they profess their faith – “unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam.”
The Church is One
The Church is founded by the Holy One of God – Jesus Christ. The Lord founded His Church upon the rock of Peter saying, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Mt 16:18). The Savior clearly founded only one Church and not churches. The Lord Jesus Christ, in His High Priestly Prayer, willed the united witness of His followers, “that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that thou has sent me” (Jn 17:21). The divisions in Christianity wounded this unity which is a scandal and a shame as Christians cannot put up a common witness to Christ in the world. This is certainly contrary to the will of the Master.
St. Paul made explicit the imperative to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:2). Then he proceeded to stress the unity of the Church – “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-6).
Thus, in the Church, there must be the unity faith, worship and administration. As a Catholic, I must strive to preserve this unity by being one with Peter’s successor and the lawful authorities in the Church. Being one with the Church, I must think with the Church – “sentire cum la Ecclesia.” Moreover, I must pray and work for Christian unity so that the will of Christ might be realized in God’s time.
The Church is Holy
The Catholic Church is founded by the Incarnate Word and no one can be counted equal with Him in holiness. Thus, the holiness of the Church flows from its Head to the Body. The Church is holy because “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:25-27).
The holiness of the Church is already a given reality. Its perfection in holiness has already been achieved in the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, the type and model of the Church. The Second Vatican Council teaches: “But while in the most holy Virgin, the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she is without spot or wrinkle, the followers of Christ still strive to increase in holiness by conquering sin” (Lumen Gentium 65).
The Church has all the means to make us holy. God calls us to be holy, to be saints: “To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints” (Rom 1:7). “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thes 4:3). If it is God’s will for us to be holy, He must have provided us with the means to achieve His will. In the Church is committed the fullness of the means to make us holy. These consist in the sublime and holy truths taught to us in the doctrines of the Church, in the various sacraments, in worship and prayer life.
It is tragic that there are Catholics who cannot live up to the call for holiness. Even the sacred ministers of the Church can fall from grace and commit hideous crimes like pedophilia. But the sinfulness of some of the members of the Church does not speak against the holiness of the Church. The various scandals and evils that happen in the Church do not invalidate her claim to sanctity any more than the presence of Judas in the apostolic college invalidates the holiness, deity and lordship of Jesus Christ. The fruits of the holiness of the Church cannot be seen in those who do not live up to the holy tenets of their holy religion but in those who have lived virtuous and holy lives across the ages. We see the flowering of holiness in the lives of countless saints and martyrs – canonized or not.
It has been the will of Christ that both sinners and saints should co-exist in His Church. This is clearly seen in the parables about the Church (Mt 13:24-30, Mt 13:47-50). Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Divine Physician does not come for the healthy but for those who are sick (Mt 9:12; Mk 2:17; Lk 5:31). It is for the sinners that the Lord comes to His Church to give them forgiveness and healing.
Sexual immorality is something that is never unheard of in the Church. It is a human problem, not a Catholic problem. In St. Paul’s letter to the Church of God in Corinth, he referred to the members of the Church as sanctified in Christ Jesus and are called to be saints (1 Cor 2:2). Nevertheless, he rebuked the Corinthian Christians for the sexual immorality reported among them (1 Cor 5:1-12). So what else is new?
As Catholic, I am sure that the Church has all the means necessary for salvation. In the Church is found all the resources I can use to be holy. It is a challenge for me to avail of these gifts so I can be holy. It would be a great tragedy indeed if I would not be a saint.
The Church is Catholic
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of all. God “desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Hence, the Savior made His Church catholic which means “universal.” With the divine mandate to save all men, the jurisdiction of the Church is universal. The Lord says in Matthew 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Clearly, the power of the keys granted to the Church through St. Peter encompasses both heaven and earth. What can be more universal than that?
In the Great Commission, the Risen Lord sent His disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:19-20). Here, the Lord stressed Catholicity in geography (all nations), in doctrine (all that I have commanded you) and in time (I am with you always).
How much Catholic am I? Do I embrace everyone as my brothers and sisters in Christ? As Catholic, I must be imbued with a Catholic spirit – one who is always open to universal ministry. I must be ever inclusive and not exclusive. I must not discriminate for after all, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:27).
The Church is Apostolic
The Church is apostolic because it is founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, the one Apostle of the Father (cf. Heb 1:1-2; 3:1). He founded His Church on St. Peter, the Chief Apostle and on the eleven (11) other apostles. The household of God, the Church (1 Tim 3:15) is “built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone” (Eph 2:20).
The Catholic Church can trace its lineage ultimately to Christ through the apostles. Our bishops can trace their succession all the way to the apostles of the Lord. The Bishop of Rome traces his unbroken apostolic succession to St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles. The Catholic Church is therefore apostolic. It also has an apostolic mandate – the missionary activity of the Church. In that regard, I too can be “apostolic” by giving myself to the work of the apostolate especially by having a missionary outreach to the world.