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It’s Day 114!!
We will talk about the FOUR MARKS of the Church (Marky, Bis-, Water-, and of course Birth- 🤣 🤣)
ONE
HOLY
CATHOLIC
APOSTOLIC
What does this mean?
They make the Church the Church
They reveal that the Church TRULY IS what She claims to be
We will hear traces of all four marks today
The focus is THE CHURCH IS ONE
The Church is ONE because of the SOURCE of the Church
Paragraph 813 says, “The Church is one because of her source…”
So what is the SOURCE?
THE HOLY TRINITY
THE UNITY OF ONE GOD
Paragraph 813 continues, “The Church is one because of her founder…”
Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh, ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH
Paragraph 813 continues, “The Church is one because of her ‘soul’...”
The SOUL of the Church is the HOLY SPIRIT
UNITY IS OF ESSENCE TO THE CHURCH
Source-Holy Trinity
Founder-Jesus Christ
Soul-The Holy Spirit
There is diversity in the Church so there can be UNITY AND ONENESS even in the midst of diversity
One Spirit, many many GIFTS
There are things that threaten unity
It’s not diversity
IT IS SIN
Paragraph 814 says, “Yet sin and the burden of its consequences constantly threaten the gift of unity. And so the Apostle has to exhort Christians to ‘maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’”
What are some of those bonds of unity that enable the Church to stay together
The three of them named today are the profession of ONE FAITH aka the Nicene Creed
Secondly the common celebration of divine worship, especially the sacraments
Thirdly is the Apostolic Succession through the Sacrament of Holy Orders
The Pope, bishops, and priests
AT THE SAME TIME…
UNITY ONLY COMES FROM GOD!!
GOD IS THE SOURCE OF THE CHURCH
GOD IS THE SOURCE OF THE GRACES IN THE CHURCH
GOD IS THE SOURCE OF THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH
So let’s pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, One God, we thank you. We thank you and we praise your name this morning, this afternoon, this evening, whenever we are listening to this, Lord God. We praise you now. And we ask that you please continue to maintain that gift of unity. Please, Lord God, we ask you to please continue to establish your Church in oneness. Lord God, we know that divisions are painful. We know that divisions devastate. And we know the devastation of being divided. We know the devastation of fracture when the Church fractures or when individuals, members of the Body of Christ, brothers and sisters, when we turn away. And we ask you to please conquer the sin that divides us. And conquer the sin in each of us that causes division. Knit us back together in our own hearts. Knit us back together with each other as brothers and sisters and knit us back to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit so that we can be one Body and one Church. In your name we pray. Amen”
So there we have it!!
THE CHURCH IS ONE
IN FACT…
The Church HAS to have these MARKS OF THE CHURCH
ONE
HOLY
CATHOLIC
APOSTOLIC
There is something pretty bold about what the VATICAN COUNCIL I noted in Paragraph 812
It is BOLD because it is TRUE
Fr. Mike has made it a point to mention that the Church is DIVINE
And the Church is HUMAN
In that humanness we are pretty broken
AT THE SAME TIME…
Fr. Mike has neglected the reality that VATICAN COUNCIL I notes
There is a GLORIOUS REALITY of the Church in this world
There is a VERY VERY HOLY REALITY of the Church in this world
Vatican Council I says in Paragraph 812, “The ‘Church herself, with her marvelous propagation, eminent holiness, and inexhaustible fruitfulness in everything good, her catholic unity and invincible stability, is a great and perpetual motive of credibility and an irrefutable witness of her divine mission.’”
Think about Her marvelous propagation…
The Church is EVERYWHERE throughout the world
THAT IS AMAZING!!
It’s one thing that we inherit the Church
It’s another thing to realize THIS DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN
Coming from 12 fishermen, tax collectors, etc. to be a WORLDWIDE ORGANIZATION that is UNSTOPPABLE and is HER EMINENT HOLINESS (I think that’s what Fr. Mike is saying… 🤔)
Yes, there are broken people in the Church like you and me
BUT…
There is also this MASSIVE HISTORY of all the SAINTS
It is easy to overlook this
For 2,000 years there has been a REMARKABLE stream of Saints who have been raised up by Jesus Christ THROUGH HIS CATHOLIC CHURCH!!
We forget about that sometimes
We can be proud of the fact that God has worked through history in His Church
Yes, there is brokenness in that history
BUT…
We MUST recognize what VATICAN COUNCIL I says, “...her catholic unity and invincible stability, is a great and perpetual motive of credibility and an irrefutable witness of her divine mission.’”
One of the signs of the fact that the Church has been established and sustained by God is the fact that the Church is made up of so many sinners
AND YET…
People, governments, and organizations THROUGHOUT HISTORY have tried to take down the Catholic Church and destroy Her
THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO!!!
WE have not even been able to destroy the Catholic Church as sinners in the Church
This points to the credibility and is an irrefutable witness of the Church’s divine mission
This does not come from ourselves
It can sound self-aggrandizing
It’s not that we are part of the winning team
IN FACT…
Paragraph 813 says, “The Church is one because of her source…”
The THREE SOURCES of the Church’s UNITY
THE HOLY TRINITY
JESUS CHRIST IS THE FOUNDER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH
For us to maintain that the Catholic Church has these FOUR MARKS to it
ONE
HOLY
CATHOLIC
APOSTOLIC
This is not meant to be puffing our chest out and being arrogant about this
It simply highlights that we have received this FROM THE LORD GOD HIMSELF
We have been brought into the Catholic Church BY THE LORD GOD HIMSELF
THE TRINITY (THE SOURCE)
THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY (THE FOUNDER)
THE THIRD PERSON OF THE TRINITY (THE SOUL)
Paragraph 814 says, “From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God’s gifts and the diversity of those who receive them. Within the unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples and cultures is gathered together. Among the Church’s members, there are different gifts, offices, conditions, and ways of life.”
This is a RICHNESS of the Church’s DIVERSITY
WHICH IS REMARKABLE!!
IN FACT…
Lumen Gentium says in Paragraph 814, “‘Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions.’”
What does that mean?
The Latin Church or the Latin Rite, which most of us are familiar with, is present throughout most of Europe, the Americas etc.
BUT…
There are also EASTERN RITE Catholic Churches, ETHIOPIAN RITE Catholic Churches, MARONITE RITE Catholic Churches, etc.
There is a DIVERSITY even in the midst of the way the Mass is celebrated according to these different rites that are still IN UNION with the Church
Now, there are some rites that broke off and are not in union with the Church
BUT…
Within the Church there are still particular churches that retain their own traditions
They DO NOT THREATEN the Church’s unity
Diversity DOES NOT THREATEN the Church’s unity
What does threaten the Church’s unity?
SIN DOES!!
Sin is the ONLY THING that threatens the Church’s unity
So we have to hold onto not only the IDEA of unity
We have to hold onto the VISIBLE BONDS OF UNITY
We have to be able to test this
We can’t just say, “I don’t feel united with you, therefore we are united.”
Someone can’t point to us and say, “You seem different and diverse, therefore you can’t be united.”
They have to be VISIBLE BONDS OF UNITY that establish this peace
Paragraph 814 continues, “And so the Apostle has to exhort Christians to ‘maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’”
Let’s highlight them again
Paragraph 815 says, “What are these bonds of unity? Above all, charity ‘binds everything together in perfect harmony.’ But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of communion: -profession of one faith received from the Apostles; -common celebration of divine worship, especially the sacraments; -apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God’s family.”
We do believe the SAME THINGS
It’s one thing to say we are BAPTIZED Catholic Christians
BUT…
Do we profess that ONE FAITH
If we don’t…
If we alter it…
If we add to it or subtract something from it…
If we distort it…
Ok there’s DIVISION there
Coming together, especially in the Eucharist, is a remarkable sign of UNITY
Apostolic Succession is a visible sign of the Church’s UNITY
IN FACT…
The Catholic Church can go back and trace all the Popes ALL THE WAY BACK TO PETER
EVERY ONE OF YOUR BISHOPS can be traced ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE APOSTLES
They all come from that UNBROKEN LINE OF APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
THAT REALITY IS SO IMPORTANT FOR THE MAINTAINING OF UNITY!!
Because THE CHURCH IS ONE
That is one of the signs of God’s Presence
UNITY!!
One of the signs of the evil one’s presence is DIVISION
We have to pray and work AGAINST DIVISION
We have to pray and work FOR UNITY
That’s why Fr. Mike always asks us to PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
WE HAVE TO PRAY FOR EACH OTHER!!
It’s not enough to be kind of united in our hearts or minds
We need a REAL UNITY if we are really going to be a witness of God’s love to this world
The Holy Trinity is TRULY UNITED
So God’s Church has to be TRULY UNITED
SO LET US PRAY FOR EACH OTHER!!
LET US PRAY FOR FR. MIKE!!
FR. MIKE IS PRAYING FOR YOU!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
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