May 4, 2004
Some people define the Church in a few words, or understand the Church in simple terms, and that may satisfy them, but the Church is a mystery, a divine mystery.  It is not easily understood, and so it can easily be misunderstood.

Probing this mystery was the main task of the Fathers of the Church in the Second Vatican Council, and two of the four Constitutions were the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church and the Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World.  Added to these were nine Decrees and three Declarations, sixteen documents in all.

The Dogmatic Constitution is called "Light of World, Lumen Gentium," a title of Jesus Christ.  Christ's Church is to bring the Light of Jesus to the whole world.  Although that is a wonderful and enormous task, it would be an intimidating and impossible one if Jesus Christ were not within the Church.  But he is within it and the Holy Spirit guides us and binds us together in love.  We stumble along, lose footing and even veer off the path at times, but the Light of Christ brings us back to where we're supposed to be.
 
The Light of Christ, even more, guides us to correct our faults and to renew our zeal; Christ also inspires us to be more attentive to the needs of those around us.

When we attempt to explain and understand a mystery, we often use metaphors.  Jesus did, and his Church does, too.  And even though every metaphor limps, i.e., doesn't completely explain and, most assuredly, in the case of a mystery, cannot adequately explain that to which it is likened, such figures of speech are helpful.

The Word of God is like a seed planted by a farmer.  Jesus wants the seed of his word to be sown in every heart, and the Church takes up Christ's work to do this, and to nourish it so that it will grow.

The Church is compared with a flock of sheep with Jesus as our good shepherd.  He knows us and calls us to follow him.  He looks after us and seeks us out when we stray.  The Church does that, as well. 

The Church is like a field cultivated by a farmer.  It is also called a vineyard.  Jesus is the vine and gives every branch the nourishment it needs to produce good fruit.

The Church is called a building with Christ as its cornerstone.  It is a home where God's family lives.  It is a temple in which God dwells and each of us is a living stone.

The Church is a marriage between Jesus and us; he loves us with a love that surpasses everything we know.  The Church is the spouse of Christ.

All these images are helpful, but Bill Huebsch in his book The Constitutions, points out that for us Catholics and for all people, "the most central and clear message we have emerges from the metaphor that we are family.  We are indeed brothers and sisters, because of the life and death that Christ offered on our behalf.  We are, in fact, the very body of Christ!"

I often hear the hymn: "We are the Body of Christ!"  "Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo!"  By baptism, we are united to Christ.  His life, death and resurrection take root in us, body and soul.  In the Eucharist, we experience a real communion with Christ and with the other members of the Church.
 
Christ both established the Church and sustains the Church on earth.  He is the head of the Church, and his life continues to support our life.  This is far from the thinking and probably beyond the capacity of people with little or no faith to understand the Church as anything but a structural and organized human institution, and as often as not, not a very likeable one.  Where does the fault lie?  In any age, ours notably, the source is readily identified, but it isn't because of Jesus.  Far from it, the presence of Christ in the Church, structured and organized as it is, continues to enliven the members of his Body and even to draw new members into union with him and with the other members.

The divine and human nature of the Church is likened to the divine and human nature of Christ, the one notable difference being that the human nature of Christ was faultless.  In the Church, Huebsch writes, "mystery and plainness swim together; where the social structures swim with the Spirit of God, is the one Church of Christ."  One, holy, universal and apostolic.

What makes the Church holy is the presence of Christ within it.  Some members achieve great sanctity through the fulfillment of their vocation, their union with God, their goodness to the poor and suffering, and their humility and self-sacrifice.

But such holiness is not meant to be the identifying mark of a select few.  If we are the Body of Christ, then each of us must act like Christ, be like Christ, be seen as Christ.  To be a member of the Church, to be Christian, is to be another Christ, even to be Christ to others.  That seems to be what Paul was alluding to when he said, "To me, to live is Christ."
 
The Body of Christ that is one and the same with the organized Church and all its members is always in need of renewal and forgiveness.  It is always in need of purification for its mission, Huebsch writes, which is the same as the mission of Christ.  We have to work at this both as individual members of the Church and also as the organized Church.

Our personal union with Jesus and our united efforts to conform our minds to his will make us credible.  It will also make it possible for us to make Jesus known.  Jesus will guide us.  After all, he is with us always, and he is the Light of the World.