The Church Is Still the Mystical Body of Christ

The Catholic Thing ^ | Louise Merrie

[MurphsLaw]

The Church Is Still the Mystical Body of Christ

LOUISE MERRIE

It is unfortunately common to hear Catholics criticizing the Catholic Church without realizing what the Church really is. The Church is not an institution like a nonprofit organization. The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. This teaching on the Church was first revealed to St. Paul at the time of his conversion when Jesus asked St. Paul (then called Saul) why he was persecuting Him. At that time, St. Paul had been persecuting the Church. His encounter with Jesus led him to understand that the Church is Jesus’ Mystical Body.

I first learned that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ by reading The Divine Romance by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. In a chapter called “The Divine Equation,” he wrote, “The Church, then, in the language of Sacred Scripture is the body of Christ, not the physical one like to the one that was born in Bethlehem and was crucified in Jerusalem, but rather a mystical one in which He continues to live and to act and to think (though in another sense than he did in Judea and Galilee)… As His incarnation was made up of a visible and an invisible element, a human and a divine: so, too, His continued Incarnation in His Church is made up of two elements, one human and the other divine. The human element in it is poor, weak humanity, and the divine element is the life of God. …He is doing with this new body three things, as He did three things with his physical body: with it He Teaches, He Governs, and He sanctifies.” Archbishop Sheen later wrote an entire book on this subject, which I recommend, called The Mystical Body of Christ.

In the encyclical On the Mystical Body of Christ (Mystici Corporis Christi), Pope Pius XII explained why the term “mystical” is used: “There are several reasons why it should be used; for by it we may distinguish the Body of the Church, which is a Society whose Head and Ruler is Christ, from His physical Body, which, born of the Virgin Mother of God, now sits at the right hand of the Father and is hidden under the Eucharistic veils; and, that which is of greater importance in the view of modern errors, this name enables us to distinguish it from any other body, whether in the physical or in the moral order.” (60)

The Second Vatican Council expanded on the teaching of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. (7) “By communicating His Spirit, Christ made His brothers, called together from all nations, mystically the components of His own Body. In that Body the life of Christ is poured into the believers who, through the sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ who suffered and was glorified.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church also emphasizes that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. “The Church is the Body of Christ. Through the Spirit and his actions in the sacraments, above all the Eucharist, Christ, who once was dead and is now risen, establishes the community of believers as his own Body.”

The Church teaches that receiving the Eucharist unites us to Jesus and to one another. The Mystical Body includes all the members on earth in every country and of every vocation; all the members in Heaven; and all the souls in purgatory. We are all part of the Church and united to one another. “Giving the body unity through Himself and through His power and inner joining of the members, this same Spirit produces and urges love among the believers. From all this it follows that if one member endures anything, all the members co-endure it, and if one member is honored, all the members together rejoice.” Lumen Gentium (7). This is why we must pray for and assist the members of the Church who are persecuted, who are sick, who are poor, who don’t understand the Church’s teachings, and any members who are in any need. This is also why we feel such joy when other members experience something good, such as being made a canonized saint, giving birth to a new baby, joining a religious order, or founding an apostolate.

There can be a misunderstanding among some Catholics, when they think that the only important roles in the Church are limited to those of bishops, priests, and deacons, ignoring the unique gifts they have been given as laity. St. Paul addressed this in discussing the different roles in the Church. In his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul wrote: “For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Romans 12:4 – 8). The lives of the saints show the great variety of ways in which Catholics have exercised the gifts that God gave them. Think of St. Gianna Molla, a wife, mother, and doctor; St. Louis and St. Zelie Martin, a married couple with children (including St. Therese of Lisieux) and business owners; and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a single university student who helped the poor and the sick and worked to oppose fascism. Each of the saints is different. They came from different countries, they had different vocations, they were given different gifts from God, and they served God and the Church in different ways. What they had in common is that they all lived lives of love: love of God and love of neighbor. They remained faithful Catholics in the Mystical Body of Christ and persevered in the Faith until they died. Reading about the saints, blesseds and other faithful Catholic witnesses can inspire us to use the gifts and talents God gave us to serve Him.

Pope Pius XII addressed the scandal caused by unfaithful and immoral Catholics. “For…Christ did not wish to exclude sinners from His Church; hence if some of her members are suffering from spiritual maladies, that is no reason why we should lessen our love for the Church, but rather a reason why we should increase our devotion to her members.” (66). Yes, through the centuries, there have been Catholics who committed terrible sins or who have taught things contrary to the doctrines of the Church. But the actions of these people are their own actions; their sins are harmful to the Church, but they do not truly represent the Church. We need to stay focused on Jesus. He will never abandon His Church. He is constantly with her and guiding her. We need to pray for the repentance and conversion of the people within the Church who have committed terrible sins because God created them and wants everyone to be saved. We need to examine our own conscience as well, and repent of our sins, and continually strive to be holy so that we may be worthy members of Jesus’ Church. We need to also continually engage in evangelization of the people outside the Church, so they may become part of the Mystical Body of Christ.

Pope Pius XII wrote about Jesus’ guidance and protection of His Church. “By this interior guidance He, the ‘Shepherd and Bishop of our souls,’ not only watches over individuals but exercises His providence over the universal Church…” (39). Pope Pius XII explained that when the Church is in danger, Jesus will save her Himself or through the intercession of the angels, the Blessed Mother, or the saints. Therefore, there is no need for Catholics to be afraid of what will happen to the Church. Jesus is always with the Church and her members. Jesus is acting in His Church today and guiding her.

In his encyclical, Pope Pius XII exhorted Catholics to love the Church. He wrote, “In order that such a solid and undivided love may abide and increase in our souls day by day, we must accustom ourselves to see Christ Himself in the Church.” (93) Knowing what it means to be part of the Church can make us very grateful to God for the gift of faith and membership in the Mystical Body, and for helping us to remain in the Church. It is through the Church that we develop a closer relationship with Jesus.

[MurphsLaw]

Where does the Bible give any man the authority to make such judgmental statements regarding the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Where?

You are mostly correct- though Luther's reliance on Jamnia as canon was totally incorrect -and he misses the point that Jamnia wasn't unifying as much as it was about a post-temple re-writing. It was an excuse to decline inspiration that he may not have realized- nonetheless he used - to allow him to pull those books HE did not agree with - and he tips his hand in his endeavor by wanting to censor or removed MORE books- NT books- as well - but did not have a similar device to do so - and so could not.

Was it a mess? Yes- The Sadducees only believed in the first 5 books of the Pentateuch - the Pharisees believed in 34 other books of the Old Testament as well. Greek speaking diaspora Jews read and believed from other books divinely inspired as well. And we know Jesus addressed the Diaspora Jews with quotes or references from the Septuagint version - and not in Greek as far as we know - of the scriptures. It was an error to remove those 7 books (based on Luther's own criteria) - as we learned from the Dead Sea Scrolls- to find Luther's error magnified.
The fact the scrolls were hidden, can maybe even attest to the fact that post-temple, there was a not-so-divinely inspired need to destroy them - to suit the needs of the survivors and some kind of unity going forward.(soundds familiar)
Ancient Cancel culture.

Some science behind this:

Setterfield cites a paper by Dr. S. H. Horn (Ph.D. in Archeology from Andrews University), who wrote:
However, the facts – that a unified [Hebrew] text suddenly became the standard at the end of the first century and that not one copy of a divergent text survived, except the Dead Sea Scrolls (already hidden when Jamnia convened), clearly indicate that the Council of Jamnia must have taken action in this matter. Moreover, the fact that Aquila, one of Akiba’s pupils, soon… produced a new Greek translation that slavishly translated the ‘new’ unified Hebrew text for the use of the Diaspora Jews, gives credence to the idea that Akiba must have been a key influence in the standardization of the Hebrew text.[2]

Deuterocanonical References in the New Testament Order

Matthew 4:4 . Wisdom 16:26
Matthew 4:15 . 1 Maccabees 5:15
Matthew 5:18 . Baruch 4:1
Matthew 5:28 . Sirach 9:8
Matthew 5:2 . Sirach 25:7-12
Matthew 5:4 . Sirach 48:24
Matthew 6:7 . Sirach 7:14
Matthew 6:9 . Sirach 23:1, 4
Matthew 6:10 . Maccabees 3:60
Matthew 6:12 . Sirach 28:2
Matthew 6:13 . Sirach 33:1
Matthew 6:20 . Sirach 29:10s
Matthew 6:23 . Sirach 14:10
Matthew 6:33 . Wisdom 7:11
Matthew 7:12 . Tobit 4:15
Matthew 7:12 . Sirach 31:15
Matthew 7:16 . Sirach 27:6
Matthew 8:11 . Baruch 4:37
Matthew 8:21 . Tobit 4:3
Matthew 9:36 . Judith 11:19
Matthew 9:38 . Maccabees 12:17
Matthew 10:16 . Sirach 13:17
Matthew 11:14 . Sirach 48:10
Matthew 11:22 . Judith 16:17
Matthew 11:25 . Tobit 7:17
Matthew 11:25 . Sirach 51:1
Matthew 11:28 . Sirach 24:19
Matthew 11:28 . Sirach 51:23
Matthew 11:29 . Sirach 6:24s
Matthew 11:29 . Sirach 6:28s
Matthew 11:29 . Sirach 51:26s
Matthew 12:42 . Maccabees 10:3
Matthew 12:5 . Sirach 40:15
Matthew 13:44 . Sirach 20:30s
Matthew 16:18 . Wisdom 16:13
Matthew 16:22 . 1 Maccabees 2:21
Matthew 16:27 . Sirach 35:22
Matthew 17:11 . Sirach 48:10
Matthew 18:10 . Tobit 12:15
Matthew 20:2 . Tobit 5:15
Matthew 22:13 . Wisdom 17:2
Matthew 23:38 . Tobit 14:4
Matthew 24:15 . 1 Maccabees 1:54
Matthew 24:15 . 2 Maccabees 8:17
Matthew 24:16 . 1 Maccabees 2:28
Matthew 25:35 . Tobit 4:17
Matthew 26:38 . Sirach 37:2
Matthew 27:24 . Daniel 13:46
Matthew 27:43 . Wisdom 2:13
Matthew 27:43 . Wisdom 2:18-20

The respected Protestant patristics scholar J. N. D. Kelly writes: "It should be observed that the Old Testament thus admitted as authoritative in the Church was somewhat bulkier and more comprehensive than the [Protestant Old Testament] . . . It always included, though with varying degrees of recognition, the so-called Apocrypha or deutero-canonical books. The reason for this is that the Old Testament, which passed in the first instance into the hands of Christians, was . . . the Greek translation known as the Septuagint. . . . most of the Scriptural quotations found in the New Testament are based upon it rather than the Hebrew. . . . In the first two centuries. . . the Church seems to have accepted all, or most of, these additional books as inspired and to have treated them without question as Scripture. Quotations from Wisdom, for example, occur in 1 Clement and Barnabas. . . Polycarp cites Tobit, and the Didache [cites] Ecclesiasticus. Irenaeus refers to Wisdom, the History of Susannah, Bell and the Dragon [i.e. the deuterocanonical portions of Daniel], and Baruch. The use made of the Apocrypha by Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian and Clement of Alexandria is too frequent for detailed references to be necessary" 1

1. J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, pp. 53-54.

Additional history:
https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/apologetics/5-myths-about-7-books.html

[MurphsLaw]

I never mentioned the nutjob, Tim Gordon.

Never said you did. I mentioned him. Your video link you posted was of Taylor and the BP. ? Obviously the kerfuffle cannot go unmentioned... Or are you forgetting things....?
And yes - I like Bp. Schneider alot... I wish he wasn't a fan boy of the SSPX and would direct his energies at his German Bishop neighbors who are having difficulty at the moment...

[ebb tide]

I wish he (Bishop Schneider)... would direct his energies at his German Bishop neighbors who are having difficulty at the moment...

You need to get out from Barron's cassock more often.

Cardinal, bishops, priests ask Pope to stop schism of Catholic Church in Germany

Bishop Schneider: How Catholics in Germany Can Remain Faithful in Face of Schism

[aMorePerfectUnion]

As I said last post, Luther decided correctly, as have other believers through the ensuing centuries

[MurphsLaw]

I knew I liked him.

[BDParrish]

You cannot persuade using that kind of argument.
You couldn’t really think anyone to be swayed by such a straw man argument, so I suspect this is what you say to yourself to escape the nagging suspicion that your church is contradicting God. It is, but I am not so naïve to think that I will be the one to convince you.

You might study what “idias epilusews” actually means. It conveys the opposite of what you have imagined and I find it delightfully ironic that it is Peter who actually says this to you.

I mean no disrespect to you, but you will understand that further comment from you about this is a waste of time. I would love to hear however, your thoughts on the vaccine issue or the election steal issue or other threads that you might be following. FReegards!

[MurphsLaw]

Well, I just think he Dead Sea Scrolls were a game changer.
Proof of Tobit, Sirach etc. existence - with a possible nod to John the Baptist certainly should give them reconsideration.
If Esther is "inspired" then, and not Sirach - .. I'd like to see that reasoning- which Esther is curiously absent from the Scrolls as well.

That these Scrolls were meant to be protected from whatever enemy that threatened - and by cross-validating - now proves they were held in a Spiritual manner - that were unknown to those who came along centuries later.

[MurphsLaw]

We'll agree to disagree...

But for me... reductio ad absurdum is never a straw man...

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Great stuff for study.

In addition to scripture, they also contained the Pseudepigrapha, Legislative Documents, and Hymns and Biblical Additions.

[Terry L Smith]

In answer to the question, I reiterate: ‘Y’all.’

Or do you prefer: you’se, you’se guys, all of ya’s, YOU, the bunch of ya’s, the lot of you, ‘e.g.d.s.o.o.ya’s’, ad nauseum.

[Luircin]

The dirty secret of Biblical history is that there have *always* been books that have been considered strongly canonical and more weakly canonical and disputed.

This is why it’s so important to let Scripture interpret Scripture. You start with the books that you are absolutely certain of, and you use those to interpret and verify the canonical status of texts you aren’t so sure of.

In other words, you do exactly what scholars have done all through the entire history of Scripture.

At least the entire history of Scripture until Catholicism wanted the stick of propaganda to bash the Reformers with.

[Luircin]

You’re reminding me of the times we had to learn Greek and Hebrew and had to find special ways to show when we were translating second person plural.

I personally preferred ‘youse guys’ but I think that the people whose natural vocabulary included ‘y’all’ really had the advantage.

Tangent over. Now regarding actual Scriptural translation it’s always really REALLY irritated me that Catholicism insisted on using Latin when Scripture was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek.

Switching from Greek to Latin is responsible for one of the worst heresies to ever infect the Church at large, because Mark 1:15 in Greek reads (roughly translated) “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Whereas in Latin it reads, “Do penance and believe in the Gospel.”

Argh argh argh.

[one guy in new jersey]

Who is it that you say believes what one thing, and who is it that you believes what second thing that supposedly contradicts the first thing?

Catholics do well to avoid trying to answer vague or ambiguous questions from non-Catholics.

Or from hecklers, Catholic or not.

You’ll understand the wisdom of this policy, I’m sure.

[daniel1212]

" Yes, of course God was involved in the beginning - though only until Luther pulled rank on God - and made some revisions one thousand years later that God had overlooked. "

This typical parroted polemic with its premise of a settled canon until Luther came along has (as is typical) been refuted when posted by you before, but you just keep posting the same lies as is typical. For as documented and told you, scholarly disagreements over the canonicity (proper) of certain books continued down through the centuries and right into Trent, until it provided the first "infallible," indisputable canon - after the death of Luther in 1546 (who as a RC had freedom to disagree with it.

In addition, rather than Rome giving us "what you have today," We do not hold to the larger OT canon that Rome finally defined as indisputable, but instead hold to the most ancient OT canon, which is even affirmed within Catholicism: “the protocanonical books of the Old Testament correspond with those of the Bible of the Hebrews, and the Old Testament as received by Protestants.” “...the Hebrew Bible, which became the Old Testament of Protestantism.” (The Catholic Encyclopedia>Canon of the Old Testament; htttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03267a.htm) The Protestant canon of the Old Testament is the same as the Palestinian canon. (The Catholic Almanac, 1960, p. 217) :

Also, doctor Luther expressed that he was only providing his personal judgment which others were free to differ on, and Protestantism did and has, while Luther also translated apocryphal books and placed them separately in his translation. Which is not what the likes of "Catholic Answers" will tell you.

[daniel1212]

" So when there are those that say - Jesus was gay -... because he never married and had ONE of the Apostle's who "loved him"....as stated oftten in the Bible- Are you OK with THAT private interpretation?? Because that's what it says in the Bible..."

I certainly am not, and already corrected the private interpretation statement, and noted that the very text that Catholics invoke as proscribing private interpretation does not teach that, and thus this use of it by Catholics examples the very thing that they argue against. For that "no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20) is not referring to interpretation of Scripture, but that of the writing of prophecy not being the product of man's own understanding, but to the contrary, that the prophets did not know "what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." - 1 Peter 1:11) Interpret scripture by scripture.

But which you ignored as is typical. As well as the fact that under your alternative, that of submission to your magisterium, for about 60 years your official Bible for America (NAB/NABRE) has not used render “porneia” as “sexual immorality” or anything sexual and instead renders the words for fornication/fornicator as "immorality" or "immoral persons" among the many occurrences of the words for sexual immorality. (Matthew 5:32 Matthew 15:19 Matthew 19:9 Mark 7:21 John 8:41 Acts 15:20 Acts 15:29 Acts 21:25 Romans 1:29 1 Corinthians 5:1 1 Corinthians 5:9 1 Corinthians 5:10 1 Corinthians 5:11 1 Corinthians 6:9 1 Corinthians 6:13 1 Corinthians 6:18 1 Corinthians 5:9 ,10,11; 7:2; 6:9; 1 Corinthians 10:8 2 Corinthians 12:21 Galatians 5:19 Ephesians 5:3 Colossians 3:5 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Hebrews 12:16 Jude 7 Revelation 2:14,20,21; 9:21; 14:8;17:2,4; 18:3,9; 19:2) - even though in most cases it is in a sexual context.

In addition it uses inclusive language more extensively than ever before. And its (required) footnotes show adherence to the discredited JEDP theory and other liberal revisionism.

Which refutation of the Catholic premise of faith in your magisterium rather than subjecting what is taught to examination by Scripture (Acts 17:11) has already been shown you by the grace of God, along - with - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - many - other - refutations of your profuse polemics for Rome in the short time you have been here on FR, but which are typically followed by more posting of the same prevaricating propaganda and polemics.

Which thus are an argument against being a Catholic as yourself, as such seem to be compelled to keep comforting themselves with lies and defending Rome as if it was God, perhaps under the delusion that doing so will obtain them some "indulgence."

[Elsie]

... that the Holy Scriptures should always be in our mother tongue...

[Elsie]

...-but Ignore the Early Church Fathers and their Interpretations-...

Like THESE??

As regards the oft-quoted Mt. 16:18, note the following Early Church Fathers promise in the profession of faith of Vatican 1:

 

 

 • Basil of Seleucia, Oratio 25:

'You are Christ, Son of the living God.'...Now Christ called this confession a rock, and he named the one who confessed it 'Peter,' perceiving the appellation which was suitable to the author of this confession. For this is the solemn rock of religion, this the basis of salvation, this the wall of faith and the foundation of truth: 'For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.' To whom be glory and power forever. — Oratio XXV.4, M.P.G., Vol. 85, Col. 296-297.

 

• Bede, Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, 3:

You are Peter and on this rock from which you have taken your name, that is, on myself, I will build my Church, upon that perfection of faith which you confessed I will build my Church by whose society of confession should anyone deviate although in himself he seems to do great things he does not belong to the building of my Church...Metaphorically it is said to him on this rock, that is, the Saviour which you confessed, the Church is to be built, who granted participation to the faithful confessor of his name. — 80Homily 23, M.P.L., Vol. 94, Col. 260. Cited by Karlfried Froehlich, Formen, Footnote #204, p. 156 [unable to verify by me].

 

• Cassiodorus, Psalm 45.5:

'It will not be moved' is said about the Church to which alone that promise has been given: 'You are Peter and upon this rock I shall build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.' For the Church cannot be moved because it is known to have been founded on that most solid rock, namely, Christ the Lord. — Expositions in the Psalms, Volume 1; Volume 51, Psalm 45.5, p. 455

 

• Chrysostom (John) [who affirmed Peter was a rock, but here not the rock in Mt. 16:18]:

Therefore He added this, 'And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; that is, on the faith of his confession. — Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Homily LIIl; Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf110.iii.LII.html)

 

• Cyril of Alexandria:

When [Peter] wisely and blamelessly confessed his faith to Jesus saying, 'You are Christ, Son of the living God,' Jesus said to divine Peter: 'You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.' Now by the word 'rock', Jesus indicated, I think, the immoveable faith of the disciple.”. — Cyril Commentary on Isaiah 4.2.

 

• Origen, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Book XII):

“For a rock is every disciple of Christ of whom those drank who drank of the spiritual rock which followed them, 1 Corinthians 10:4 and upon every such rock is built every word of the church, and the polity in accordance with it; for in each of the perfect, who have the combination of words and deeds and thoughts which fill up the blessedness, is the church built by God.'

“For all bear the surname ‘rock’ who are the imitators of Christ, that is, of the spiritual rock which followed those who are being saved, that they may drink from it the spiritual draught. But these bear the surname of rock just as Christ does. But also as members of Christ deriving their surname from Him they are called Christians, and from the rock, Peters.” — Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Book XII), sect. 10,11 ( http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/101612.htm)

 

• Hilary of Potier, On the Trinity (Book II):

Thus our one immovable foundation, our one blissful rock of faith, is the confession from Peter's mouth, Thou art the Son of the living God. On it we can base an answer to every objection with which perverted ingenuity or embittered treachery may assail the truth."-- (Hilary of Potier, On the Trinity (Book II), para 23; Philip Schaff, editor, The Nicene & Post Nicene Fathers Series 2, Vol 9.

[Elsie]

...-but Ignore the Early Church Fathers and their Interpretations-...

and THIS??

"What more shall I teach you than what we read in the apostle?
For Holy Scripture fixes the rule for our doctrine, lest we dare to be wiser than we ought.
Therefore I should not teach you anything else except to expound to you the words of the Teacher."

 Augustine  (De bono viduitatis)

[Elsie]

Vey!

[Elsie]

Luther --- made some revisions one thousand years later that God had overlooked.

Such as??