two more: that in the mouth of two or three wit nesses every word may stand. hear them: tell the church. And if he will not And if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen 11 and publican. (Matt. xviii, 15-17). The Church is guided by the Holy Spirit. "And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you forever. The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not nor knoweth him: but you shall know him; and because he shall abide with you and shall be in you. (John, xiv, 16-17). It is the Holy Spirit that protects her from error, not only in the ex cathedra decisions of the Pope or those articles of faith worked out by the Bishops in General Council and approved by him, but also in all her work wherever she is, guiding her everywhere, throughout the entire world so that she teaches the same doctrine, receives the same sacraments and adores the same God, with a worship suitable to Him, even though the instruction is given by men, and women who, individually, are not infallible. It is because the Holy Spirit is always with the Church, preserving her from error, that it is a grave sin of unbelief to deny a truth believed by the entire Church although it has not received the distinction of being classified as an article of faith. For example, ever since Apostolic times, the Church has believed in the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin into heaven. In such a matter as this, the Church cannot err. It is a truth believed by all the members of the mystical body of Christ. Any one who wilfully denies it, while not a heretic, nevertheless is guilty of a sin of unbelief. Consequently, in summary, we say that the Church of Christ is infallible in its laity, and Bishops, in union with the Bishop of Rome and the Bishop of Rome, alone, whenever he defines a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the whole Church. Remember, individually, none of us is infallible. ence, "we ought to give thanks to God always for ou, brethren, beloved of God, for that God hath hosen you first fruits unto salvation, in sanctifiation of the spirit and faith of the truth: Where nto also he hath called you by our gospel unto the urchasing of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. herefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traitions which you have learned, whether by word or y our epistle." (2 Thess. 11, 12-14). Chapter X THE CATHOLIC CHURCH The word Church is an Anglo-Saxon word which means the Lord's house. It is used in several different senses. The place where the faithful assemble to hear Mass, to offer their homage to God, is called a Church; e.g., St. Patrick's Church. Frequently, too, the word Church is applied to the society of the Catholics of a province, as the Church of France, the Church of Spain, or the Church of Argentina; or of a city, as the Church of New York, the Church of Chicago, the Church of Rome. More generally, however, we shall use the word Church to mean the Catholic Church; i.e., the society of men, who being baptized, profess the doctrine of Jesus Christ, and are subject to their lawful pastors, particularly to the Pope. The Catholic Church is a society because it possesses all the necessary elements to constitute a society: (1) many associated members; (2) an author ity having the right to command; (3) a common end or purpose for its existence; (4) the necessary means to enable all its members to attain this end. That the Catholic Church has many associated members is obvious. It has more than 331,000,000 persons in its fold. It desires to have the entire world, some 1,900,000,000 human beings, as members. The Catholic Church has a leader and under him assistants possessing authority, the right to rule its members. This right comes directly from God and resides in the Pope as head of the Church, in the Bishop over those in his diocese, with permission of the Pope, and in the Pastor in his parish with the permission of and subject to the lawfully appointed Bishop in the diocese in which the parish dwells. "Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in heaven: and. whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven." (Matt xviii, 18). The Catholic Church has a reason, an end, a purpose for its existence. It is to procure the salvation of all men by bringing them into its fold, the Church of Christ, and teaching them what they must do to honor God and thus attain to the beatific vision. The Catholic Church has all the means necessary to attain its end. These means are baptism, belief in the doctrines of Jesus Christ and submission to lawfully constituted superiors. Stated differently the means to attain its end are faith, belief in all the truths taught by the Church, and grace, as communicated to her members through the sacraments and other means administered by properly consecrated priests and Bishops. .... In order that a person may become a member of the Catholic Church he must: (1) be baptized: "Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them "(Matt.xxviii, 19); (2) believe all the doctrines of the Church: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned.' (Mark, xvi, 16); (3) obey in all matters connected with faith and morals his lawful pastor: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you"; "He who hears you, hears me: he who despises you despises me." (Matt.xxviii, 20; Luke X, 16). The Church is sometimes divided according to the state in which its members are: 1.e., into (1) the Church militant or those still on earth striving to save their souls; (2) the Church suffering or those members who have left this vale of tears free from mortal sin but not free from venial sin, or who must still suffer some temporal punishment for mortal sins already forgiven--they are in purgatory; (3) the Church triumphant or those who have saved their souls and are enjoying the beatific vision. The Church militant is also divided into the Church teaching and the Church taught; the former comprises the body of the episcopate united to the Pope; the latter, the rest of the faithful. The Church is, in many respects, like a human being. It is a living organism and has two elements: an internal element or soul and an external element or body. The body of the Church consists of all those who make external profession of the true doctrines of Christ, are baptized, partake of His sacraments and obey the pastors established by Him. These members constitute the visible organization or society known to the world as the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope is, so to say, the head of this body; the Bishops are its principal members and the faithful are the secondary members. The soul of the Church consists in sanctifying grace, together with the infused virtues and gifts of the Holy Ghost. Thus, a man may (1) belong to the soul of the Church and not to the body--such a one is, for example, an infidel in the state of grace; (2) belong to the body and not to the soul--such a one is any member of the Church who is in the state of mortal sin; (3) belong to both the soul and the body of the Church--such a one is a member of the Church who is in the state of grace; (4) belong to neither the one nor the other-such a one is every infidel who is in the state of sin. At this section of our study of the Church we must consider a very important point and one which is the subject of much misunderstanding. Το all who believe in God and another life, the problem of saving one's soul is of the highest personal importance. "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world if he suffers the loss of his own soul?" "Fear ye him who can cast both body and soul into hell"; are words of the Son of God. Almighty God thought each soul so valuable that He came down from heaven to live amongst men and show them, by His example, how to save their souls. He did more than that. By His life and death on the cross, he offered sufficient satisfaction to God for the sins of men |