The Church: the People of God, the Body of

Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit

'You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people' (1 Peter 2:9)

Psalm 100; Psalm 117:22; Acts 2: 43 - 47

Catholic Update:
What It Means To Be Church
Acts Of The Apostles

Summary:
We are essentially social beings. The human response to God's revelation in faith draws us into a community of
believers. For God invites each of us into a personal relationship of faith, hope and love in the context of a community of
believers. God chose the people of Israel to be his own and strengthened them on their journey to salvation.

Jesus inaugurated the Church by preaching the Good News of salvation in Him. He gathered apostles and disciples
around Him who learned a new way of life. The apostles with Peter as their head were sent forth to preach, teach and
serve the community of believers in the name of Jesus. The Church is born primarily from Jesus' total self-giving for our
salvation on the cross. We believe that it is in and through the Church that the saving work of Christ continues in the
here and now, and in every time and place.

We receive the new life of faith from the Church, our 'mother and teacher in faith'. The Catholic Church is a universal
(catholic) institution that is primarily a community of love, grounded in faith in Jesus Christ and inspired by the hope of
eternal life. It is a visible institution and a spiritual community. Three biblical images of the Church: the People of God,
the Body of Christ, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

We are created as social beings. We need one another to understand and grow in our relationship with God. In the Bible
God forms a community of believers who become the visible image of divine love. To accept the gift of faith is to be
united to God, the giver of all gifts and to all those who accept that same gift. (CCC 738)

In the Old Testament God chose the Israelites to be His people. (CCC 761-762, 778)

In the New Testament, Jesus calls his disciples to form a community of faith as the people of the New Covenant. Jesus
inaugurates the Church through his preaching and teaching and in His total self-giving on the cross. (CCC 763-766)

Today this community of faith, hope and love is continued in the Catholic Church. The Church is a mystery that is both
visible and spiritual, human and divine, a hierarchical society and the Mystical Body of Christ. (CCC 771, 779)

The Church is the 'sacrament of salvation', which is to say that the Church is the 'sign and instrument' of our union with
God and of our union with one another. (CCC 774). The Church is the 'visible plan of God's love for humanity'. (CCC 775-
776)
We are members of the People of God by faith and baptism. In our common faith in Jesus Christ we form 'one family and
one People of God: a priestly, prophetic and royal people'. (CCC 781-786)

The Church is the Body of Christ. In the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist 'Jesus Christ, once dead and now risen,
establishes the community of believers as his own Body'. In this one Body of Christ, there is a diversity of members,
functions and gifts. Christ is the head of His Body, the Church. (CCC 787-796)

The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is the source of the Church's life, of her unity in diversity, and of
the riches of gifts and graces given to the faithful through the Church.

By daily imitating the example of Jesus the faithful are called to holiness of life. The 'Universal Call to Holiness' is
addressed to all the members of the Church: laity, clergy and religious.

Discussion Questions:
1. Why is belonging to a community of faith so necessary in our personal relationship with God?

2. In what ways is the Church considered a mystery of faith?

3. How is Jesus Christ at the cnter of our understanding of the Church?

4. What is the significance of the images of the Church as the People of God, the Body of Christ, and the Temple of
the Holy Spirit?

Scripture References/Quotations:
Acts 2
John 10: 1-10
Matthew 21: 33-43
1 Corinthians 3:9
Ephesians 2: 19, 22
Galatians 4: 26

'Father, you are holy indeed, and all creation rightly gives you praise. All life, all holiness comes from you through your
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. From age to age you gather a people to yourself, so that from east to west a perfect offering
may be made to the glory of your name.' (Eucharistic Prayer III)

The Lord Jesus inaugurated his Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of the Reign of God, promised
over the ages in the scriptures. To fulfill the Father's will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth. The Church
'is the reign of Christ already present in mystery'. (CCC 763)

'The Church is both visible and spiritual, a hierarchical society and the Mystical Body of Christ. She is one, yet formed of
two components, human and divine. That is her mystery, which only faith can accept.' (CCC 779)

'Christ is the light of humanity…the Church has no other light than Christ's; according to a favorite image of the Church
Fathers, the Church is like the moon, all its light reflected from the sun.' (CCC 748)

'The Church is born primarily out of Christ's total self-giving for our salvation, anticipated in the institution of the
Eucharist and fulfilled on the cross. The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which
flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus. For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon
the cross that there came forth the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.(CCC 766)
Suggestions For Further Reading:
Universal Catechism, 'I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church, (CCC 748-870)

Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 1-51

Saint Augustine, Sermon, 71, 20, 33

Pius XII, Encyclical Letter, Mystici Corporis, June 29, 1943.

Closing Prayer
Our Father