In his book on the implementation of Vatican II, Karol Wojtyla (back then still a Cardinal) wrote that the first question before the Council was: Ecclesia, quid dicìs de te ipsa?—Church, what do you say of yourself? The Council’s answer to this question is expressed most fully in the document we will explore today and in the following weeks: Lumen Gentium.

Lumen Gentium is one of the four main Constitutions of Vatican Council II. The question, “Church, what do you say of yourself?” is a question which may interest us too, particularly as practicing Catholics who actively form part of the Church. Still, Lumen Gentium makes it clear that its purpose is to describe the nature and universal mission of the Church to the whole world. The audience is not limited to Catholics. Rather, the audience is all of humanity.

So, what ‘is’ the Church? One of the first descriptions used in order to describe the Church is that of the Church as “the kingdom of Heaven on earth” (par. 3). Here, the Church is seen as a reality situated in space and time whose purpose is to bring “Heaven” (i.e., God) to us:

Fallen in Adam, God the Father did not leave men to themselves, but ceaselessly offered helps to salvation, in view of Christ, the Redeemer “who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Col 1:15).

Lumen Gentium, par. 2

The Church exists because God the Father desires to reconcile humanity to Himself again. This means that the Church is a mode of medicine intended to heal and unite all persons back with God and with their self. Lumen Gentium aptly notes how the Church evolved “throughout the history of the people of Israel and by means of the Old Covenant” and how this evolution is still taking place today. Ultimately, the Church will gloriously achieve completion when all ‘the just’ “will be gathered together with the Father in the universal Church” (par. 2).

In this respect, a point about Christ’s role in all this must be said. Lumen Gentium outlines that it is Christ himself, through his incarnation, passion, and resurrection, who concretely inaugurated this Kingdom of heaven on earth. Christ’s obedience made redemption possible for all! Now, this redemption is primarily made possible by the Church and her Sacraments through which Christ act:

as often as the sacrifice of the cross in which Christ our Passover was sacrificed, is celebrated on the altar, the work of our redemption is carried on, and, in the sacrament of the eucharistic bread, the unity of all believers who form one body in Christ is both expressed and brought about.

Lumen Gentium, par. 3

It is also through the Church that “revelation” (i.e., Scripture and Tradition) expresses itself. Thus, the Sacraments and Revelation are seen as a means in which God Himself—his love, forgiveness, and grace—is experienced by us directly.

Chapter I eventually speaks of the Holy Spirit as the principle of unification which binds Christ, the head, to his Mystical Body, the Church. Here the Spirit can be compared to the human soul, or the “life-principle” in us, which unites the diverse members and simultaneously acts as the animating principle.

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the Church today is the assumption that the Church is optional in our relationship with Christ. We see this in the emphasis certain Christians place on Christ as our “personal Lord and Savior” and also in the habit, even of Catholics, to regard even the fundamental teachings of the Church as merely one option amongst many. The phrase, “I’m a Catholic, but a Christian first,” is rather common—as if there were some dichotomy between Christ and His Church. But the truth is that Christ Himself makes it clear that there can be no division between Christ and His Church. Christ identified Himself with His Church (Jn 15:4-5; Acts 9:4-5). One cannot have a relationship with Christ the Head and not have a relationship with the Church, His Body, just as one cannot have a relationship with anyone’s head without having a relationship with his body!

In light of all this, the Council Fathers outlined that the present situation makes it all the more urgent that the Church defines her nature and mission, that is, her nature as the light to the nations and her mission of bringing the light of Christ to all. This is also why a document such as Lumen Gentium presents itself as ever-more significant today. Even more true today than it was in 1964, within moments, people at any point on the globe are aware of events all around. The world has grown smaller in this sense, and, while people are more aware of events effecting others, at the same time we feel less connected, because our technologies allow us to create pseudo-relationships that exist only “online” and not in real time and space. As we lose a sense of connectedness with each other, we risk losing our communion with God. The two are interconnected and reach their ultimate unity in the Church, in which all human beings regain their friendship with the Father as ‘adopted children’ and in which God’s face shines bright.