{"id":12086,"date":"2024-11-25T16:00:49","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T15:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/?post_type=ohrog-u-itlob&p=12086"},"modified":"2024-11-25T16:00:51","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T15:00:51","slug":"church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself","status":"publish","type":"ohrog-u-itlob","link":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cChurch, what do you say of yourself?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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 dic\u00ecs de te ipsa?\u2014Church, what do you say of yourself? The Council\u2019s answer to this question is expressed most fully in the document we will explore today and in the following weeks: Lumen Gentium<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lumen Gentium<\/em> is one of the four main Constitutions of Vatican Council II. The question, \u201cChurch, what do you say of yourself?\u201d is a question which may interest us too, particularly as practicing Catholics who actively form part of the Church. Still, Lumen Gentium<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what \u2018is\u2019 the Church? One of the first descriptions used in order to describe the Church is that of the Church as \u201cthe kingdom of Heaven on earth\u201d (par. 3). Here, the Church is seen as a reality situated in space and time whose purpose is to bring \u201cHeaven\u201d (i.e., God) to us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fallen in Adam, God the Father did not leave men to themselves, but ceaselessly offered helps to salvation, in view of Christ, the Redeemer \u201cwho is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature\u201d (Col 1:15).<\/p>Lumen Gentium, par. 2<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> aptly notes how the Church evolved \u201cthroughout the history of the people of Israel and by means of the Old Covenant\u201d and how this evolution is still taking place today. Ultimately, the Church will gloriously achieve completion when all \u2018the just\u2019 \u201cwill be gathered together with the Father in the universal Church\u201d (par. 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this respect, a point about Christ\u2019s role in all this must be said. Lumen Gentium<\/em> outlines that it is Christ himself, through his incarnation, passion, and resurrection, who concretely inaugurated this Kingdom of heaven on earth. Christ\u2019s obedience made redemption possible for all! Now, this redemption is primarily made possible by the Church and her Sacraments through which Christ act<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>Lumen Gentium, par. 3<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It is also through the Church that \u201crevelation\u201d (i.e., Scripture and Tradition) expresses itself. Thus, the Sacraments and Revelation are seen as a means in which God Himself\u2014his love, forgiveness, and grace\u2014is experienced by us directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201clife-principle\u201d in us, which unites the diverse members and simultaneously acts as the animating principle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cpersonal Lord and Savior\u201d 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, \u201cI\u2019m a Catholic, but a Christian first,\u201d is rather common\u2014as 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\u2019s head without having a relationship with his body!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> 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 \u201conline\u201d 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 \u2018adopted children\u2019 and in which God\u2019s face shines bright.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7646,"template":"","rizors":[61],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cChurch, what do you say of yourself?\u201d - Behold<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cChurch, what do you say of yourself?\u201d - Behold\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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 dic\u00ecs de te ipsa?\u2014Church, what do you say of yourself? The Council\u2019s 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... Read more »\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Behold\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-25T15:00:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/istockphoto-1498181216-612x612-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"612\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"344\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/\",\"name\":\"Behold\",\"description\":\"Archdiocese of Malta\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/istockphoto-1498181216-612x612-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/istockphoto-1498181216-612x612-1.jpg\",\"width\":612,\"height\":344,\"caption\":\"Magnifying glass with a question mark and untidy pile of documents\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/\",\"name\":\"\\u201cChurch, what do you say of yourself?\\u201d - Behold\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-25T15:00:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-25T15:00:51+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/ohrog-u-itlob\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/ohrog-u-itlob\/\",\"name\":\"O\\u0127ro\\u0121u w Itlobu\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/ohrog-u-itlob\/church-what-do-you-say-of-yourself\/#webpage\"}}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ohrog-u-itlob\/12086"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ohrog-u-itlob"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ohrog-u-itlob"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ohrog-u-itlob\/12086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12087,"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ohrog-u-itlob\/12086\/revisions\/12087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rizors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rizors?post=12086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}