Grassroots Liturgist

“I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.”   Have you noticed that the word catholic in the Creed does not have a capital letter?   Have you wondered why not? It’s because ‘catholic’ is being used as an adjective, not a proper noun.   From the early to mid-2 nd Century, when the Church was still in its infancy, the Church Fathers described the church as catholic in the sense of ‘throughout the whole’ or ‘universal.’   So, the Church and the Good News that it teaches is not for a select few from certain countries or demographics, but for every single person in the world.   Our Lord said, “I will build my church” – not ‘churches’ (Mt 16:18).   His vision is that all are in communion in one faith; that we are united in faith with fellow believers that we will never meet.   The next mark of the Church articulates one way in which we are to be united – apostolic .   The birthday of the Church is Pentecost, the day when, fill...

“I believe in one, holy , catholic and apostolic Church.”   The Church is holy because God is holy, and because the Church is the Body of Christ with Jesus as the head.   And the Church and her sacraments help to make us holy.   This does not mean that all members of the Church are sin free – we are, all of us, sinners.   But there is a universal call to holiness; we are called to strive for sainthood, to be like God.   That is what we were created to be, and God took human flesh in Jesus that we might, like him, be holy. "The Son of God became man so that man might become God." (St Athanasius) Holiness does not diminish us, it enhances us.   There can a temptation to see holiness as negative, as merely being the absence of sin, maybe a bit worthy or dull.   But Jesus said that he came that we may have life, and have it abundantly (Jn 10:10).   When you meet a truly holy person there is a transparent radiance of joy, of goodness, and a res...

“I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.”   This line in the Creed is so easy to repeat without thought, but it describes the Church of which we are members.   It articulates the four ‘marks of the Church’ – a set of characteristics that describe the nature of the Church and its mission: so let us briefly reflect on these four marks, and how we can be living signs of the Church and of God. “The Church is one because of her source: ‘The highest exemplar and source of this mystery is the unity, in the Trinity of Persons, of one God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit.’ ”  (CCC 813).   In other words, the mystical union that is God – three persons, one God – is to be reflected in a single, united and global Church which has its basis in Christ Jesus.   The Church is not uniform or homogenous – there is a diversity of people as well as a diversity of gifts that the Spirit has given each person.   We can see that in our own parishe...