KARAGIZI PROSPER
11125T
How is our church said to be holy and sinful at the
same time?
As
we may know, we profess our faith precisely in the holiness of this church
which shall be composed of sinners up to the end of Time.
This
is the Catholic faith and it was spontaneously expressed from the beginning
since it gave the church the Title of community of saints (Acts 9, Rom 8), but
after this realization we daresay that the apostles were not the simple-minded
people, for they were aware of the scandals in their company, remember that
there were Ananias and Safira who were maligns to God, and many others. The
fathers of the church in their turn were shrewd men but although they were
inclined to castigate the sins of their flocks they were equally disposed to
sing the splendour of the church.
The
Credo by incorporating the Holy church shows what is important. Even this truth
has been repeated in documents of Magesterium time after time tirelessly. This
fact shows that the holiness of the church to which we belong, in accordance to
revelation is not an accidental quality but one of the elements in the church’s
structure.
However,
the fact that the holiness of the church, and since it is without hesitation
affected by sins of its members inadequate and imperfect. In looking at an
utterance of St John Chrysostom we find this affirmation, and I quote “the
church is a house built of our souls. And this house is not equally respectable
in all parts, among the stones which go to make it up some are brilliant and
polished whilst others are dark, and of inferior quality but yet are better
than some others.”
As
the pilgrim church,( not a perfect society) we must admit that the holiness of
the church which finite, and fragile will never be fully attained until last
day, when the purification of God’s people will be completed. And so in this
aspect we daresay that the church’s holiness is eschatological. Our church we
believe in is incomplete but living in hope.
Karagizi Prosper, OFM
11125T
As
the conclusion of whatever I have shared previously, we can now ask ourselves
that what is the Church?
The
church is both a visible phenomenon and invisible and supernatural reality, and
it must be considered in these both aspects.
The
church visible has her own governmental structure, her own code of laws, her
own courts. But those who see only the outward appearance of the church I must
say that they will never be able to see her as she truly is. On the other hand I must say that those who
see the Church only as a supernatural entity , ignoring her visible outward
form, who consider that the Church exists as an ideal., not in history , I may
say that they also are making an error.
The
other question we can ask ourselves is that what then is the mystery of the
Church? Defining the mystery in its
original sense as an event produced by God‘s power and revealed by God in the
very act of bringing it about. However in this way, the mystery of the Church
consist in the interdependence , within
her walls, I mean the Church of history and eternity of God , of man and of
God, of the visible and of invisible.
The
church is the Mystical Body of Christ, both in its visible form and in its
invisible reality. Christ himself constituted it visibly by giving it
authorities and powers, and a mission in history, as we may know the Church is
missionary in its very nature (cf. A G 9) and again “the mission is something
that the church before it is something the church” in carrying out the mission
the church realizes its nature. Remember that the core of the life of the
church is mission, without mission the church cannot be said
and the primary agent of that mission in the church is the Holy Spirit, as can
be seen in the early church when Spirit worked through the Apostles, but at the
same time he was also at work in those who heard them opening their minds and
their hearts to the Good News, to the Kerygmatic message. This in a nutshell is
the mission of the church. Remember again that according to (LG 9) as mentioned
above “the church is missionary by its nature”. And so the church and we who
belong to it are called to participate in a project that comes from God and
belong to God. By his Passion and Resurrection, he breathed his life and Spirit
into it.
For the glory of Christ and his Holy
Church, Amen
****
The church as communion
The church lives its communion not only
within, but also in relation to other communities. It collaborates with other churches
in the evangelical witness and service to all people. Communion in the church is is the cornerstone
and very heart of life of the church.
Communion in the church is a dynamic rather
than a static reality, and therefore the church is called to establish this
communion among all the people of Gog. Just as the many parts of the human body,
though they are many, form one body, so are the faithful in Christ ( 1cor
12:12). Also in the building up of Christ’s body, this diversity of members
gives its own riches and each member through individual and collective services contributes towards
the building up of the whole. Jesus Christ continually provides in his body ,
that is in his church , the gifts of
ministries, so that by his power , we may be serving each other unto salvation,
and caring in truth and in love, we may through all things grow into him, who
is our head ( Eph 4:11-16). Thus the whole whole community together, forms the
church in the world. Jesus played to the father for his disciples in John 17,
by saying: “I am not asking you to take them away out of the world, but I ask
you to protect them from evil one... sanctify them in the truth .. as you have
sent Me into the world .” thus , the church as community in the midst of the
world . it is always community, that takes reality seriously , because here is
where God has called us to establish his kingdom.
The
church throughout the world has taken the cause of the poor. The more the church
takes up its global role and identifies herself with the wounded humanity, its
it. The true identity is revealed, and also Jesus identification with the most
needed of human family, is manifested. The option for the poor, is not said to
only a call to be in solidarity with those who suffer, but it is also an
invitation to support all those who are struggling to become the torch bearers
for justice and through humanity in the same communion. The task of the church
as communion is to champion a whole new social order of freedom in community.
The church is a sacrament of communion with God and communion between one another.
****
A SHORT
REFLECTION OF AFRICAE MUNUS
“Be the
salt of the African earth,” Pope Benedict XVI challenged Catholics as he
formally released his apostolic exhortation, AfricaeMunus, briefing the
key insights of the 2nd African Synod.
Africae
Munus is
visualised as the carry-over of the ecclesia in Africa. As we may know this
document was published in 1995. With
this the Africae munus highlights its
great importance by giving the grand momentum to the development or if you like
to the growth of the church in the African continent at large. The same
document also developed the idea of the church as family of God as far as the
ecclesia is concerned. It considers the church of God at the level of Small
Christian Community whereby we have a small number of Christian who know each
other, they advise each other, they teach each other , they serve each other
like the times Apostles, and finally they gain the power to go to witness.
The very aim of the Africae munus that means African
Commitment is to reinforce this this dynamism of the church for the development
or the growth of the church in a special way in Africae that will be beneficial to the universal church. Again this
document has for objective to draw round a pastoral programme for the
evangelization in Africa with the emphasis on concept of reconciliation,
justice and peace. There is a tremendous need to evangelize the culture of
reconciliation, justice and peace; to sensitize and concretize the
understanding the urgency of the reconciliation, justice, and peace.
In Africa we are invited to be as Christian “the salt to the earth and
the light to the world.” This is an invitation for each and every Baptized
person.
Africae munus also speaks of the main theological principles
such as how Christ is the source of that church’s reconciling mission. That the
way to the reconciliation involves peace and justice; and this therefore
includes an authentic conversion. The religious sources like the celebration of
the sacraments of penance for instance leads to the spirituality of communion,
this leads to living in harmony with God, others and finally with the nature.
This document nevertheless mentions that the church must embrace the
enculturation of the gospels. This path again must include the protection of
the life, migrants, displaced persons, refugees, the good governance of the
state. The church has a duty to embrace ecumenical dialogue, and
inter-religious dialogue. The other theological approach is that of the church
as the mystery of communion, as the family of God. It explains how s person
become members of the church, Baptism is one of the paths, mystical body of
Christ each individual member is a mystery of communion. All members of the
church must contribute to the ecclesial community, and also to the civil peace,
justice and communion in the civil society. The church in Africa is a community
of of African Christian believers as Jesus called the disciples and formed a
community of disciples around him. Later he chose the 12 whom he sent to
continue his saving mission. And so the church is the people working together
towards the salvation. Moreover, the work of salvation involves all Christian
in the evangelization. So, all the baptized Christian has a mission of
evangelization.
****
The appearance of the
church as mystery from the beginning
While
reflecting on the church, it raised some of the wonders in my mind, by asking
myself what was there before the church. So I came to realise that the mystery
of the church was at work even before the word church itself had been uttered
out. Looking carefully I notice that the mystery is beyond time not only
in the Divine mind which decreed the existence of the church from all
eternity but also in supernatural
providence which constantly keeps what over the church gradual emergency , and
this is the mystery of Divine provenience
The mystery of
the church had also been present in time since the beginning of the world. It
is on her behalf that the master of history has intervened in its process. The
church then in God’s good time and all creatures through under are to be
brought together under one single head, Christ Jesus, until this time comes and
in the order that it may come; God arouses in the hearts of the best among his
people the desire and the hope of his reign.
To some also he
suggested the outlines of what is to come in the shape of magnified images of
their experience. The mystery of the church according to my understanding is
the mystery of Divine presence in the Israel. During that time God wrote on the
page of human freedom a special story, composed of the joy and suffering of men
in their lives and in their death. But in this story, so like many others and
so unspectacular, we find not only hopes and fears of men, but also God’s plan
of mercy.
The church is a
mystery, and such it is imbued with God’s hidden presence. Born of the father’s
love, Christ’s saving work and the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit, the church here on earth reflect the mystery of , the
church therefore cannot be fully understood or Defined . We do however have,
have limited access to the meaning of the church’s mysteries. It may be found
in the parable and images Christ used, the growth of the church‘s self
awareness in history and the eloquence of Christian behaviour in the lives of
the saints and all faithful members of the community.
****
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