The Church is Holy

“The Church is Holy”

The Catechism says that the Church is Holy because Jesus Christ (the Holy one) gave himself to the Church, raised it up in glory, and gave it the Holy Spirit. This was an interesting point for me because it shows that the Church is something more than a bunch of people, rather it is through Jesus Christ that it has been instituted. 

I also like how the CCC also points out how we make up the body of the church but that we ourselves are not individually holy: “In her members perfect holiness is something yet to be acquired.” This shows that it is through God that he can make the institution of the church holy even though we do not hold this status ourselves. The CCC continues this point by stating: “All members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners.” This is poignant because although the members of the church are sinners, the Church is a holy institution because Jesus has given himself over to it. 

This portion of the Catechism was engaging because it made clearer a complicated issue. That is, it is through Jesus that the church becomes holy. As the Catechism puts it: “United with Christ, the Church is sanctified by him; through him and with him she becomes sanctifying.”